Kris Bryant is the best free-agent signing the Mariners never made

The Seattle Mariners dodged a major disaster by not signing Kris Bryant when he was hunting for a contract on the 2021-22 MLB free-agent market.

At the time, Robert Murray of FanSided reported that the Mariners had interest in Bryant, who was one of the biggest free agents on the market. Instead, Bryant signed a massive seven-year, $182 million deal with the Colorado Rockies. Looking back now, that was a move the Mariners are lucky they didn’t make.

Kris Bryant is a $182 million disaster that the Mariners fortunately avoided

Since joining the Rockies, Bryant has barely been on the field. Now in his fourth season in Denver, he’s only played in 170 games. That’s barely more than one season’s worth of games in four years.

He’s been on the injured list nine times, including his latest stint for a serious back issue — lumbar degenerative disc disease. It’s clear that his body hasn’t held up, and he hasn’t been anywhere near the player he was during his MVP season with the Cubs. Over these 170 games, he’s hit just .244 with 17 home runs, a .695 OPS, and -1.6 WAR — well below what you’d expect from a $182 million player.

If the Mariners had signed Bryant, it would have been a huge waste of money, and worse, it might have prevented them from doing more important things — like locking up their stars.

Julio Rodríguez signed a massive extension in 2022 that could be worth up to $470 million. This year, Cal Raleigh signed a six-year, $105 million deal to stay in Seattle. Those two are now key pieces of the Mariners’ core, and it’s hard to imagine the team having the flexibility to sign both if they had committed so much money to Bryant.

Instead of getting stuck with an aging, injury-prone player, the Mariners focused on their young talent and kept their payroll in a good place. While the lack of big free-agent moves may continue to frustrate fans, they have avoided some terrible contracts.

Those decisions are paying off, as Seattle is now in a much better position to compete for years to come. Not signing Kris Bryant wasn’t just smart — it may have helped shape the future of the franchise.