Ranking Remaining Third Base Options for Mariners

The Seattle Mariners started to address some of their needs before the lockout began. The team traded for second baseman Adam Frazier who should get a majority of his time at second base, with the ability to move around the diamond. The front office also addressed their need in the rotation by adding Cy Young award winner Robbie Ray to headline the rotation. Jerry Dipoto and co. still need to get an upgrade at third base, with Kyle Seager gone now.

The Seattle Mariners have had Kyle Seager as a stalwart at third base for a decade. While Seager is certainly the best third baseman in Mariners history, he was not that player in 2021 and is not going to be that player going forward. Seager has started his decline, and will not be getting better as he ages. He certainly had his share of moments even last year, but he is not going to be able to get the Mariners to the playoffs in 2022.

The Mariners need to bring in someone who will be a huge contributor and the main reason why the Mariners will make the playoffs, and eventually win a World Series. The Mariners have started to build a more complete team for 2022. They did not have the top-end talent in their lineups like the Astros, Blue Jays, or Yankees down the stretch. Mitch Haniger and Ty France are great pieces but aren’t division-winning mashers.

The Mariners need to add the kind of players that strike fear into opposing pitchers and opposing teams, and there are certainly a few players out there for the Mariners to add. They should be aiming high and look to take advantage of the market that has developed.

Sign Carlos Correa to a Big Deal

The single best player left on the free-agent market is Carlos Correa. There is no doubt that he is an absolute superstar, one of the best in the game. The Astros star shortstop was expected to get a massive contract to play shortstop somewhere else this winter. However, due to the way the free-agent market has played out thus far, it is now in question. The Detroit Tigers were expected to offer him a huge 10 plus year contract. The Tigers opted to sign Javier Baez instead.

Now, Correa has a unique market, he could always go back to Houston, but the Astros have never been willing to offer him lots of money reportedly. The Yankees could have a need for a shortstop, but does Carlos Correa want to go play in New York, where all the fans hate him for the cheating scandal? The Dodgers always spend lots of money, but the same problem arises. Does he want to go to a team where the fans have booed him repeatedly?

This is where the Mariners come in. Of course, Mariners fans do not like Correa as well and have booed him, but every stadium they traveled to in 2021 booed Correa and the Astros. He is not held as the face of cheating to the degree he is in New York or L.A. The Mariners have a need at third base, and if he is willing, Carlos Correa would be a dream fit for Seattle. He is a star in his prime, and probably has to move to third base as he ages anyway. He just turned 27 in September.

The Mariners would certainly not get Carlos Correa to come to Seattle for cheap, they would need to pay up. Since his market has not developed as he wanted, a short to medium-length contract for a high annual average salary is possible. If they offered him a 5 year deal for $175 million, that would pay him $35 million a year, making him the highest-paid shortstop over Francisco Lindor, and Seattle could include opt-outs to let Correa have the opportunity to try the market again.

They could also go a little more long-term. They could go anywhere from 5-8 years, and not feel like it hurts their long-term payroll. They could give him $33 million, just more than Corey Seager who signed with Texas, and give him opt-outs if he wanted them. The Mariners could offer a lot of money to Correa, and the opportunity to return to the market in a few years. The Mariners get a 27-year-old and even a 10-year deal expires when Correa is 37, so it would not be the worst deal ever.

Carlos Correa offers a world of possibilities that would drastically change the future of the Mariners; he would be what Robinson Cano was supposed to be, but young enough and good enough to deliver. He would change the future and the present, and only offers excitement for the Mariners.

The next option is a very pure and simple fit for Seattle at third base:

Bring in Kris Bryant

Kris Bryant offers the Mariners a plug-and-play, natural third baseman. The Mariners would know the second they signed Bryant that he can be relied upon to play third base for them. Kris Bryant also brings versatility that many fans and insiders have talked about all offseason. What the Mariners need, however, is a third baseman. The Mariners should want Kris Bryant to be their everyday third baseman, not an occasional corner outfielder.

Kris Bryant would certainly not cost as much as Correa, and be a much shorter contract. A 5-year deal should be the maximum the Mariners should go for Bryant. He is going to be 30 at the start of next year, and some suggest that he is going to age poorly. He is already not a great defender at any of the positions he plays, but if he were given the task of only playing third base, and working with Perry Hill on his defense, he should improve. If he were to play left or right field once or twice a week, he would be focusing a lot more on other defensive adjustments besides third base.

Several advanced metrics suggest that he is not a good defender even now. Baseball Savant has him in the bottom 1% of outs above average, and bottom 20% in outfield jumps. Those are not good numbers for anyone. He is only slightly below average at all of the positions, but as he turns 30 and continues to age, he will be a safer bet to stay average on defense at third base.

The most important thing that Kris Bryant has to offer for the Mariners is his bat. He hit 25 home runs last year, had a .835 OPS, and had a 123 wRC+ according to Fangraphs. He brings a threat to the Mariners lineup that would be a huge boost to the lineup. A stretch of Ty France, Mitch Haniger, and Kris Bryant would make pitchers be very careful about their pitch selection. They would be a strong right-handed power trio for the heart of the lineup.

Kris Bryant gives the Mariners a pure third baseman to play there every day. There is another option that they have been linked to that would not be a career third baseman, and that possibility lies in a former mile-high masher:

Move Trevor Story to Third

Trevor Story certainly is a tantalizing player, as he has great talent and flashy plays. He also has spent his career playing in Denver, Colorado, known for producing inflated offensive numbers. This is definitely a concern if the Mariners were to sign him. However, he also brings incredible upside as a 29-year-old who has played shortstop his whole career in Colorado. The Mariners could bring him in to move over to third base to help them make the playoffs.

While Story brings several question marks coming from Colorado, he still has lots of upside. He is only going to be 29 for the 2022 season, so he is still close to his prime years, and could have a massive year again at 29. The Mariners have proven to be able to improve players on defense, which Story needs. He has not been a great defender at shortstop, but he has a good arm that should help him if he were to move over to third base, next to J.P. Crawford.

Trevor Story also brings a large threat of right-handed power to the Mariners lineup. He does have Coors field effects that suggest that he could never be the same player again, but he also could learn how to hit in a more normal environment. He only hit 24 home runs last year, but according to Baseball Savant, would have hit 46 in Seattle. That is a huge jump but he could be expected to hit about 30 a year, which would be a huge boost for the Mariners.

If the Mariners gave Story a 3 or 4 year deal for about $20 million a year, that would be a very good deal for the franchise and not hamstring them in any way, shape, or form. The last option for third base lies in a division rival that Seattle could trade for: