The Seattle Mariners could be big players after the winter meetings, as the team is motivated to spend after signing Nelson Cruz and players like Andre Ethier, Justin Upton, Dayan Viciedo, Drew Stubbs, Seth Smith, Mark Trumbo and other outfielders could be potential targets, as the M's are considered a playoff contender after missing the postseason in 2014 by one game.
The Mariners are motivated to find another outfielder after trading Michael Saunders and one name that has come up is Justin Upton, but the Braves reportedly want Taijuan Walker, someone the team is unwilling to trade. Greg Johns at MLB.com wrote about the search and mentioned numerous names out there that the M's could look at, including Ethier, Upton, Dayan Viciedo, Drew Stubbs, Seth Smith, Mark Trumbo and Travis Snider of the Pirates as well as David Murphy.
Ethier has three years and over $50 million left on his contract and that could keep the Mariners from picking him up, while Stubbs is 30-years-old and has some promise. Upton is a power hitter that the Mariners would love to have in the lineup, but they also would like to avoid giving up any of their strong starting pitching. Last season Ethier hit .249 and that was a career low along with four home runs and 42 RBIs, but he has previously been an All-Star player.
The Mariners signed Nelson Cruz to a four year contract and they also traded away Michael Saunders for JA Happ, adding some starting pitching depth, but losing some in the outfield. Before the Saunders move the team needed another outfielder and now that he has been traded the need is even more glaring. Matt Kemp had been mentioned before he got traded, while Upton has also been mentioned as potential trade targets since last year. Reports from the News Tribune and the Seattle Times had Melky Cabrera as a player the M's were considering, but both him and Kemp are off the table, as Kemp has been traded to the San Diego Padres from the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Cabrera signed with the White Sox.
The Mariners missed the playoffs by one game last season and now they appear to be using that window to try and win now. The team sees the Oakland Athletics selling off players like Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss and that means the opening could be even wider now. The Mariners are buying and they could look at making a trade, although the team wants to try and add an outfield bat without giving up either James Paxton or Taijuan Walker, their best two pitching prospects.
The Mariners come in after winning 87 games last season and they finished just one game back of the Athletics in the wild card standings. The team ranked 18th in runs last season and 23rd in batting average and adding a slugger like Cruz to the team will be massive after the way they struggled on offense last year at times.
