Mariners talks with Nelson Cruz "on hold", team prioritizing elsewhere

Negotiations between the Seattle Mariners and free agent outfielder Nelson Cruz are currently "on hold", according to multiple league sources. One source believes that Cruz's camp was unwilling to come down enough in asking price, and that the two sides were not seeing eye to eye in negotiations. At this point, it seems as though the Mariners are beginning to focus on other priorities.

The Mariners have been looking at options on the starting pitching market, and a source indicates that they have "slowly been coming along" in their pursuit of Ervin Santana. With Hisashi Iwakuma out for 4-6 weeks due to a finger strain and top prospect Taijuan Walker dealing with some shoulder soreness at the beginning of spring training, the Mariners are likely to look at some free agent starters--Santana, Ubaldo Jimenez, or maybe Chris Capuano.

With Michael Saunders, Logan Morrison and Dustin Ackley currently slated to be the Mariners' starting outfielders, they have been looking at adding a top outfielder for most of the offseason. Franklin Gutierrez, who re-signed with the team on a one-year deal in December, will now miss the entire 2014 season due to gastrointestinal problems, furthering their motivation to add someone to the outfield mix.