Mariners Talking to Padres About Kevin Kouzmanoff?

With Adrian Beltre on the disabled list several reports have said that the Seattle Mariners are interested in Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff.

According to Corey Brock of MLB.com twitter page, the Padres have received little interest in Kouzmanoff so far, but as the market develops he thinks that will change.

For those who are wondering, the #Padres aren't getting many hits on Kouz as far as trades. That could change, but as of Sunday, quiet.

However, according to John Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, the Mariners and Padres have already begun preliminary talks on Kouzmanoff.

Kouzmanoff, 28, seems to be a good fit for the Mariners. Although he is only batting .230 he has shown some power with 11 homers and 42 RBI's. Another appeal for the Mariners is that Kouzmanoff is not scheduled to be a free agent until after the 2012 season. So if Adrian Beltre is unable to return to the team in 2010 Kouzmanoff could be a long-term replacement.

The Padres would definitely like to move Kouzmanoff if possible; it's believed that they prefer to move Chase Headley from left field back to third base, which is his natural position.

Another little interesting side point here by Morosi.

It's worth remembering that the Mariners and Padres share a spring training facility in Peoria, Ariz. As a result, San Diego GM Kevin Towers is familiar with many Seattle players - and vice versa. That has helped the teams strike deals in the past.

So in the end we'll have to see how this develops, but the Mariners are definitely one of the teams that has a clear cut need at third base, and Kouzmanoff is one of the best available. If they elected to go in another direction they could look at the Rockies Garrett Atkins or Ty Wigginton of the Baltimore Orioles, however, both have considerably larger contracts than Kouzmanoff.

For more MLB Daily Dish follow us on twitter at twitter.com/mlbdailydish