The Seattle Mariners may need to solve a familiar winter problem: finding right-handed offense. They could be in the market for two right-handed bats, and one of them is supposed to be every bit as impactful as Randy Arozarena. That kind of help might not come from free agency, either, which leaves Jerry Dipoto looking hard at the trade market.
That search is not hopeless. Seattle has money to work with and a pile of trade chips, and there are a few right-handed hitters who could realistically be on the move this offseason.
Some fit the Mariners better than others, and a couple would force a tough decision on top prospects. One option, though, looks like a trap.
One name that keeps surfacing is Ronald Acuña Jr. The Braves star has already been part of speculative Mariners chatter, and the timing could be interesting now.
Since winning the NL MVP in 2023, he has dealt with injury and inconsistency, totaling 5.0 rWAR in 251 games over the last three seasons. But the upside is still obvious: in 2023 alone, Acuña produced 8.4 rWAR, hit 41 home runs and stole 73 bases.
At 28, with club options for 2027 and 2028, he remains young enough to project as a true star, even if his stock is no longer at its peak. Atlanta also needs starting pitching, which is one area where Seattle can actually make an aggressive pitch.
Hunter Goodman is another fit worth watching, even if the Mariners already have Cal Raleigh behind the plate. The better way to view Goodman is as a potential super-Mitch Garver, someone who could split time at catcher and also get regular DH at-bats.
Colorado reportedly wanted teams’ No. 1 prospects in summer talks, which would mean Kade Anderson or Ryan Sloan for Seattle. That’s a steep price, but Goodman has earned the attention.
He has hit 72 home runs over the last two seasons and posted an .843 OPS away from Coors Field. He’s 27 and under club control through 2029.
Miguel Vargas brings a different kind of appeal. Chicago is said to want help for its rotation, and that could line up with what Seattle has available.
Vargas is coming off an All-Star season and is controlled through 2029, which means he would likely be the toughest White Sox infielder to pry loose. Still, a season with 33 home runs, 22 stolen bases and a 134 OPS+ is the kind of production the Mariners would gladly plug into the lineup.
He isn’t a standout defender at third, but he is playable there, and Seattle could use an upgrade at the hot corner.
Then there’s Coby Mayo, who may be the most intriguing of the bunch. Isaac Paredes was an option to consider, but a Mariners-Astros deal feels unlikely, and Mayo offers a younger version of that same right-handed pull-power profile.
He also finished strong, sharpening his approach in the second half and posting a 145 wRC+. Mayo is only 24 and under club control through 2031, and Baltimore’s infield depth could make him available for a package built around a starting pitcher plus a little more.
Zach Neto is another possibility, and maybe a more realistic one than some of the other AL West names on the board. The Angels are in a transitional stretch, and FanSided’s Robert Murray has pointed to Neto as a winter trade candidate.
He just turned in a 118 OPS+ with 27 home runs and 24 stolen bases, and he’s under control through 2029. Seattle has the talent to pay the price, and the fit on the roster would be clean: move Colt Emerson to third base full-time.
The one player Seattle should be careful not to chase is Teoscar Hernández. There has been fresh buzz about the Dodgers possibly moving him this winter, and one rival executive told FanSided’s John Perroto, "I think the best you do in this case is maybe get salary relief and a depth starter or a low-leverage bullpen arm,". Perrotto also floated a one-for-one deal involving Carlos Vargas.
But the Mariners have already lived through this. Hernández was fine in Seattle in 2023, but the expectation was more than a 108 OPS+.
The split told the story: a .643 OPS at T-Mobile Park and an .830 OPS on the road. He said he never felt right at the plate when hitting in Seattle.
That was when he was 30 and coming off three excellent seasons in Toronto. Now he’s 34, coming off a 2026 season that produced only a 108 OPS+ and 16 home runs in 125 games.
Whatever version the Mariners would be buying now, it would not be his best.
In Other News...
Randy Arozarena Just Gave Mariners Fans Another Reason To Worry
Randy Arozarena is already giving Mariners fans something to watch this winter, and it has little to do with what he did in Seattle after arriving from Tampa Bay. The outfielder turned in a strong season and has positioned himself as one of the more attractive names in free agency, which is exactly why the Mariners are expected to keep the door open with a qualifying offer even as the larger question around his future starts to take shape.
Arozarena was back in Tampa Bay for the Rays recent pennant-clinching win, and the scene only added to the sense that this could get complicated for Seattle. Former teammate Junior Caminero sent a home run celebration in his direction, a reminder of how much history Arozarena still has there, and why the Mariners may have to brace for the possibility that this stop becomes a brief one. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Fans Have Every Reason To Fear This Payroll Lesson
Jim Bowdens latest comments land at a familiar pressure point for Mariners fans: the uneasy gap between a club that wants to contend and an ownership group that has long preached restraint. Bowden said some executives around the game are taking the success of small-market teams in October as proof that payroll does not need to keep climbing, a line of thinking that matters in Seattle because the Mariners have tried to thread the needle between developing talent and spending just enough to stay in the mix.
The concern gets sharper with the next Collective Bargaining Agreement looming, since Bowden also said two general managers have weighed lowering payroll depending on where a salary floor lands. John Stanton has made his preference clear in broad terms, favoring investment in younger players over bigger commitments to older stars, and Seattles payroll has stayed relatively flat even with recent increases. For a fan base that has heard plenty about sustainability, the fear is that the lesson being drawn around the league could make it harder, not easier, for the Mariners to push past the middle. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Old Trade Is Suddenly Stirring Up Value Debate Again
A trade that felt pretty straightforward at the time is getting another look now, because the Mariners December 2018 deal for Edwin Encarnacion has become part of a bigger value conversation again. Seattle got the veteran slugger for salary relief and a short burst of production, but the transaction has generally been remembered as one with limited long-term impact for the club.
What has renewed the interest is the way two of the names involved have resurfaced in the 2026 playoffs. Yandy Daz, one of the players included in that swap, has been a postseason standout, while Jake Bauers has also delivered big October value for another contender. For Mariners fans, it is the kind of old transaction that invites a fresh look at what was given up, what was gained, and how different a deal can look once the postseason spotlight hits. [Read more 🡒]