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Good morning everybody! All remains quiet for the M’s on the hot stove, but we’ve got plenty of other news to dive into.
In Mariners news...
- The M’s have added one of their top 10 prospects to their 40-man to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Mariners have apparently added OF Alberto Rodríguez to the 40-man to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Alberto blossomed in the second half at Modesto, ending the season slugging .586 for the month of August. pic.twitter.com/qwJZ6UU3ss
— Lookout Landing (@LookoutLanding) November 18, 2021
- Jay Yencich at U.S.S. Mariner took a look at some bubble cases for the Mariners 40-man heading into the winter.
- The Mariners announced that Ichiro will be officially inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame on August 27.
- The M’s were linked to a couple of the free agent outfielders yesterday.
The Mariners continue showing interest in free agent outfielder Michael Conforto.
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) November 17, 2021
Mariners will also show interest in Seiya Suzuki when he is officially posted.
Around the league...
- Seiya Suzuki will officially be posted next week, for those wondering.
Superstar outfielder Seiya Suzuki will be posted to @MLB teams next week by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, source confirms. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 18, 2021
- Our good friend Matthew Roberson at the New York Daily News reports that the Yankees are not expected to be players for the big fish shortstops this offseason because the team has a lot of belief in top prospect Anthony Volpe and would rather spend their money elsewhere.
- Brandon Belt became the only player this year to accept the qualifying offer, returning to the Giants next year for one year and $18.4 million.
- Justin Verlander did not accept the qualifying offer, but will return to Houston anyway on a one-year deal worth $25 million. It sure is annoying that the M’s division rivals are making major moves right now.
- Robbie Ray of the Blue Jays and Corbin Burnes of the Brewers were named the Cy Young Award winners for 2021.
- Ryan Zimmerman is likely to return to baseball for the 2022 season, though the longtime Nationals infielder says he is still on the fence about it. It’s a little surprising that he would want to come back given that the Nats just entered a rebuild.