The baseball free gent market still contains a lot of serviceable names, but the hot stove has cooled off considerably in January. Two of the more discussed names, outside of starting pitchers, have been Nelson Cruz and Fernando Rodney and both are apparently still on the radar of the Seattle Mariners.
Per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:
"The Seattle Mariners suddenly are back in business, showing strong interest in free-agent outfielder Nelson Cruz and closer Fernando Rodney, according to major-league sources.Cruz, Rodney and new Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano were teammates last spring during the Dominican Republic’s march to the World Baseball Classic title. Cruz would be a formidable right-handed complement to Cano. Rodney, who also is drawing interest from the New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles, according to sources, would give the Mariners a proven ninth-inning option."
Seattle has been eyeing Cruz since before they signed Robinson Cano to a giant contract and despite saying the needle was breaking on the salary meter, they seem to still be going after names on the market.
Cruz will be the harder of the two to sign, but Seattle looks determined to find a way to make it all work.