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The Mariners have room for a star player and star attitude
As mentioned before, Trevor Bauer’s social media and showboating have sparked mixed reactions among players and fans. My feeling is that Bauer likes the spotlight and wants to be the center of attention. For example, the starting pitcher founded Momentum, an athlete-driven media company in 2019.
Bauer has a YouTube show through Momentum where he invites players around the leagues to have entertaining conversations. The former Reds pitcher is an innovative guy and not to sound critical, but he likes attention. There is nothing wrong with that, but I think a person like Bauer would want to play for a team where he can be “The Guy.”
He loves to showboat, show his emotions on the field and loves to start discussions on Twitter. The only way I can understand all of this is that Bauer wants to be the star of a winning team. Last season, he proved to be one of the best Reds players but he still was not really the face of the organization. The Reds still had Joey Votto and Sonny Gray.
The Mariners have a very young group of players and none have completely taken the spotlight with the exception of Kyle Lewis who will most likely win Rookie of the Year. But even then, Kyle Lewis has only had one full season in the Major Leagues and is not a renowned star across the league yet. Kyle Seager is another fan favorite but he is not playing as well as Bauer.
In the pitching staff, Marco Gonzales has been the lone bright spot and leader in the past few years. Gonzales had an All-Star like season in 2020. The current Mariners ace is very mellow and reminds me a lot of Seahawks QB Russell Wilson. I love Marco, but he is not quite a star yet and is not seeking attention. Having a Bauer and Gonzales duo could be deadly and a nice balance of a showoff and a humble personality.
The Mariners’ young core is looking better and I am sure Bauer is thinking the same thing. The Mariners have a real shot of being competitive starting next season, and Bauer is looking to join a winning team that is willing to pay up. The Mariners need a star, and Bauer could be that star. And the Mariners have room for egos and giving up some attention to Bauer.