Mariners should follow through on sudden connection to Padres' $80M All-Star

If the Seattle Mariners are serious about squeezing more offense out of this window, they shouldn’t ignore the little breadcrumb ESPN just dropped in their lap.

In a recent breakdown of top trade candidates this winter, Jake Cronenworth’s name popped up with a pretty obvious subtext: the Padres need to move money, and his contract is one of the cleanest ways to do it. San Diego is staring at a rotation with three open spots behind Nick Pivetta and a post-TJ Joe Musgrove, and they’re not exactly swimming in payroll flexibility. Cronenworth, meanwhile, is owed five years and $60 million on an eight-year, $80 million extension — a mid-tier deal for a versatile All-Star who can move around the infield.

Jake Cronenworth trade buzz gives Mariners a new way to boost their lineup

Cronenworth just finished a season with a career-best .367 on-base percentage. He’s not a pure masher, but he grinds at-bats, sprays line drives, and lengthens a lineup in a way Seattle's roster badly needs. Add in his ability to handle second, first, and even short in a pinch, and you’re talking about the sort of Swiss Army knife that lets Dan Wilson mix and match without punting offense.

The money also matters. Cronenworth is owed $12.3 million annually over the next five years. That’s not nothing for a team that still has big money tied up in Luis Castillo, Julio Rodríguez’s escalating deal, Cal Raleigh’s extension, and Josh Naylor’s new contract. But that’s also the beauty of a “bad contract” swap. If the Padres are desperate to clear salary and the Mariners are willing to work from their own pile of long-term commitments, there’s room to get creative.

A literal Cronenworth-for-Castillo swap probably dies on impact — Castillo can still anchor the rotation when his stuff plays, and is still a big reason this team even feels like a contender. But the larger idea is the right one: use your financial commitments, not just your prospects, to pry loose an undervalued bat from a team in a bind.

All of this should still be Plan B in Seattle. Plan A is simple: bring back Jorge Polanco. He was a perfect fit in this lineup when healthy and already showed how much better the offense looks with a switch-hitting on-base threat in the middle.

But if Polanco walks, the Mariners can’t shrug and run it back. With the Padres openly flagged as a potential Cronenworth seller, Seattle has a rare opportunity: acquire a proven, versatile on-base machine from a team that suddenly needs his money more than his bat.