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The offseason is upon us, and with it comes many conflicting reports. The first of those came this afternoon, regarding the Mariners and catcher Chris Iannetta:
Hear the #Mariners are closing in on a deal with veteran free-agent catcher Chris Iannetta.
— Bob Dutton (@TNT_Mariners) November 12, 2015
Maybe it changes soon, but I'm hearing Chris Iannetta has yet to receive an offer from the Mariners.
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) November 12, 2015
Though it remains to be seen how far along the sides are in negotiations, an industry source confirmed Wednesday that the Mariners were among the teams with legitimate interest in signing Iannetta. Sources also indicated that the Twins and Braves were involved in trying to sign the veteran catcher, but both of those teams filled their catching voids as Minnesota acquired John Ryan Murphy from the Yankees and the Braves re-signed A.J. Pierzynski.
Seattle is being aggressive in their pursuit of catching help, sources say. The team has reached out to express interest in Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who is also in talks with the Orioles. Other available options may include Alex Avila, Dioner Navarro, Brayan Pena and Geovany Soto, as it appears as though Jeff Mathis has not been on Seattle's radar to this point.
Iannetta's relationship with Mariners' general manager Jerry Dipoto may lead the sides to an agreement in the near future. Dipoto has worked in the front office for both of Iannetta's former teams, the Rockies and Angels, and has always seemed to strongly value the backstop.