Blue Jays: Five players to consider signing who are not tied to a qualifying offer

Kyle Seager

While Blue Jays fans have been teased about the potential addition of Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez, if the front office is looking to keep the prospects within the organization but add a veteran third baseman, look no further than Kyle Seager.

Hitting free agency for the first time in his career, Seager has spent the past 11 years in the Seattle Mariners organization. During that time, the lefty-batter has amassed a .251/.321/.442 slash line through 1480 games with 242 home runs, 807 RBI, with a .763 OPS, producing 20+ home run seasons in almost every year he has played with the Mariners (besides his condensed rookie campaign and the COVID shortened 2020 season).

The Mariners decided not to exercise his $20 million dollar option and bought him out instead, which was not a surprise considering the writing seemed to be on the wall. While he does have the ability to hit the long ball, he did see a drop in the slash line this past year and now have Abraham Toro to take over in his place.

The Blue Jays should be interested in Seager for a few different reasons. The biggest one is his lefty power bat, which could bode well at the top of the lineup alongside George Springer, Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Teoscar Hernandez, all of whom are right-handed hitters. He also does have the ability to play third base, a known area that could be improved upon on the roster, however, he does seem to be trialing downwards defensively, evident by his -6 bDRS over the past two seasons at the hot corner.

For the right price, Seager does make sense to bring in to the Blue Jays organization but if they want to save some money, they could give Santiago Espinal or prospect Kevin Smith a shot this year, a move that didn’t work this past season with Cavan Biggio at third base. Espinal did have a great season so it wouldn’t be surprising if the Jays look to give him some more reps at the position, meaning Seager would be signing elsewhere.

If the price is right, look for the Blue Jays to take an extended look at the former Mariners’ third baseman this offseason.