The Seattle Mariners have been an active team this offseason after signing Robinson Cano to a huge contract and the team has acquired Logan Morrison and Corey Hart at the winter meetings and now they have put Jesus Montero and Justin Smoak on the trading block, making them available for deals moving forward.
The Mariners acquired both Jesus Montero and Justin Smoak in trades in the past with the Cliff Lee deal and the trade for Michael Pineda and some teams that could be interested includes the Pirates and the Rays, as they are both looking for first baseman types. The news was reported by Hardball Talk and while both players are young, they have not developed into the players the Mariners had hoped and now they could be moved to make room for Morrison. The Mariners signed Cano to a 10-year contract worth $240 million and the team is planning on making more moves and names like David Price, Homer Bailey or Jeff Samardzija could be in play, although it likely would take more than one of those players to get a deal done.
Bailey is not technically on the trading block, as the Reds have said they aren't dealing him, but rumors say he could be acquired, while Samardzija and Price have had the most heat on them at the winter meetings. Price is a Cy Young winner with two years of team control left on his contract before free agency and while the Rays want a top prospect in any deal, there is a chance something could get done on the Mariners side.
Samardzija is also available and as a young pitcher he could be an interesting deal, as he has over 200 strikeouts and 200 innings last season and the Mariners have said that they would like to add another pitcher. The team added Hart and Morrison and reportedly are going after Nelson Cruz as well.
According to ESPN.com, the Mariners have acquired Logan Morrison in a trade with the Marlins after signing Hart to a contract and it reportedly is incentive based and could be up to $13 million from $6 million. The trades give the M's some flexibility at first base and in the outfield and that is why a deal for Smoak could go down.
