By Adam Jude and Ryan Divish
Seattle Times staff reporters
LAS VEGAS — The Mariners do not plan to pursue a long-term deal with free agent Randy Arozarena, their 31-year-old All-Star left fielder who is expected to cash in on his career-best season with a $100-million contract this offseason.
In something of an unexpected twist, though, the Mariners do have interest in another slugging corner outfielder — Seiya Suzuki — with a profile quite similar to Arozarena.
Suzuki, 32, is a free agent after five years with the Chicago Cubs.
He had his best MLB season in 2026, hitting 26 homers with a 5.1 bWAR and an .841 OPS that would have ranked second on the Mariners this season, behind Arozarena’s .865. Suzuki also had his best defensive season in right field for the Cubs this year, posting a plus-7 fielding run value.
Related Mariners expect to be aggressive as offseason heats up at MLB GM Meetings
The Mariners did pursue signing Suzuki when he left Japan for MLB after the 2021 season — and Seattle wants to gauge if there is mutual interest this time around.
Suzuki signed a five-year, $85-million deal with the Cubs after the MLB lockout ended in March 2022.
He could command an even larger free-agent deal this offseason.
The Mariners did extend a one-year qualifying offer to Arozarena, worth $23.15 million for 2027. The Cubs also offered Suzuki a qualifying offer.
Both are expected to reject those offer to become free agents.
Arozarena is thought to prefer playing for a team on the East Coast, closer to his home in Tampa, Fla.
Interest in Japanese stars?
While the Mariners have interest in adding their first Japanese position player since signing outfielder Nori Aoki in 2016, sources indicate that they won’t be part of the growing market for the three Japanese players that have been posted by their respective teams in the Nippon Professional Baseball league.
Two of the posted players – Hiromi Itoh of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and Kaima Taira are both right-handed starting pitchers, which isn’t exactly a need for the Mariners.
But the headliner of the class is third baseball/left fielder Teruaki Sato of the Hanshin Tigers, who was one of the top sluggers in Japan last season.
In 143 games for Hanshin, Sato posted a .306./383/.609 slash line with four doubles, three triples, 39 homers, 106 RBI, 68 walks and 164 in 614 plate appearances.
On the surface, Sato, who turns 28 in March, would seem like a logical fit for the Mariners, who need a replacement for Arozarena in left field and an upgrade at third base.
But sources indicate the Mariners won’t enter the fray of what is expected to be a healthy bidding contest for Sato, who officially entered the posting system on Nov. 1.
Why?
From a baseball standpoint, Sato is considered a below-average defender at third base despite winning a NPB Gold Glove at third base in 2025. Most teams project him as a left fielder where at best he would be considered average. He is a better athlete than either Munetaka Murakami of the White Sox and Kazuma Okamoto of the Blue Jays, who were both posted last season.
But it’s his hitting profile that draws the largest concern. First, he’s a left-handed hitter, which the Mariners have an abundance of on their projected roster. He has also embraced the modern style of hitting permeating MLB, which includes trying to pull the ball in the air for power and valuing exit velocity with aggressive swings, even on borderline pitches. That of course leads to a fair amount of swing and miss and chase out of the strike zone. His 164 strikeouts were the most in Japan’s Central League this past season. His career 27% strikeout rate shows only minimal improvement over six professional seasons in Japan.
Multiple scouts believe Sato’s swing-and-miss issues and willingness to chase out of the zone will be worse than Murakami, who had a solid overall rookie season with the White Sox while showing some growing inefficiencies.
Murakami, who finished fourth in rookie of the year voting, smashed 35 homers but also struck out 196 times.
Could M’s make a play for Orioles SS?
Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson is the most intriguing name to emerge in trade rumors at the MLB GM Meetings this week. The 25-year-old shortstop on the surface is an ideal fit for the Mariners, who are moving on from J.P. Crawford after eight seasons at the position in Seattle.
The Orioles already moved on from franchise catcher Adley Rutschman — trading him to Boston at the August deadline — and the industry perception is Baltimore would be open to moving just about anyone on their roster for the right price.
The Mariners also have the sort of young, controllable pitching that could be attractive to the Orioles in a trade.
The AL Rookie of the Year in 2023, Henderson broke out as one of the game’s biggest stars in 2024, hitting 37 homers and posting an 8.8 bWAR season and finishing fourth in AL MVP voting.
His production has steadily declined in the past two years. He posted a 5.4 bWAR in 2025 and a 3.2 bWAR in 2026, when he hit .225 with 24 homers and a 101 OPS+ (where 100 represents league average).
One industry source described the perceived asking price for Henderson as “exorbitant,” and as such suggested likelihood of the Mariners meeting that price as very low.
It’s also worth noting that the Mariners and Orioles generally have not lined up on trade values over the last decade.
The two sides did come to an agreement on the Taylor Ward trade at August’s deadline — the Mariners acquired the left fielder for three relief pitchers — but that was the first trade of real significance between the M’s and O’s since January 2017, when Seattle sent outfielder Seth Smith to Baltimore for pitcher Yovani Gallardo.
Adam Jude:
ajude@seattletimes.com: Adam Jude is a Seattle Mariners beat writer at The Seattle Times. He previously covered UW Huskies football and the Seattle Seahawks for The Seattle Times.
Ryan Divish:
rdivish@seattletimes.com: Ryan Divish is a Mariners beat writer at The Seattle Times.
