5 bold predictions for the Mariners in the 2021 season

Mariners lead the league in stolen bases, Moore finishes top 3 in the league

Seattle went crazy on the basepaths last season finishing 3rd in the league in steals with 50 while finishing 26th in OBP. This means that when the Mariners got on base, manager Scott Servais was sending his guys much more than the league average.

It also is clear that Servais wants to keep that going in 2021, if not more. Servais said recently that the Mariners are going to be very active on the basepaths due to some advanced analytical findings and their base-stealing talent. Because of this, I see the Mariners trying to take advantage of their likely scarce on-base opportunities and leading the league in steals.

Their leader last season, Dylan Moore, had 12 in just 38 games played. The math on that pace is that if he got on base and stole like he did last year, he would have around 45 stolen bases. As his hitting statistics from last year will likely regress, I could see Moore having 40 stolen bases which would most likely put him in the top 3 in the American League for steals.

Also, what’s interesting about Seattle’s stolen base numbers from last season is that Dee Strange-Gordon and Mallex Smith only combined for 5 stolen bases so their departures will not actually affect their numbers as much as some might think.

Cal Raleigh is the Mariners starting catcher by August

Cal Raleigh has looked great in Spring Traning so far and had a great Instructional League. All signs currently point towards Raliegh making his debut in 2021 as he’s the third-string catcher and looks MLB ready. If either Tom Murphy or Luis Torrens get injured then Raleigh will be the next man up.

So chances are in the first few months of the season either Murphy or Torrens will have to be sent down due to poor performance or will end up on the injured list. This opens the door for Raleigh to be called up and I see his impressive stats from the minors, Instructional League, and Spring Training carrying over.

Then after just a few weeks in the bigs, Raleigh will be the everyday starting catcher as the Mariners continue to commit to the youth movement. As is the case with many things that we wonder about the team, former team president Kevin Mather did say that Cal Raleigh is the future for Seattle at the catcher spot. So, if he’s right then the Mariners will want to make Raleigh their starting catcher at the first chance they get.

Mitch Haniger returns to 2018 Mitch Haniger form but gets traded

In a recent sit down with the press, General Manager Jerry Dipoto said that Mitch Haniger is the Mariners best offensive player when he is healthy, and so far this Spring Haniger has looked perfectly healthy. The last full season that Haniger played was 2018 and he was fantastic, hitting a line of .285/.366/.493 with an .859 OPS, 26 home runs, a 6.2 WAR, and receiving his only All-Star Game selection.

With Haniger fully healthy, I see him replicating his 2018 season or getting close to it statically. However, this means that with every other general manager, knowing that the Mariners are committed to the youth movement and the 30-year-old Haniger hitting free agency in 2022, will come calling if they are competing and interested in an All-Star caliber right fielder.

The Mariners could also have a bidding war and receive some hefty offers that are too good to pass up, and the player that at one time looked like the young future of the franchise and seemed like the only player jersey you could get at the team store for about two years will be out the door.

Mariners bring back Kyle Seager, but on a new contract

As he heads into the final year of his 7 year $100 million contract, Kyle Seager has some work to do if he wants his $15 million club option (which could become $20 million based on performance bonuses) to be picked up.

At the age of 33 and third baseman Ty France just being traded for, it seems unlikely that Seager could perform well enough to make the Mariners pick up his $15 million option. However, I would not be surprised if he comes back to Seattle on a smaller one year deal.

This is not uncommon with players who have spent a long time with a team, as the Yankees just declined a team option of $10 million for Brett Gardner, but brought him back for 1 year $4 million. If Seager’s market is dry next offseason but he still performs at a decent level in 2021, he could take a hometown discount and come back on a one year deal worth, lets say $5-8 million.

Part of bringing Kyle back would also be that the Mariners, who have been rumored to want to spend next offseason, could then go after Corey, Kyle’s brother. Corey Seager, the 2020 World Series MVP, is set to hit free agency in the winter of 2021 and could be a prime candidate for a monster contract in Seattle if his brother returns to the emerald city.

It is certainly a pipe dream, but I have already started to try my best to will it into existence.