Mariners Rumors: Seattle has interest in trade target that will be hard to get

It's been out there for a while now that the Seattle Mariners are interested in that one second baseman in the NL Central. And now, finally, comes confirmation that they're also interested in the better one.

In his latest on the Mariners and their offseason pursuits, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports that Seattle and Chicago Cubs had "exploratory talks" about Nico Hoerner last year. And even now, the Mariners remain interested in the two-time Gold Glover.

Mariners are interested in Nico Hoerner, but he could be beyond their price range

There's no need to sell us on Hoerner as a fit for the Mariners. He has the on-base acumen and speed to be a table-setter on offense, and he's one of the best defensive infielders in the sport.

Meanwhile, the Mariners' position on Cole Young as a player they're confident in rings a little hollow. He slumped his way out of an everyday role at the end of 2025, and a team just doesn't go sniffing around other teams' second basemen if it really thinks it's set at the position.

Yet here's the problem with Hoerner: A trade is going to be hard, maybe even downright impossible.

Despite aggressive interest (per ESPN's Jeff Passan) on the part of the San Francisco Giants, the vibe on the North Side is that Hoerner is likely to stay put. Even after the Cubs' $175 million deal with Alex Bregman created an infield surplus, Hoerner is still a natural fit at second base and, oh yeah, one of the team's best players — dude led the team with 6.2 rWAR last year.

Even if the Cubs were amenable to dealing Hoerner, we'd be talking about a win-now team dangling a star who'll earn $12 million in his last year under contract in 2026. For a trade to make sense, it would have to move that entire salary and bring back players who can help now.

To the latter end, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic posited that the Boston Red Sox would have to give up Payton Tolle or Connelly Early, both well-regarded pitching prospects with MLB experience, to get Hoerner. The Mariners don't really have guys like that, and are reportedly reluctant to subtract from their major league roster anyway.

It would make more sense for Seattle to pivot to Matt Shaw in trade talks with the Cubs. Or, frankly, to keep their eyes on the prize that is Donovan, who Jude says is still the team's "top priority."

Granted, the value the Cardinals have placed on Donovan is absurd. But if anything good can come from the Hoerner buzz, it's the Cardinals feeling like they no longer have the only game in town in terms of second basemen that other teams want.