Seattle Mariners General Manager Reaffirms Team's Need For First Baseman
The Seattle Mariners have been wrapped in rumors and reports since MLB Winter Meetings started.
The Mariners have been tied in trade rumors with the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. Most of the reports have been centered on potential deals involving veteran starting pitcher Luis Castillo.
Seattle has yet to make any major league acquisitions since the rumors started to pick up. Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto has openly expressed that first base, second base and third base are positions of need. But there's been various reports about how Seattle hopes to address those needs.
There's been various reports that the Mariners plan to improve the corner infield spots while handling second base in-house and others saying that the approach is flexible based on what's available to the team.
Hollander recently went on MLB Network Radio and clarified that the team is open to a variety of options while reaffirming there's still plans to add a first baseman to pair with Luke Raley:
"I think that we're open to a bunch of different combinations of options. I think we'd love to add some type of first base impact to go along with Luke Raley, who can also swing to the outfield. And then. the rest of the infield is flexible enough that we could add at second, we could add at third. We can do it in a variety of different ways. But I do think we'd like to add at first and then, if possible, one other spot on the infield."
"We're open to a bunch of different combinations."
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) December 15, 2024
Seattle fans await the #Mariners first big move of the offseason.
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Raley is coming off a career-best season where he played the most games of his career (137), hit the most home runs of his career (22) And brought in the most runs of his four-year stint in the majors (58). He also batted .243.
Luke Raley ties it up in Seattle! 🔱
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 15, 2024
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Despite Raley's career numbers, he struggled against left-handed pitchers. He hit just .189 with two home runs and four RBIs against southpaws in 2024.
Seattle still has options to explore, but as the offseason progresses, the Mariners' avenues to improvement will start to dwindle.
Which makes the next several weeks all the more critical for Seattle.
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