ORLANDO, Fla. – The staring contest between the Mariners and Jorge Polanco continued Tuesday with no clear conclusion in sight.
The Mariners have been open about their desire to bring back the switch-hitting veteran. It’s fair to say he’s their No. 1 priority right now.
Polanco was known to have enjoyed playing in Seattle the past two seasons. It’s fair to say re-signing with the Mariners is probably his No. 1 choice, all things being equal.
The holdup?
Polanco’s initial ask, sources say, was for a four-year contract. The Mariners are believed to have offered two years for the 32-year-old second baseman/designated hitter.
The Pirates have been aggressively pursuing offensive upgrades, and they have been linked to Polanco.
It’s possible the Pirates have a better offer on the table for him, at which point the question for Polanco becomes: Does he take the more money to play in Pittsburgh or take less to return to Seattle and play for a contender?
M’s remain patient
No moves appeared imminent for the Mariners on Tuesday afternoon, though club president Jerry Dipoto reiterated that the Mariners are in the market for another relief pitcher, in addition to a proven hitter.
“We would love to get a bat done tomorrow. We’d love to add a bullpen arm tomorrow,” Dipoto said. “But you can only move as fast as the market moves.”
With Kyle Schwarber (Phillies) and ex-M’s closer Edwin Diaz (Dodgers) agreeing to mega free-agent deals earlier Tuesday, the market could start to churn more by the end of the Winter Meetings on Wednesday.
“Things will start to move. It always does,” Dipoto said. “And I think the good thing for us is we just have fewer needs than we’ve had in recent years. And the fact that we were able to fill what was our biggest hole (re-signing Josh Naylor) and then a need that we thought was pretty crucial in the bullpen (trading for Jose Ferrer). We filled those roles. Now we can be a little bit more patient. Let it come to us.”
Latest on Donovan, Marte
The Mariners continue to have interest in St. Louis’ Brendan Donovan, a 28-year-old left-handed hitter who can play second base, third base or left field.
Donovan, like Polanco, would pair well with 22-year-old Cole Young in a job share at second base, with the veteran hitter in that scenario getting regular reps as the designated hitter.
The Cardinals are reportedly open to trading Donovan (projected to earn about $5 million in arbitration for 2026), but their new president of baseball operations, Chaim Bloom, is said to be methodically evaluating other teams’ farm system, and as such, a trade is not expected to happen this week.
Elsewhere, a blockbuster trade for Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte, the former Mariner, is seen as unlikely for Seattle.
The Mariners have monitored Marte’s market to gauge the asking price, but teams like the Red Sox and Blue Jays are viewed as more likely landing spots for Marte.
The Diamondbacks are seeking an “established, well-regarded starting pitcher, plus multiple other pieces” for Marte, The Arizona Republic reported.
Dipoto said this week he doesn’t envision trading any of the Mariners’ five main starting pitchers this offseason.
Eugenio Suárez linked to Red Sox
The Red Sox have had talks with former M’s third baseman Eugenio Suárez, The Boston Globe reported.
Suárez, 34, is seen as a fallback option if the Red Sox are unable to re-sign Alex Bregman, the top free-agent third baseman on the market.
The Cubs have also been linked to Suárez.
The Mariners are open to the idea of Suárez returning to Seattle on a short-term deal, likely to split time between third base, first base and DH. But that would likely only happen if the Mariners miss out on Polanco and Donovan.
A thin catching class
With Harry Ford now traded to the Nationals and Mitch Garver a free agent, the Mariners have lost their No. 2 and 3 catchers on their organizational depth chart.
There are no immediate internal options in their farm system to elevate to those spots.
“We’ll probably have to add multiple catchers to the organization,” Hollander said. “That’s a challenge. We knew it’s a challenge. We didn’t go into it eyes closed that we would need to do this if we made that trade.”
The Mariners would likely sign a catcher to an MLB deal and another to a minor-league contract with an invite to spring training and a guaranteed MLB salary if called up.
It isn’t a stellar class of free-agent catchers. Then again, most catchers get put into a backup role for a reason.
For pricing comparisons, Austin Hedges signed with the Guardians for a one-year, $4 million, and veteran James McCann signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the D-backs to be their backup.