Mariners Moose Tracks, 12/23/22: Wil Myers, Tucker Barnhart, and Drew Smyly

Good morning everyone and happy Friday! Let’s delve into the latest.

In Mariners news...

• Ryan Divish and Larry Stone dropped another edition of the Extra Innings Podcast at The Seattle Times. It included some interesting insights on why the Mariners aren’t such an attractive destination for free agents (apparently the organization’s treatment of Félix, Seager, and Kendall Graveman has something to do with it) and why the team hasn’t been very active this winter on the free agent front (financial constraints from ownership, potentially).

Around the league...

• Michael Conforto is a free agent no longer, as the outfielder agreed to a two-year deal with the Giants, who appear to have quickly mended things with agent Scott Boras.
• Another potential Mariners right-handed bat option came off the board with Wil Myers agreeing to a one-year contract with Cincinnati.
• The Mets aren’t done making free agent splashes yet, as they agreed to a one-year deal with infielder Danny Mendick.
• The Cubs signed catcher Tucker Barnhart to a two-year contract. He will presumably split the role with Yan Gomes in 2023.
• Left-hander Drew Smyly is returning to the Cubs on a two-year deal of his own.
• In a minor trade, the White Sox acquired reliever Gregory Santos from the Giants.
• Former top prospect Jeter Downs was claimed off waivers by the Nationals, where he is more likely to find opportunities for at-bats.
• The other player recently DFA’d by the Red Sox, Eric Hosmer, was released by the organization. Meanwhile, his fellow 2015 Royals star Mike Moustakas was DFA’d yesterday by the Reds after Cincy signed 2022 Mariner Curt Casali.
• Of the Bryan Reynolds whispers we’ve heard, this might be one of the more encouraging ones for Seattle, seeing as they could headline a deal with Matt Brash and/or Emerson Hancock. I’d be wary of the Dodgers, though, who have both Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone to package in a deal. In the end, it will depend on who Pittsburgh happens to prefer (I wouldn’t bet on that being Seattle’s players).

• Dodgers right-hander Trevor Bauer had his suspension dropped to 194 games, effectively ending it immediately. The Dodgers have until January 6th to decide whether to keep him on the roster or to release him, though reports indicate they are likely to cut him.
• With 2022 coming to a close, Eno Sarris at The Athletic ranked the nastiest pitches of the season, with a few M’s arms getting honored. ($)
• Matt Monagan wrote about the slowly growing hub for baseball that is Cameroon and how the country fell in love with the sport.

Anders’ picks...

• Is this great...or just another IP grab? Or both?