The Seattle Mariners have some cleanup to do after team president Kevin Mather’s private remarks to the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club surfaced online.
Mather made a handful of interesting admissions during his remarks, which had quietly been uploaded to YouTube before ultimately being discovered late Saturday. Among them was the statement that longtime third baseman Kyle Seager was not expected to remain with the Mariners beyond 2021. The third baseman has a team option for 2022, so he could be retained at that price if the organization wanted to keep him.
“Kyle Seager, this is probably his last season as a Mariner,” Mather said, via a transcript of the remarks by Grant Bronsdon and Kate Preusser of Lookout Landing.
Later in the remarks, Mather said that Seager was “probably overpaid” before praising him for his attitude and leadership in the clubhouse. The third baseman is due to make $18.5 million in 2021, with the 2022 team option worth $15 million.
Seager’s wife Julie certainly took notice of Mather’s remarks, and based on the tweet she sent, this came as news to her.
It’s not a huge surprise to hear the admission that Seager probably won’t be back in 2022. Still, no players want to find that out from audio of a private speech to someone else, and they certainly wouldn’t want their family to find out that way either.
This certainly creates an awkward situation between Seager and the Mariners, but the rest of Mather’s remarks may end up being even more problematic for the organization.
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