According to Jeff Passon of Yahoo Sports, the Seattle Mariners have signed slugging third baseman Kyle Seager to a seven year extension worth $100 million with an option for the 8th year worth an estimated $20 million.
Seager will be paid about $14 million, which is an absolute steal for the Seattle Mariners. Seager is one of the top third baseman in all of baseball, hitting .268 with 25 home runs and an excellent glove to boot. Seager has never been on the disabled list, playing in 155 or more games in all three of his full seasons. Seager has proved that he can hit at Safeco field, so unlike other hitters. In fact, the third baseman hit .300 at home. Also, 16 of his 25 longballs came in the pitcher friendly Safeco FIeld. His ability to hit in Seattle is clearly a huge upside to the M's, as many hitters have suffered a power outage when arriving in Safeco Field. Kyle's 2014 season was an interesting one to say the least. In April, Seager was terrible, hitting just .225 with 5 home runs. Those 5 home runs also came in the last week of April. There had been talk of demotion in Seattle, but Seager then picked it up, hitting .276 in May, .309 in June, and .303 in July. Then he again began to drop off, hitting .245 and .235 in the last two months of the season. Seager, oddly enough, hit only .240 on the road in 2014.
Kyle Seager was drafted in 2009 out of the University of North Carolina, along with teammate Dustin Ackley. Ackley was seen as a better player than Seager when they came up, but those roles have clearly changed, as Seager has become one of the most productive players in baseball. 2015 was going to be the final year of Seagers contract, so the signing of an extension was seen as the best option for the M's. While Seager could bring back quite a bit in a trade, the Mariners seem like they would rather build around their young third baseman instead of trading away their talent. The Mariners are in a win now situation, and it seems that the signing of Seager had to happen.
A contract like Seagers does come with some risk of course. First of all, the Mariners are committing another $14 Million to their payroll that already harbors Felix Hernandez and Robinson Cano. Therefore, the M's may have more trouble signing big name costless agents this offseason with a limited payroll. The team needs to add more offense, and while Seager does provide a powerful bat, the Mariners need at least one more player in the middle of their lineup to make the playoffs. With the likes of Hanley Ramirez, Billy Butler and seemingly Pablo Sandoval off the board, the Mariners will now be interested in players like Nelson Cruz, Yasmani Tomas and Colby Rasmus. With their new contract obligations, the Mariners may not have the assets to sign these players. Also, there is always the fear of Seager getting injured or regressing. If Seager does not continue to be the player he has been, (although statistics suggest that he will) then the Mariners will have a rather large contract on their hands that they would look to move.
The Mariners are looking for their first playoff run since 2001. Kyle Seager is a dynamic part of the lineup in Seattle, and he will now be occupying the hot corner for the foreseeable future. The M's are all in. The upcoming Winter Meetings may decide the fate of this Seattle club. With so much up in the air, one thing is clear. The Mariners have an All Star, Gold Glove, slugging third baseman that will continue to provide upside to the M's for the next 7 years.