Seager's option to be declined by M's

*Photo from Forbes*

   There isn't much sand left to fall to the other side of the hourglass for an icon of the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners are set to decline the $20 million team option for the 2022 season on longtime 3B Kyle Seager, making him a free agent, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.

   Mariners assistant GM Justin Hollander reportedly told Seager his option was getting declined over email. Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto had first notified Seager's agent at Jet Sports. Seager got the notification from Hollander, as earlier in the season, he had said that he and Dipoto hadn't spoken for years. Seager will be payed $2 million as a buyout and will become a free agent.

   One hallmark of the 11 years Seager has been in the league, whether it was strong or weak performance, was his durability. In 9 of the 11 seasons Seager has been in the league, he has played in at least 150 games. The only two seasons in which he didn't were his rookie season in 2011 and his 2019 season, when he didn't play until May due to hand surgery. This does not count the short 2020 season, when he played all 60 games for the Mariners.

   Last season, potentially his last with the Mariners, Seager hit to a .212 average and posted a .723 OPS, hitting 35 homers and posting 101 RBI's, drawing 59 walks and recording 3 stolen bases, playing in 159 regular season games, playing in all but 3 games total. His 35 home runs and 101 RBI are career highs in a single season for Seager.

   In his 11 big league seasons, all with the Mariners, Seager has a lifetime .251 batting average, with a .763 OPS, mashing 242 home runs and posting 807 career RBI's, drawing 533 walks in 1,480 games played for Seattle. Seager was an all star in 2014, a 25 home run and 96 RBI season, the only time Seager has made an all star game. He also took home a gold glove that season.

   Seager could still return to the Mariners, but it would be at a cost much lower than his $20 million option for 2022. It also seems unlikely given that he received a loud and emotional sendoff on the final game of the regular season from the Seattle crowd. Seager could retire, or he could sign with a different team, potentially with his brother Corey Seager, who is also a free agent this offseason after his contract with the Dodgers expires, a few days after the world series ends.