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Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles still considering outfield options

By Aaron Somers

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Both the Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles have been in search of another outfielder, focusing mostly on the free agent market but watching as the options continue to come off the table. Seattle’s already added Nelson Cruz, but following their trade of Michael Saunders they seem intent on adding someone who can slide over and play right field. Baltimore has internal options even after losing Cruz and Nick Markakis, but that’s a lot of offense to try and makeup with guys who were more bench/role players this past season.

Each club had been linked to Melky Cabrera to varying degrees, with the Mariners known to have serious interest. With him signing with the Chicago White Sox early Sunday that took yet another option out of the mix. There are still options available, both free agents and potential trade targets, but the quality and cost continues to vary.

If rumors are to be believed, Seattle could turn their attention to Dayan Viciedo – who appears to be available now that Chicago has signed Cabrera. The White Sox will likely head into the season with an outfield alignment consisting of Avisail Garcia, Adam Eaton, and Cabrera with Jordan Danks serving as depth. Viciedo hasn’t fully lived up to expectations since signing with the White Sox in 2008 and that lack of performance likely makes him available on the trade market for a reasonable cost.

Viciedo is a career .254/.298/.424 hitter over parts of the past five seasons, adding 66 home runs and driving in 211 runs. He’ll average 24 doubles and 22 home runs, but he’s a limited defender without great range in the outfield and he’ll strike out 130 times a year. He’s projected to earn $4.4 million this season in his first pass through arbitration. The 25 year old will be under team control for the next three seasons.

Seattle also could take a look at Alex Rios, according to Bob Dutton at the Tacoma News Tribune. Rios hit .280/.311/.398 in 521 plate appearances this past season and is a .278/.323/.439 hitter for his career. The 33 year old has yet to develop much of a market this offseason and could be had on a seemingly reasonable deal.

Baltimore, meanwhile, has yet to be linked to either Viciedo or Rios but neither should be ruled out as an option. The Orioles have instead been focused on Marlon Byrd and Colby Rasmus, according to reports.

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The Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies briefly discussed a trade for Byrd, but talks seemed to stall once the Phillies tried to lump Ryan Howard into a deal. It’s unclear if the two sides will re-engage in talks surrounding Byrd. The 37 year old hit .264/.312/.445 in 2014, with a career high 25 home runs. Byrd is under contract for 2015 for $8 million and his contract contains a vesting option for 2016 for another $8 million. The option vests with 600 plate appearances in 2015 or 1,100 combined between 2014 and 2015 (i.e. he’ll need about 500 PA this coming season to trigger it).

Colby Rasmus has also been linked to the Orioles, with Peter Gammons Tweeting that the team was approached about a potential one year deal with the outfielder.  Rasmus, 28, is coming off a down year in which he hit just .225/.287/.448 with 21 doubles and 18 home runs for the Toronto Blue Jays. The numbers he’s posted over his career are overall better than Viciedo’s, despite a higher strikeout rate, and he has the ability to handle all three outfield positions which boosts his appeal to some degree. Rasmus has also been linked loosely to the Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs.

Both the Mariners and Orioles will likely continue looking for outfield options this offseason and presumably they’ll each add at least one option before Spring Training arrives.

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