Seattle Mariners welcome back Kyle Seager classic

This season the Seattle Mariners have been treated to the 2016 version of Kyle Seager. Where does he fit in the M’s rebuild?

Kyle Seager is back! Well, at least it sure looks like he is. He is reminding everyone of his 2016 version, back when he finished with a .279 average, 30 home runs and 99 RBI for the Seattle Mariners. Seager’s performance that season led to his 12^th finish in MVP voting.

This is the best thing any Seattle Mariners fan could have asked for from him. Since 2016 Seager’s batting average dropped dramatically, except for last year when he finished with a .239 BA (which was an improvement from his .221 BA the year prior).

Since 2016, Mariners Nation has not been satisfied with his production. They have all been waiting for him to get back to his All-Star form and status as one of the best third basemen in the Majors.

Is it a real revival?

Great question.

It’s a much better topic than what to do with the Seattle Mariners’ bullpen. This year is not going to be normal. It comes down to two months of regular season baseball.

Baseball history is rife with players and teams that can get hot for a two month or less stretch. Just look at the reigning champion Washington Nationals. The Nats were almost unbeatable in September and October last year.

Even though the season is short, it could easily go down as Kyle’s best. For comparison, here’s Kyle’s 2016 numbers and his current 2020 numbers. Counting numbers are meaningless, so these are the comps for batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS (on-base plus slugging).

Next: Page 2 – Playing up to the money

Avoiding negativity

It would be great to see Seager earn a second career All-Star nomination. There will be some doubters who will say that even if his numbers stay at their current level, it was only over two months. They believe there should be an asterisk next to them.

There have been plenty of players who look like All-Stars for a few months and then never heard from again (cough, Daniel Vogelbach). But let’s stay positive here.

This year has already been filled with enough negativity for area baseball fans. The COVID-19 pandemic continues, which limits 2020 Major League regular season to only 60 games. Closer to home, this year’s Seattle Mariners squad is more likely to lose more games than it wins.

Decisions to make

Seattle Mariners General Manager Jerry DiPoto now has to consider his options with his longest-tenured player. At this point, Seager is 32-years-old. He is closer to being one of the fans rather than playing in front of them.

Seager’s contract with the M’s is for this season and next. In 2021, he will once again be the team’s highest-paid player at $18.5M. The third baseman has a club option for 2022 that would pay him $15M if the M’s pick it up.

Dipoto said the plan is for the M’s to be competing in 2021 and 2022. Those would be the final two years of Seager’s current contract (again, if the Mariners pick up his option). So how does Kyle fit in with the M’s for the remainder of his contract?

Next: Page 3 – Stay or Go

How does Seager fit into the rebuild?

Coming into this season, most Seattle Mariners fans hoped that Kyle would return to form.  At that point, another team would come calling for his services and give DiPoto “an offer he couldn’t refuse.” That may still be the case, and I’ll talk about that more in a minute.

The left side of the infield could be in excellent hands if Seager stays. Seattle would have an All-Star at third and an ever-improving J.P. Crawford at short. Not to mention, fielding a strong defensive outfield with maybe Julio Rodriguez and Kyle Lewis behind them in left and center.

That’s an excellent left side of the field for a contending team! Maybe only the Astros would have as good of a left side in the next two years. Additionally, the quartet, along with Jarred Kelenic, would make for a very formidable start to the Mariners batting order.

Possible trade partners

The flip side is a Kyle Seager trade. If Kyle continues his production and play, he could bring back a good return. One thing to keep in mind is that if Seager is traded, the 2022 club option becomes a player option.

A more detailed discussion of trades is for another article. Some teams that might have interest in a 2016-esque Kyle Seager are Tampa, Milwaukee, Texas, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Perhaps a surprise team to consider would be Atlanta. They have a deep farm system and could use a complete third baseman. Austin Riley can mash the ball and is ok defensively. At the same time, Johan Camargo is better defensively but maybe not as powerful as Riley. Seager can hit well, with power and play gold glove defense.

The trade deadline is August 31^st. All Seager needs to do is to keep doing what he’s currently doing. As long as he keeps it up, both he and the Seattle Mariners are in a win-win situation. Something that doesn’t happen very often.

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