Seattle Mariners working on a trade for Adam Lind
On Wednesday morning Ken Rosenthal reported that the Seattle Mariners were nearing a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers to acquire Adam Lind.
Source: #Mariners close to acquiring Lind from #Brewers. Substantial progress late last night, per @jonmorosi.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 9, 2015
The 32-year-old Lind will be entering his eleventh major league season in 2016. His first nine years were spent in Toronto, but they dealt him to the Brewers last offseason in a trade for Marco Estrada. This season is the final year of Lind’s current contract, and he will make $8 million.
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This past season Lind hit .277/.360/.460 to go along with 20 HR and 87 RBI. During the season he struggled against left handed pitching (.575 OPS), but excelled against righties (.820 OPS). His 2.2 fWAR was good enough for fourteenth among qualified first basemen. Over the past three seasons he has proven himself to be a productive offensive player who could provide a boost to a team with a desperate need at this position.
The Mariners have been very active this offseason, and their moves have opened up a spot at first. Their starting first basemen from a year ago, Logan Morrison, was traded to the Rays this November in the deal that brought back Nate Karns. Presumable backup Mark Trumbo was also dealt this offseason to the Orioles for Steve Clevenger. Jesus Montero spent 27 games at first last season, but given his offensive production it is unlikely that he is a long-term solution.
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The Mariners are hoping to bounce back after a disappointing 2015. Before the season a number of writers picked the Mariners to win the World Series. However, they finished the year 76-86, and production at first base was a big problem all season. Mariners first basemen finished 28th in baseball with a wRC+ of 88. They were 29th in OBP, 27th in SLG, and accumulated the third fewest fWAR (-0.7) of any team. Clearly this is a position Jerry Dipoto would like to upgrade, and Lind would be a great addition to that end.