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The Seattle Mariners need to improve the offensive production coming out of its infield. The team has been exploring free agent and trade scenarios to make it happen with hopes of returning to the Major League Baseball postseason in 2025.
In keeping its options open, Seattle is reportedly one of several teams that are monitoring the status of former Chicago White Sox infielder Yoan Moncada.
According to Cuban baseball insider and Baseball Writers Association of America member Francys Romero, the Mariners are among "more than five teams" that are interested in the one-time Southside standout.
The nine-year MLB veteran has played mostly third base in his big-league career, yet also was stationed at second base for the entirety of his 2017 and 2018 campaigns. Those are two positions where the Mariners could use an upgrade.
Josh Rojas saw the majority of time for Seattle at third base last season, hitting a paltry .225 with eight home runs. He is currently penciled in as the starter for 2025, according to FanGraphs.
Jorge Polanco was the Mariners primary starter at second base in 2024, but struggled with persistent knee pain and hit just .213. He will not return next season after the team declined their 2025 option on his contract.
Moncada is talented yet injury-prone. Once considered one of the rising stars in MLB, he provided reliable production in the middle of the White Sox lineup in the latter seasons of the last decade.
Many believed Moncada was on his way to breaking out as a superstar in 2019 when he logged career bests with a .315 batting average, 25 home runs, and 79 RBI.
After a sub-par season in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, he turned in a solid yet unspectacular 2021 by hitting .263 with 14 homers and 61 RBI.
However, that's where the injuries began for Moncada. In 2022, he missed nearly 60 games due to quad, hamstring, foot, and oblique injuries. The next season, he played in just 92 games due to a recurring back issue.
Last season, he played his fewest games (12) since his MLB-debut campaign with the Boston Red Sox in 2016 due to an adductor strain suffered in April.
After hitting 25 round-trippers in 2019, Moncada took the ball deep just 23 times since the end of the 2021 season.
The White Sox declined their $25 million team option to retain Moncada after the World Series ended, making him a free agent.
Still just 29 years old, Moncada was playing in the Premier12 Tournament as he sought to showcase his skills for interested MLB teams. The Premier12 is a tournament featuring the top 12 international teams against one another.
Representing his native Cuba, Moncada was forced from a game due to a hand injury on Thursday. However, X-rays were negative for a fracture, though he is expected to miss the remainder of the tournament.
Spotrac calculates Moncada's market value at $1.5 million on a one-year contract.
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