Which Free Agent Should The Seattle Mariners Go After?

The MLB Draft commences June 5^th and runs through June 7^th.  With the end of the draft also comes the end of the necessity of teams to compensate player’s former teams a draft choice when signing  free agents.  Will the Seattle Mariners, who are desperately in need of a right handed power bat, look to the list of unsigned free agents in the next week or so?

Well, first of all, the best available still unsigned player wouldn’t cost the Mariners a compensatory pick anyway, as he is the Mariners’ own free agent, Kendrys Morales.  In 2013, Morales hit .277/.336/.449 with 23 HR’s and 80 RBI’s.  His lifetime .813 OPS would rank second on the current Mariners’ lineup, trailing only Robinson Cano’s .858.

The argument against Morales is that he can’t play the field, so you’re “only” getting a DH.  Well, he did play 31 games at 1B for the Mariners in 2013, and while he’s not good, he’s also not terrible.  His Rdrs/yr, or defensive runs saved above average per 1,200 innings, was only -9, so if he did play 1^st all year, he’d cost you about 1 ½ runs per month.

But, in reality “only” a DH with this kind of pop on a team so sorely in need of a bat is a good deal.  Morales could probably be signed for somewhere in the neighborhood of the $10M that Stephen Drew, another Scott Boras client, got a few weeks ago from the Boston Red Sox.  I’m not certain what the Mariners are waiting for, especially now that the Texas Rangers have lost Prince Fielder for the season to neck surgery, but I would sign Morales today, if not sooner.

After Morales, there aren’t that many decent free agents that fit into the Mariners lineup.  Catcher, 2B, and 3B seem set, with Mike Zunino, Cano, and Kyle Seager, respectively.  Nick Franklin seems to be slotting in at SS, as Brad Miller continues to struggle at the plate.  An upgrade at 1B would be nice, but there’re slim pickings in free agency, so Justin Smoak will have to suffice.  I like James Jones in CF and Michael Saunders is OK in RF.  LF could use an upgrade over Dustin Ackley, but free agency has a bunch of weak hitters, like Andres Torres and Juan Pierre, or washed up has beens like Rick Ankiel, Jeff Francour, and Jason Bay.

There’s only one clear free agent target and that’s Morales.  The Mariners should move quickly before he signs elsewhere following the draft.  That’s one week and counting.