The Seattle Mariners have been one of the most offensively challenged teams in recent memory.
The team has scored the least amount of runs in baseball over the past five years and will look to add some firepower to the offense as the winter meetings heat up. The offseason and the winter meetings provide a chance for teams to retool and reload for the next season and it appears the Mariners are preparing to do just that.
According to the Seattle Times, the Mariners are interested in trading for young Kansas City Royals sluggers Billy Butler and Alex Gordon now that catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli is off of the market after signing with Boston.
The Mariners had been looking to sign Napoli as a first baseman and occasional catcher, but now will have to look elsewhere after he agreed to a 3-year, $39 million contract with the Red Sox.
"We liked Napoli," Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said to the Seattle Times. "Congratulations to him on his contract and to Boston for getting him. I think that Napoli brought things to the table that we liked. He's an offensive guy, a right-handed guy. A veteran guy. But, he's no longer available."
The way the Mariners have been pursuing free agents this offseason also brings up questions about current first baseman Justin Smoak. The young prospect was the centerpiece of the Cliff Lee deal in 2010, but has been a disappointment for the Mariners, hitting .217 with 19 home runs and 51 RBIs last season
"As much as I would love for Smoak to be (improved) - and I love what I saw out of him in September - there's still some proving he's got to do," Zduriencik said. "And the same thing with (Mike) Carp. I mean, Carp a year ago was pretty doggone good. And last year, he was disappointing because of a lot of factors, the injury being one of them. So, that's a bit of an unproven position."
Butler would be an immediate upgrade at first base over Smoak. Last season Butler had a career year and was named an All-Star after hitting .313 with 29 home runs with 107 RBIs and an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .882.
He adds value as a designated hitter and a first baseman and he is relatively young at just 27-years-old. Butler is still owed $30 million in guaranteed money on his contract, but he would be under team control until 2015 if he is traded for.
According to RantSports.com, the Baltimore Orioles are also interested in acquiring Butler.
The toughest part of the deal for the Mariners would be what they have to give up to get Butler. The Kansas City Royals are high on both Butler and Gordon and will not give them away without some top pitching prospects, according to the Seattle Times.
Gordon wasn't as stellar as Butler, but he still put up solid numbers. The outfielder hit .294 with 14 homes runs and 72 RBIs last season and slugged .455 with a .368 on-base percentage.
The Mariners have a deep system after building it up the past few years, but the Royals will want MLB-ready players in any deal.
"So, that's the point that we're at right now," Zduriencik said. "Do we get that one piece and give up two or three?"
Last season the team ranked 27th in the league in runs and finished 30th in batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage. The Mariners have solid pitching with Felix Hernandez and Jason Vargas, but unless they start driving in more runs, the team is going nowhere fast.
The best offensive player on the team last season was third baseman Kyle Seager, who hit 20 home runs and drove in 86 runs to lead the team while hitting just .259.
The Mariners have proven they are serious about adding offense after meeting with Josh Hamilton, although signs of a deal between the two parties seems unlikely as of now.
The Mariners went only 75-87 last season, but it was the most amount of games the team has won since 2009 when they were 85-77. The team has finished in fourth place in the AL West three years in a row and only won 61 games in 2010.
There were a few bright spots last season, including the combined no-hitter in June and of course, Felix Hernandez's perfect game on Aug. 15, the first-ever for the franchise.
If the Mariners can't acquire Butler, they will likely move on to players like Mike Morse and Adam LaRoche at first base. Both players would be a step down from Butler, but would provide solid fielding, veteran leadership and consistent hitting.
Fans in the Pacific Northwest have been hurting for a while. If the Mariners can acquire one of these players, it would give the King's court something to cheer about.
