Expert identifies exactly the right reason for Mariners to avoid Nolan Arenado trade

The Seattle Mariners have a number of needs to consider, but their hot stove has gone cold recently. In fairness to the team, they've already completed arguably their biggest move of the offseason, by signing Josh Naylor to his five-year, $92.5 million deal.

Still, the Mariners do have more to do including resolving their third base situation, given the genuine outlook that Eugenio Suárez will not be back in Seattle next season. With this in mind, what would you say if we told you the M's could obtain a likely future Hall of Famer whose resume includes 10 Gold Gloves, six Platinum Gloves and five Silver Slugger Awards?

The word around the majors is that the St. Louis Cardinals are probably going to trade Nolan Arenado this winter. As such, MLB.com's Mike Petriello took on the thankless task of sizing up the suitors, identifying the Mariners specifically as a long shot.

This particular category included eight other teams such as the likes of the Dodgers, Blue Jays Yankees and Mets, which Petriello summarized as a lot of “sure, maybe, if” situations, yet few great fits. For the Mariners, he wrote that they "already have a slick-fielding third baseman with bat questions in Ben Williamson".

Mariners wouldn't get prime Nolan Arenado

There's no question that Arenado in his prime would be a no-brainer for the Mariners (and pretty much the majority of the majors) to make a play for. However, we're now dealing with a version of him which is struggling to produce, particularly with his bat.

The eight-time All-Star is coming off a 2025 season where he set career lows with a 1.3 bWAR, .237/.289/.377 slash line and .666 OPS. Defensively, as Petriello notes, he might still be a plus glove at third base, but he's now nowhere near the elite defender he used to be.

Which brings us to Williamson who, as we've written previously, has all the makings of a future Gold Glover for the Mariners. This was highlighted by finishing third among all third baseman in Defensive Runs Saved with eight, despite only playing 85 games in the majors.

Ben Williamson has some offensive promise

We do appreciate Williamson still has plenty of work to do offensively, but he was at least able to make contact with the ball by way of a .253 batting average for the Mariners. Further optimism comes from the .906 OPS he produced once he returned to Triple-A Tacoma at the end of July.

Even a straight-up comparison favors Williamson, with him having the same 1.3 bWAR as Arenado this past season and effectively being a decade younger at 25. There's also the financial implications, with the Mariners' 2023 second round draft pick significantly cheaper than the $27 million Arenado is set to make next year.

Finally, trading for Arenado would also create a potential roadblock in the way of Colt Emerson, who is the top-rated prospect in the farm system and currently projected to make his major league debut in 2026. So, as much as we are talking about a future Hall of Famer, it makes perfect sense while the Mariners are seen as a long shot to even attempt a trade for him.