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The Mariners are looking at free agent first baseman Carlos Santana as a possible addition, sources told Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
However, Morosi says the Mariners and Santana have not had any “substantial talks” yet.
Since All-Star first baseman Yonder Alonso and Danny Valencia are free agents this season, the Mariners are hoping to address one of their big needs this offseason by getting a quality player at the position. Last year, they used these two plus Danny Espinosa, Dan Vogelbach, Mike Freeman at first.
Santana could fit the bill after what he did for the AL Central champion Indians last year and throughout his career.
The 31-year-old Santana is coming off a season in which he hit 23 home runs, had 79 RBI and a 3.4 WAR while slashing .259/.363/.455. In his eight years with the Tribe, Santana has played over 143 games in seven of those seasons and has slashed .249/.365/.445.
Along with Alonso, Santana is in a pool of first basemen that includes Eric Hosmer, Logan Morrison, Lucas Duda, Mark Reynolds, Mitch Moreland and Mike Napoli. The Indians extended the $17.4 million qualifying offer to Santana last week, and he has until Thursday to decide whether or not he picks it up.