As the Winter Meetings begin on Sunday night, the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays reportedly are both interested in acquiring the same bat.
Per Jon Morosi of MLB Network:
Isaac Paredes is one name to watch on the trade market this week. He’s arbitration-eligible, which means the Rays will listen on him. He’s of interest to the Mariners and Blue Jays, among other teams.
First off, it's understandable why Paredes is desirable on the trade market. He's only 24 years old and is under team control through 2027. For those same reasons, the Rays may be interested in keeping him and there's no indication that any deals are close - or that the Rays are even interested in moving him.
For Seattle, the interest is completely justified. The Mariners missed the playoffs by 1.0 game in 2023 and are looking to return to the playoffs. Already starved for offense, they've lost Teoscar Hernandez and Eugenio Suarez this offseason. Paredes hit .250 in 2023 with 31 homers and would represent a nice power source that could go a long way towards replacing those bats.
For Toronto, the speculated interest is a continuation of what we've seen this offseason. They are reportedly a finalist for Shohei Ohtani and have checked in on the availability of Juan Soto. They seem to be interested in offense everywhere as a way to compliment a lineup that already features Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.
The Blue Jays made the playoffs in 2023 but were eliminated in the wild card round.
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