How Bregman’s landing spot could determine who Mariners trade for

The Seattle Mariners’ offseason has been missing something: a big move.

Will there be one coming? Based on a recent report by MLB.com Mariners reporter Daniel Kramer, it seems the Mariners still intend on making some sort of splash for their lineup before the 2025 season. And that report also provided valuable insight on what that big move could be.

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Kramer’s report came in an article with the headline “Mariners in holding pattern with 3B market,” and the reason behind that is the fact that the top third baseman available in free agency, Alex Bregman, has yet to sign with a team.

The Mariners aren’t a player in the market for the former Astros star – Kramer writes that Bregman’s “hitting profile doesn’t align with their ballpark compared to Houston’s, and the fallout from the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal would not mesh well within a clubhouse that has become a division rival.” But some teams that Seattle has been rumored to have trade talks with are reportedly in the mix for Bregman.

And that’s where things get interesting.

If the Chicago Cubs were to land Bregman, it could make Gold Glove second baseman Nico Hoerner expendable. As things stand, Chicago’s trade of third baseman Isaac Paredes, who coincidentally has replaced Bregman in Houston, means Hoerner still has a lot of value in the Cubs’ infield. But if they got Bregman – with the hefty check that would come with it – it could heat talks about Hoerner back up between the Mariners and Cubs.

That’s not the only rumored Mariners trade target from earlier this offseason who Kramer mentioned in his article. Essentially the same situation exists with the Boston Red Sox, who have reportedly talked to the Mariners about first baseman Triston Casas.

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The other teams Kramer said are the key players for Bregman are Toronto and Detroit, and while the reporter didn’t mention All-Star Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette by name, that is a player who came up last season as a potential Mariners target and is worth monitoring. Kramer did mention some younger and/or less proven Blue Jays infielders than Bichette, including Bellevue native Addison Barger. Likely the worst Bregman landing spot of these four teams for the M’s would be the Tigers, who don’t have expendable infielders with a track record like the others.

Kramer has info on a few more teams Bregman could end up with and the potential trade avenues they could provide to the Mariners, as well as notes on where Seattle sits in the third base market in free agency, so I highly recommend giving his full article a read here.

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