Former Brewers OF/1B Corey Hart reportedly signs 1-year deal with Seattle Mariners
By Brad Rowland
At his peak, former Milwaukee Brewers outfielder/1st baseman Corey Hart was one of the most prolific power hitters in baseball. Now, he’ll have a chance to return to that level with a new team.
corey hart is headed for #mariners, according to sources. 1 year deal. will likely bat behind cano.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 11, 2013
Jon Heyman of CBS reports that the Mariners have inked Hart to a 1-year deal (terms undisclosed) to either play outfield or first base for the club next season. Hart missed all of the 2013 campaign as a result of various knee troubles, but prior to that, he was a very, very productive power bat for Milwaukee.
The 31-year-old Hart posted 3 straight seasons (2010 through 2012) with 25+ home runs, and he’s been a 3+ fWAR player 3 different times in his career with the Brewers. Moving to Seattle (and Safeco Field) won’t help his power production on the surface, but Seattle is clearly invested in power at this stage (see Cano, Robinson), and it looks like they’ve gotten some lineup protection for their big free agent signing.
It’ll be very interesting to see what kind of money Hart receives on this short-term deal, but if he can perform this year, his big pay day could be just 12 months away.