Talking Mariners Podcast: 3B names to watch, Seattle’s ‘untouchables’ and more

Here we are, the beginning of the not-so-offseason and no shortage of topics for this week’s episode of Talking Mariners.

Drayer: Offseason starts with surprise, Kikuchi elects free agency

The 45-minute baseball conversation begins with a wrap of the World Series. With an 88-win Atlanta team taking the prize, should Mariners fans dare to dream?

There’s a lot of work to be done before entertaining such thoughts, and how could a lockout impact that work? What do we expect to see in terms of a market unfolding with labor uncertainty? What about trades? What part will they play in the Mariners’ offseason and who are the untouchables?

Last week we discussed the Mariners’ areas of need and different approaches we could see Jerry Dipoto take in filling them. Third base was of particular interest and as promised, I give James “Boy Howdy” Osborn a few names to keep an eye on. We also take a look at a position that turned into an area of need this season for the Mariners and an internal candidate that could prove to be the long term answer.

Of course just when we thought the podcast was complete we were hit with the first surprise of the offseason as news came down that Yusei Kikuchi had become a free agent after declining his player option for 2022. We will address this further in the next podcast but I give some quick thoughts in the final minutes.

Listen to the full podcast at this link or in the audio player below, and keep an eye out here for new podcast episodes throughout the offseason. You can also listen at this link or in the video player at the top of this story.

Mariners Offseason Tracker: Keep up with moves, free agents and more