Exercising Options: Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners may very well have the easiest decision to make of any team in baseball regarding their contract options for the 2013. The Mariners only have one player with an option year on his contract for next season, and that player is Miguel Olivo.

Signed to a two-year, $7 million contract with the Mariners, the soon-to-be 35-year-old Olivo has a $3.0 million club option for 2013 with a $750k buyout. With the emergence of John Jaso, the potential of Jesus Montero and the quick ascension of 2012 first-round draft pick Mike Zunino, Olivo appears the odd man out at catcher long before you delve into his numbers.

Let us look at the numbers nevertheless. The veteran catcher has caught two hundred eleven games for the M's the last two seasons despite hitting just .217/.243/.375 and putting up league average CS numbers. Among hitters with over eight hundred plate appearances since 2011, Olivo holds claim to the lowest OBP in baseball by more than 20 points (former teammate Yuniesky Betancourt is a distant second).

The Mariners may do well to hold on to impending free agents like Hishashi Iwakuma (and maybe even Oliver Perez), but they would be crazy not to eat the $750k required to get rid of Miguel Olivo.

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Will Miguel Olivo be a Seattle Mariner next season?

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