Analysis: Three moves the Mariners should make this offseason
SEATTLE – It would be a mistake for the Seattle Mariners to assess the final five weeks of the season and conclude that their offensive issues have been solved.
Yes, the offense made strides under Dan Wilson and Edgar Martinez, and fairly significant ones.
And, yes, there’s reasonable optimism within the organization that some of the changes over the final 34 games can carry over into 2025.
Even with that, the Mariners need upgrades to their lineup, and fairly significant ones.
Julio Rodriguez, Victor Robles and Randy Arozarena will be back, club president Jerry Dipoto said, as the starting outfield to anchor the top half of the lineup.
That leaves the infield as the obvious place to turn for upgrades, and Dipoto said the Mariners will target first base, second base and third base this offseason.
Of those three positions, the Mariners enter the offseason prioritizing second base and third base, according to MLB sources.
The Mariners have discussed the possibility of using Luke Raley regularly as the strong side of a first-base platoon next season, with potentially Mitch Garver or Tyler Locklear as the other half of that position share.
The 30-year-old Raley, primarily an outfielder, posted a 3.2 bWAR with a career-best 22 homers in 455 plate appearances this year. Of his 32 starts at first base, 13 came in September, and he’s been lauded for his work ethic and commitment to improve his defense.
Is he a viable option at first base?
The Mariners are open-minded about that.
If another first baseman outside the organization becomes available this winter, the Mariners haven’t ruled out an upgrade there, and there is one intriguing possibility who should be on their radar – and two other bats they should target this offseason:
The quirky first baseman
The suggestion: Trade for Triston Casas.
The reason: Because Casas is good and, ahem, really affordable.
The acquisition cost: Steep.
The background: Casas is a hulking 6-foot-5, 266-pound first baseman for the Boston Red Sox, and 2025 will be his age-25 season. A 2018 first-round pick, Casas has a .250/.357/.473 (.830 OPS) slash line with 42 home runs in 840 career plate appearances . He finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2023.
Casas has been described as “the quirkiest” player in MLB – he regularly does shirtless yoga meditations on the field before games – but he also takes great pride in being the first player to the ballpark every day and the last to leave, as noted in a recent profile in The Athletic.
Casas, who missed most of the 2024 season with a rib injury, reportedly turned down an extension offer from the Red Sox last offseason. He is just entering his prime, he’s under club control through 2028, and as a left-handed slugger he profiles as the right fit for T-Mobile Park.
The gist: The Red Sox and Mariners feel like an ideal match for a deal this offseason, given both teams’ needs. The Red Sox are rumored to covet free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman, which could then nudge Rafael Devers over to first base and, in that scenario, allow them to dangle Casas to upgrade their pitching. To entice Boston to move Casas, the Mariners would likely have to give up one of their four young starting pitchers. That’s a painful proposition from the Mariners’ perspective … but one they have to strongly consider this winter.
The veteran third baseman
The suggestion: Trade for Max Muncy.
The reason: The Mariners need an upgrade at third base … they need a left-handed power bat … they need a veteran leader and winner to solidify the clubhouse. Check … check … and check.
The acquisition cost: High.
The background: Muncy has been an important cog in the Dodgers’ dynasty, launching 35 homers or more in four of his seven seasons . If you still use batting average as the key evaluation of a hitter’s worth, well, avert your eyes and hide your great-grandchildren in that Cold War-era bunker. That’s not Muncy’s strength (he’s a career .228 hitter), but he does have a career .352 on-base and a .475 slug with a 15% walk rate. He missed half of the regular season this year because of an oblique injury, but he still posted a 3.0 bWAR with 15 homers and a 141 OPS+, and he’s under contract for a reasonable $14.5 million for his age-34 season in 2025 (with a club option for 2026).
The gist: The proper response here is: Why the heck would the Dodgers trade Max Muncy? And, yeah, it might be a far-fetched suggestion. But the Dodgers’ pitching injuries were extreme this year. The Mariners have a durable workhorse in Luis Castillo, and the Dodgers are one of the few teams that could (easily) take on the remaining $72 million of his salary, and one of the few teams for which Castillo might consider waiving his no-trade clause.
The player-coach DH
The suggestion: Re-sign Justin Turner.
The reason: He’s a winner and the Mariners need more of those.
The acquisition cost: Manageable.
The background: Turner was the oldest position player in baseball in 2023, and he turns 40 next month. If that scares you off, well, that’s not unreasonable. But in myriad ways, Turner was one of the Mariners’ most valuable players after being acquired in a trade-deadline deal from Toronto. He endeared himself to teammates and became what Rodriguez called a “player-coach” for the team. “He helps us out so much,” Rodriguez said. “There’s times where you’re just hanging out at the cage and he starts talking to you, and he doesn’t need to do none of that. But he does that because he’s like that. He wants to help, and I’m so grateful for him.”
The gist: In a similar move in 2022, the Mariners made an in-season trade for veteran first baseman/designated hitter Carlos Santana, who became a key figure in the Mariners’ pursuit of their first playoff berth in 21 years. In hindsight, the Mariners then made a mistake in not re-signing Santana before the 2023 season. They should learn from that. With Turner, it’ll probably come down to money. Turner played on a one-year, $13-million deal in 2024. It’s difficult to envision him taking much of a pay cut, but a one-year, $10-million-type deal seems fair for everyone. This could also depend on what the Mariners decide to do with two other veteran right-handed bats this winter – Mitch Haniger and Garver, who are due a combined $27 million for 2025. Will they both be back?