One Big Move Could Send a Mariners 2-Time All-Star to Oakland—Here’s Why It Makes Sense .MH

The Athletics could be an unexpected threat to the Mariners’ offseason plans.

The Seattle Mariners are coming off a tough week in free agency. On Saturday, they lost playoff hero Jorge Polanco, who signed a two-year contract with the New York Mets. Now, the reigning American League West champions have work to do.

Third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the trade deadline, is also a free agent, and he doesn’t appear likely to return to Seattle this winter.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic listed a few potential landing spots for the two-time All-Star, and among them was an unexpected team from the AL West: the Athletics.

Could Athletics Steal Suarez From Mariners?

“I think Suárez’s best fit might be with non-contending teams such as the Pirates, Athletics and Angels. If he has a great first half, he’ll be traded like last year to a contending team with the biggest need at the time,” Bowden wrote.

Suarez hit just .228 during the regular season, but still hit 49 home runs and had a 126 OPS+. He also had some clutch hits for the Mariners in the postseason, including a go-ahead home run in Game 5 of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays.

With Polanco now gone, losing Suarez may hurt even more than originally anticipated. The A’s could use that power presence in their lineup, and if they’re out of contention, they can move him at the deadline.

But the Mariners need more power and offense, and it wouldn’t hurt them to try and bring Suarez back on a shorter-term contract. They could remain the clear favorites in the AL West if they were to do this.

If Suarez does ultimately bolt for the A’s, the Mariners do have other options they can turn to. They’ve got Colt Emerson and Ben Williamson as internal options, and they also have been showing interest in trading for the St. Louis Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan and the Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte, a former teammate of Suarez.

General manager Jerry Dipoto has options he can consider to improve his offense. But if Suarez walks in free agency and signs with the A’s, he’ll have to get creative and push harder to trade for either Donovan or Marte.

We’ll see what ultimately happens with Suarez and where he ends up.