3 Mariners players who may not be back after 2021

“The only constant in life is change” -Heraclitus. “The only other constant in life is Sodo Mojo writing that your favorite Mariners player might be traded or cut” -Willie Keeler

During this season and next offseason, the Mariners’ front office will have some very hard decisions to make about some key contributors on the team. In one case there is even a decision to be made about a potential Mariners Hall of Fame member.

Of course, there are many players on expiring deals who may not be back but I am looking at 3 specific players that don’t have expiring deals or have options on their contracts.

One player you might think would be one of the 3 is Yusei Kikuchi, however, he is in a spot that almost guarantees he will be a Mariner for 2 more years. Kikuchi’s contract has a team option that will have to either be picked up or declined following next season, and unless Yusei pitches like Cy Young, then it is hard to imagine he will get that 4 year $66 million extension that is on the table.

If the team option is declined, 2022 turns into a 1 year $13 million player option which, if he is not good enough to get his team option picked up, he will be accepting. Maybe he declines if he has an ok/decent season in favor of trying to sign a multi-year deal or go back to Japan.

Now, let’s look at the three players who have a big chance of not being with the Mariners in 2022.