Sports Illustrated predicts this free agent outfielder to the Mariners

MLB Free Agency is finally here and that means we get to talk about all of the potential moves the Mariners could and should do. I love this time of year as it gives us the opportunity to explore all of the possibilities for the Mariners going into 2024, and how the team can improve. It gives us sort of that video game feeling, where we can make our predictions and hypothetical moves about what the team needs to do, to be in a better position for the next year. Today we are going to look at a Sports Illustrated article, predicting Adam Duvall to the Seattle Mariners, and examine his fit with the Mariners.

I previously wrote about Adam Duvall and his fit with this team, where we dug into the numbers more and got a more in depth look at how good Adam Duvall has been. You can read that here. Adam Duvall is coming off a pretty solid season in 2023, one that saw him only play in 92 games due to a wrist fracture. This same injury limited him to only 86 games in 2022. Duvall was very solid in his 92 games amassing almost 2 wins according to fWAR. He slashed .247/.303/.531 with 21 home runs. You can see, he has some serious pop! He does strike out at a higher rate, but his power is elite.

Before you say, "Why don't they just sign Teo" let me tell you something. Their strikeout rates may be similar, but Duvall has way more pop! His slugging percentage was nearly 100 points higher than Teoscar's in 2023, Duvall hit 21 home runs in 353 plate appearances, where Teo hit 26 in 678 appearances. They were both also worth about the same according to fWAR and Duvall played in 68 less games. Duvall is also a significantly better defender. Lastly, Teoscar is probably going to cost $15-$18 million per year and command a 3-year deal; Duvall will likely only get a 1-year deal in the $6-$8-million-dollar range. Duvall is the better fit for this team, and it's not really close in my opinion.

Duvall is not an everyday player. He is probably an above average 4th outfielder that will play 120 games if healthy, that can spend time in a corner outfield spot as well as DH a good amount of the time. Duvall won't change this lineup and take them from an average offense to an above average lineup that can carry a team to the World Series. But adding him to your bench and having him as a rotational outfielder and DH, could go a long way to shore up your bench and improve the depth of your roster with some major league talent and proven ability.