Should The Mets Pursue Free Agent 3B Kyle Seager?

It's no secret that the Mets have a glaring hole they must fill at third base next season.

And although he is not his younger brother, Corey Seager, or another sexy name such as Kris Bryant, there is an additional short-term option they can pursue in veteran third baseman Kyle Seager.

While Seager recently turned 34-years-old and produced a poor slash line of .212/.285/.438 last season, he also comes along with some pop, slugging 35 homers and driving in 101 RBIs in 2021 with the Seattle Mariners.

Seager was drafted by the Mariners in the third-round of the 2009 MLB Draft, and proceeded to spend all 11 seasons of his career in Seattle. However, the Mariners opted to decline his $20 million option for 2022, instead settling on a $2 million buyout.

And just like that, Seager is now looking for a new home for the first time since entering the league in 2011. 

So, why does he make sense for the Mets? Well, New York has two top prospect third basemen in Brett Baty and Mark Vientos who are nearing a call-up to the big-leagues within the next season or two.

On the same note, the Mets have lacked stability at the third base position since David Wright's spinal stenosis issues reemerged in 2016.

If the Mets are operating in both the short and long-term, they might be hesitant to block their young budding third basemen, and possibly, another top prospect in versatile infielder Ronny Mauricio.

But they need to fill their hole at third next year in some capacity, which is why they could potentially sign Seager to a cheap two-year deal worth $10 million AAV.

This would also help them better allocate their remaining assets elsewhere via re-signing Javier Báez, adding an outfielder in Starling Marte and signing a top starter.

Seager is a solid veteran stopgap option at the hot corner given his defense and power bat. He also played in the AL West while Mets new general manager Billy Eppler worked in the front office of the rival Los Angeles Angels from 2016-2020.

Once one of the Mets' prospects is ready, Vientos is the closest after finishing last season in Triple-A, Seager could shift to DH if the NL is granted one in 2022 following the new CBA agreement.

However, Eppler referenced one of his past mistakes with the Angels being that they gave out a lot of low AAV deals to short-term stopgap options to fill holes due to having a barren farm system. Not to mention, Steve Cohen said they cannot count on any of their top prospects next season.

But even still, if the Mets are going to spend big money, they can't necessarily do so at every position, which again, makes Seager a possible target.

Last season, J.D. Davis initially held the Mets' third base job before injuries and underperformance ultimately saw Jonathan Villar take his place.

The Mets could also re-sign Villar to be their short-term option at third, as opposed to Seager, but the lineup is in need of some new faces after a disappointing 2021 season offensively.

To be fair, Villar holds more versatility, brings speed and smashed 18 homers last year. The Mets also discovered how productive he can be out of the leadoff spot as well.

The Mets signed Villar to a one-year, $3.5 million deal last winter to serve as a bench piece, but he wound up carving out a much larger role. 

Villar is setup for a significant pay raise and if another team is willing to pay more for his services or offer more years than the Mets, they could still go after Seager, who would give them another right-handed power bat in the lineup next to Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor [switch hitter]. 

Seager has hit 242 homers, driven in 807 RBIs and holds a .763 OPS in his career as a big-leaguer. Beyond Seager, soon-to-be 33-year-old Eduardo Escobar could be an additional short-term candidate to play third base.

Escobar made $7.5 million last year and will likely be commanding bigger money as well, after slugging 28 homers and driving in 90 RBIs with a .786 OPS for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers in 2021.