Seattle Mariners Reportedly "Likely" to Bring Back Justin Turner or Carlos Santana
The Seattle Mariners went into the offseason saying that they wanted to have a solid veteran presence on the 2025 roster.
Thus far, they appear serious about following through on that desire. According to Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, the M's appear "likely" to bring back one of Justin Turner or Carlos Santana, who each spent time recently with Seattle.
Turner and Santana are both free agents, and the Mariners have expressed interest in re-signing them — so much so that a reunion with one of them is considered a likelihood, multiple industry sources told The Times.
Clubhouse leadership is a priority for the Mariners this offseason, and they’ve turned to two familiar faces with hopes of filling that void: https://t.co/jfYPUXzQG2 pic.twitter.com/5SFxPwPJVj
— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) November 21, 2024
We heard back on Nov. 12 that the M's had already had talks with Turner's camp.
In 48 games with the Mariners after a trade from the Toronto Blue Jays this past season, he hit .264 with five homers, 24 RBI and a .363 on-base percentage. He helped the M's get to within one game of the playoffs.
For the season as a whole, he hit .259 with 11 homers. If he were to be back in 2025, he'd likely pair with Luke Raley as a first base platoon and would also serve as a DH option as Jude mentions.
Turner just finished the 16th year of his career with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Blue Jays and Mariners. He's a .285 lifetime hitter who helped the Dodgers win the World Series in 2020. He is about to turn 40 years old on Saturday.
As for Santana, he was an integral part of the M's making the playoffs in 2022 after a trade from Kansas City. He is known to be good friends with Julio Rodriguez as well. He just won a Gold Glove at first base with the Minnesota Twins, is a switch-hitter and provides more power than Turner at this point of their careers.
The 38-year-old Santana just finished his 15th year in the big leagues with the Cleveland franchise, the Royals, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Mariners, the Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers and Twins.
He hit .238 with 23 homers and 71 RBI this past season. With the M's, he hit 15 homers in 79 games.
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