The Seattle Mariners‘ strange quest for a shortstop continues.
On the surface, adding a shortstop would make sense. J.P. Crawford may be a league average bat, but his defense does not always grade out well despite his Gold Glove award in 2020. He would be a candidate to shift over to second, allowing the Mariners to get an upgrade, both defensively and offensively, at short.
Seattle Mariners want shortstop but not for short
That is not the case. The Mariners are determined to keep Crawford at short no matter what logic may dictate. However, their quest for a shortstop continues, as the Mariners would “greatly prefer” to land another shortstop to play second base.
There are several top shortstops that could be available on the open market. Carlos Correa, Dansby Swanson, Xander Bogaerts, and Trea Turner are all expected to be available. And the Mariners are more than willing to spend even more money if it means bringing the franchise’s first championship home.
At the same time, there are several teams with holes at short that would be interested in these players. The odds that one of the top four options at the position would be willing to move to second as Trevor Story and Marcus Semien did last year are long. After all, with all of the openings at short around the league, why would they want to change positions?
For the Mariners, such a quest makes sense this offseason. Jean Segura is the top option available at second and it is difficult to see a reunion between the two. In the end, their best option might be to attempt to trade for a player such as Ha-Seong Kim as it seems unlikely that the Mariners will find their upgrade otherwise.
The Seattle Mariners want to add a shortstop to play second base. It is difficult to see any of the top options agreeing to change positions.