All-time Mariners’ infield of best players who got away

3B - Adrian Beltre - (1/4/2010) Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.

Beltre left Seattle after a solid 5-year stint putting up respectable numbers for the M's and signed a one-year "prove it" deal with the Red Sox. Yes, he absolutely proved it. In his lone year in Boston, Beltre became an All-Star for the first time, and batted .321 with 28 homers, along with an AL-leading 48 doubles.

His 2010 season accounted for the 2nd highest WAR of his career at 7.8, which is more than any year he had with the Mariners. Oh yeah, and he also produced with his glove as well. Although he had 2 Gold Glove seasons in Seattle, he would do this 3 more times after that. Much like Nelson Cruz, age seemed to be just a number to Adrian, as he would then sign a 6YR/$96M contract to join the AL West rival Texas Rangers. Yes, another Mariner great to be lost to them. Beltre played 8 more years in Texas, playing the best he ever has, even while already in his 30s. Hence why we recently saw him don a Rangers hat into Cooperstown.

Who knows if Beltre would have been the same player had he stayed in Seattle longer, but you can't help but wonder what the team would have been like had he stayed. Although he was good with the Mariners, he wasn't the All-Star that he later turned out to be. Plus, we had drafted another Mariners Legend, Kyle Seager, in 2009. Seager would provide stability and consistency with both his glove and bat from 2011-2021, which led to only one All-Star appearance and, unfortunately, no playoff appearances.