Mariners likely not done after Garver addition, so what’s next?

The Seattle Mariners’ reported signing of slugging designated hitter Mitch Garver should help boost their lineup, but don’t take that to mean they’re done adding bats this offseason.

What’s the state of the Mariners’ lineup with Mitch Garver in the mix?

“Mitch Garver I am very sure is not going to be the last major league bat that they add before spring training,” MLB Network insider Jon Morosi told Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob on Tuesday. “It may not be tomorrow, but they’re going to add someone else.”

Who could that someone else be? There are a number of directions the M’s could go, but Morosi said bringing in Garver may signal what avenues are no longer open for Seattle.

“It may not necessarily be someone in the in the J.D. Martinez range, like we’ve talked about before, or Jorge Soler. And indeed, I would say that because it appears that Garver will be the everyday DH, the primary DH, that those types of bats are less likely,” he said.

Asked by co-host Dave Wyman why he was confident the Mariners will add at least one more hitter this offseason, Morosi dove into the possibility of the team trading one of their young starting pitchers like Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo.

“Just what I’ve heard about what their plans are, from the standpoint of the conversations they’ve had with agents and with other GMs,” Morosi responded. “What I’ve been told is, while they’ve been reluctant to give up Miller or Woo in in trades, they realize that to get a meaningful upgrade, especially someone like (Reds infielder) Jonathan India, you’re probably talking about (trading) a pitcher in that group more than likely if they go down that road.”

Should the Mariners decide to deal Miller or Woo, Morosi said they’re not being hurried by a ticking clock as far as the market goes.

“From what I can tell talking to people around the league, they know that what they have – which is pitching – is what the entire industry wants,” Morosi said of the M’s. “So when you have that, you’re not necessarily worried that if you pick up the phone and call someone on Jan. 15 and say, ‘Hey, how about Bryce Miller?’ that the answer on the other end is going to be, ‘No, too late. We’re not interested anymore.’ That’s not reality because of how many teams need pitching. … That interest that teams have in the Mariners’ young arms is there on Dec. 26, and Jan. 26, and Feb. 26 as well.”

Who are potential Seattle Mariners trade targets?

While Morosi initially mentioned India, the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year, as someone the Mariners could go after, he spent even more time talking about a different infielder from an NL Central team.

“Look at a team like Milwaukee, for example, they are potentially going to move a shortstop in (Willy) Adames,” he said. “And they’ve already indicated a willingness to move pitching, but if they do that, they need to get some young pitching back. I think that’s another place that I would look at, depending on where Adames might play if they were to get him in a trade. That’s the type of player, again, who I could see being a very natural fit in a bat-for-an-arm type of a trade.”

Adames hit 24 home runs and slashed .217/.310/.407 for a .717 OPS in 149 games in 2023, and the previous season had 31 homers with a .756 OPS in 139 games.

Asked who would be the best, realistic fit for the Mariners given where their budget and lineup sit after the Garver move, Adames was brought up again along with an All-Star from the Tampa Bay Rays.

“I am a big Willy Adames fan,” Morosi said. “Now, I realize his batting average was down this past year, I get it, but he was a 31-home run shortstop for the Brewers in 2022. And I realize (the Mariners) have a shortstop in J.P. Crawford, but Adames is someone that is very athletic, very versatile, and can impact your team in a lot of different ways. I just think that he is a run producer, he’s also a run scorer. Yes, he does strike out a little bit so that that does give me a bit of concern.

“I would say either Adames or my other co-top choice would be Yandy Díaz because he does the things the Mariners have been talking about wanting to address for a long time. … Very impressive with what Yandy can do to control the strike zone to drive in runs. We saw him at T-Mobile Park at the All-Star Game for a reason. So I would say Adames is probably a little bit of a lower-cost option in trade, or Díaz if they really want to go for the home run, because I think Yandy would make a tremendously positive impact right away on exactly what they need.”

MLB Network’s Jon Morosi joins Wyman and Bob weekly on Seattle Sports. Listen to Tuesday’s full conversation in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post.

More on the Mariners offseason

• Drayer: Digging into the reported Mitch Garver signing
• Mariners finalizing deal with slugger Mitch Garver, per reports
• What kind of bats could Seattle Mariners land if they trade Miller?
• Cal Raleigh: How Mariners’ new ‘offensive coordinator’ will help lineup
• Will Seattle Mariners trade a pitcher? Reports of interest pick up

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