Will the AL East disrupt the Mariners’ plans?
Even with Josh Naylor re-signed, the Seattle Mariners have a lot of work left to do this offseason.
Naylor was on the team in October, when the Mariners fell one run short of their first-ever World Series appearance. And so were fellow free agents Jorge Polanco and Eugenio Suárez, who remain possible reunion candidates.
All along, Polanco has seemed like the better fit for the Mariners going forward, as he will likely be cheaper than Suárez and outperformed the third baseman down the stretch. But Seattle fans hoping for a fast reunion should strap in for a longer process.
Will Red Sox, Blue Jays engage on Polanco?
On Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic reported that while the Mariners remain engaged on the Polanco front, the 12-year veteran wants to test the market to its limits in hopes of drawing in some other suitors — including, possibly, a pair of big-market American League East squads.
“Polanco, 32, still would fit nicely, serving mostly as a designated hitter to protect his health but also playing second on days the Mariners want to use Cal Raleigh at DH. But Polanco, according to major-league sources, wants to play out the market,” wrote Rosenthal and Sammon.
“The Boston Red Sox might want him if they lose third baseman Alex Bregman, the Toronto Blue Jays might if they lose Bo Bichette. And those are just two possibilities.”
Bregman and Bichette are a different caliber of star talent than Polanco, so it’s not like Blue Jays or Red Sox fans would be thrilled about replacing those guys with him. But those teams appear to have much deeper pockets than the Mariners right now, so a successful offseason could involve poaching Polanco and reallocating some Bichette/Bregman money to a star pitcher, for one example.
The Athletic’s Tim Britton projects Polanco for a two-year, $35 million contract, which could test the limits of the Mariners’ current offseason budget if they don’t trade any expensive veterans away. It’s still early, but as free agents start coming off the board elsewhere, we could learn more about how realistic it is for Seattle to retain the newly-minted fan favorite.
