Mariners Rumors: Connections to former AL West rival ramping up once again

No matter how this season plays out for the Seattle Mariners, even including going on to win the first World Series in franchise history, some important decisions will need to be made with the roster this winter. Chief among these is working out what to do at third base.

It was absolutely the right move to reunite with Eugenio Suárez at this year's trade deadline, but it doesn't take away from the reality he's not been very good since returning to Seattle. His .189 batting average in 53 games for the Mariners would have projected to a career-low over the course of an entire regular season, while his .682 OPS would have been the worst since his rookie year all the way back in 2014.

Suárez had been even worse in the playoffs for the Mariners, batting .152 with a .473 OPS in eight games before he woke up in dramatic fashion on Friday evening in Game 5 of the ALCS with one of the most important hits in franchise history. Even allowing for this though, he's 34 and going to be looking for a lot of money this coming offseason. No matter how popular he is with the players and fans alike, all signs point towards him playing elsewhere next season.

This would leave Ben Williamson as the main option — and while his defensive potential was there for all to see over 52 games for the Mariners, doubts remain about how effective he can be with his bat at the Major League level. In fairness, he did improve his offense when back in Triple-A Tacoma and finished the season with a .314 batting average and .854 OPS in 85 games, but the jury's still out.

An intriguing third base solution for the Mariners

As such, news coming out of Boston should arouse some interest in the Pacific Northwest, with Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru of MLB.com reporting that Alex Bregman is expected to opt out of his contract with the Red Sox and hit the open market. Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes that there will be plenty of interest in the third baseman and picks the Mariners as one of the better possible fits, along with the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays.

We've previously written about how the Mariners should make a move for Bregman, ahead of the 2025 season and then again in the leadup to this year's trade deadline. However, at this stage there's plenty to consider when deciding whether or not it's a good idea to pursue the two-time World Series champion.

If we just focus on Bregman's productivity on the field, he makes a lot of sense for the Mariners, whether compared to what Suárez and Williamson have done this year in Seattle, or just in his own right. After missing almost two months to begin the season with a right quad strain he came back and was good enough to earn his first All-Star selection since 2019.

Among other things, Bregman's .273 batting average and .821 OPS were both his highest since the aforementioned 2019 season. His Baseball Savant page included some intriguing numbers, including ranking in the 97th percentile for Squared-Up%, 95th pecentile for Chase% and 92nd percentile for Whiff%.

Money unsurprisingly a big sway in where Alex Bregman ends up

As much as there is plenty of reason to like this potential fit in Seattle, it should come as no surprise that Bregman's asking price could prove to be a stumbling block, no matter how much Mariners ownership did improve in this area during 2025. As per Chris Cotillo of MassLive, the three-time All-Star is looking for his next deal to be one which allows him to play out his career in one place.

This brings to mind the six-year, $151 million deal fellow third baseman Matt Chapman signed in September last year, with the San Francisco Giants. If this is the type of contract Bregman is aiming to secure, will the Mariners be prepared to make such a long-term investment for a player who's now 31.

You also have to consider how the 2019 Silver Slugger profiles at T-Mobile Park, which is still perceived by many as the ballpark where hitters go to die. He has a career .725 OPS hitting in Seattle, which compares very unfavorably to his overall career OPS of .846.

Overall, there are plenty of positives and Bregman is a great baseball guy who just knows how to win. Ultimately though, if you were to back us into a corner, we would predict that it seems unlikely the 2024 Gold Glove winner will end up signing with the Mariners for next season.