Breaking: Mariners Seek to Bolster Defense With Gold Glove Signee
The Seattle Mariners need to improve the offensive production from its infield. The team has been exploring free agent and trade scenarios to make it happen, hoping to return to the Major League Baseball postseason in 2025.
Keeping its options open, Seattle has reportedly spoken with the agent of free agent first baseman/designated hitter Carlos Santana, according to a report by Alan Jude of the Seattle Times.
With the Minnesota Twins, Santana won the first Gold Glove of his 15-year Major League Baseball career in 2024. The Twins are in a state of flux, with team owners reportedly seeking to sell the franchise and have not made much in the way of overtures to retain the former Silver Slugger.
The longtime Cleveland Guardians 1B/DH joined the Twins on a one-year, $5.25 million contract last winter. He would likely be command a similar deal this offseason, with Spotrac projecting the 38-year-old landing a one-year, $5.6 million pact on the free-agent market.
Jude quoted Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto saying that in addition to infield offense, one of the priorities for the team this offseason is to bring in veteran leadership. He mentioned Santana and Justin Turner — whom the Mariners acquired for the 2024 stretch drive — by name.
Dipoto was quoted as saying,
“We have (over the past few years) fielded one of the younger teams in our league. Now, our younger players are starting to gain experience. They’re moving into their late 20s. And (it’s been important) to have someone like Justin Turner, or back in 2022, a Carlos Santana. Depth hasn’t been a constant with us, and we need more than just a two-month cameo of that type of player to really help this team continue to do the things that we’ve done for the last month.”
