Alex Bregman Named Candidate to Jump Ship to Division Rival Seattle Mariners
The MLB Winter Meetings are set to take place from Dec. 9-12 in Dallas.
The Seattle Mariners have several needs to address, namely second and third base. They're also looking for a first baseman to pair with Luke Raley.
Recent reports have indicated that the Mariners could prioritize first and third base while looking in-house for their 2025 starter at second.
If Seattle does look within its own team to find the second base starter, that would mean Ryan Bliss, Dylan Moore or Leo Rivas will get the nod.
But that still leaves the question: who will man the hot corner in 2025?
The Winter Meetings could be the catalyst for the Mariners to make a trade. But there's still a chance Seattle could sign a free agent.
MLB.com's Manny Randhawa published a story exploring which free agent players could potentially jump ship to division rivals. And Houston Astros free agent Alex Bregman was included on the list.
Randhawa talked about the possibility of the two-time World Series champion staying in the American League West and joining the Mariners:
It’ll take some getting used to if Bregman is wearing any uniform other than the Astros’ next season, but there's at good chance that will happen, even with Houston's interest in bringing him back. After being an integral member of the core that brought the Astros the first two World Series titles in franchise history in 2017 and ’22, the veteran third baseman is on the market for the first time. One of the clubs that could really use an upgrade at the hot corner (and some more pop in the lineup overall)? The Mariners.
Last season, Seattle got a slash line of .213/.301/.341 from its third basemen. With a starting rotation that is young and one of the best in the Majors, the club is in need of more hitting, and Bregman, who has a career .848 OPS, would be a welcome boost to the lineup. He hasn’t been able to come close to replicating his big 2019 campaign, in which he finished runner-up in AL MVP voting, but he remains one of the best third basemen in the game.
Bregman finished 2024 with a .260 batting average to go with 26 home runs and 75 RBIs in 145 games played. He's hit at least 23 home runs in three consecutive seasons and has brought in at least 90 runs in two of the last three years.
This is the longest home run of Alex Bregman’s career at 441 feet! pic.twitter.com/ImwAbTJIjG
— Astros Future (@AstrosFuture) August 11, 2024
Bregman has a market value of roughly four years, $120 million ($30 million AAV) according to Spotrac. But recent reports have indicated that Bregman, who's represented by super-agent Scott Boras, could be in search for a deal in excess of $200 million for around six years.
That would be the biggest financial commitment made to a player in terms of annual money in President of Baseball Operation Jerry Dipoto's nine-year tenure with Seattle.
The Mariners have reportedly just $16 million to spend with their current payroll construction. Even if they managed to free up more money by offloading Mitch Haniger ($17.5 million) or Luis Castillo ($24.15 million), Bregman would still use up all the team's rumored available payroll.
Unless Seattle pulls a complete 180 on its mindset regarding free agency, or the payroll is larger than what's been reported, the possibility of Bregman signing with the Mariners is low.
But there's a decent chance he leaves the AL West entirely, which Seattle could also consider a win.
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