With Eugenio Suarez no longer with the Seattle Mariners, the team is said to be looking in the direction of free agent infielder Jeimer Candelario, per Jon Morosi of The MLB Network.
“Free agent Jeimer Candelario is among the Mariners’ options at third base, following the trade of Eugenio Suárez to the DBacks today,” Morosi shared on X (formerly Twitter).
Candelario most recently suited up for the Chicago Cubs in the 2023 MLB season, though, he started that campaign with the Washington Nationals, who sent him to the National League East Central team for DJ Herz and Kevin Made just before the trade deadline.
Jeimer Candelario to the Mariners?
Overall in 2023, Candelario hit .251 with a .336 OBP and .471 slugging percentage. He hit 22 home runs and 70 RBIs over 505 at-bats. Candelario, who will be turning 30 this Friday, can be viewed as a potential upgrade at the third base when comparing his 2023 numbers to that of Suarez's. Suarez had a down year in 2023. After hitting .236/.332/.459 and posting a 129 OPS+ in 2022, he went just 232/.323/.391 with a 101 OPS+ the following season, which turned out to be his last in Mariners uniform.
Suarez was dealt by the Mariners to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for catcher Seby Zavala and pitcher Carlos Vargas.
The Mariners, who were 11th in the big leagues in 2023 with a third base wRC+ of 102 and 16th with a .313 wOBA, are looking to shore up and improve their roster to bolster their chances of going back to the playoffs. After ending a long postseason drought in 2022, the Mariners missed the playoffs in 2023 with an 88-74 record.
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