Daily Dose: Mad Money Mariners

The Mariners missed the playoffs by one game this past season, due in large part to the fact that it ranked in the bottom half of the league in a number of offensive categories.

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With an eye on a better fortune next season, Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik made two moves this week to ensure offense will be a little easier to come by in 2015. The Mariners officially announced a seven-year, $100 million extension with third baseman and middle-of-the-order hitter Kyle Seager on Tuesday -- not a free agent, of course, but a key piece to the offense in recent years -- and on Thursday the club introduced its newest addition, Nelson Cruz. The M's and Cruz agreed to a four-year, $57 million deal.

Zduriencik said Thursday's move was clearly made with an eye on run production.

“I don’t think it’s a secret that for the last few years we’ve been looking at offense,” Zduriencik said. “When you look at a young man that’s done the things he’s done in his career as well as what he’s done this past season, we’re ecstatic that he’s a member of our organization. Our main goal this offseason was to try and add a middle of the lineup hitter and we’ve accomplished that with Nelson Cruz.”

Cruz may not replicate the 40-homer, 108-RBI season he had in 2014, but he almost certainly represents a massive upgrade at designated hitter for the Mariners. In 152 games in which the M's had a designated hitter in their lineup, the team's DH batted a cumulative .190/.266/.301. For reference, Madison Bumgarner batted .258/.286/.470 this past season.

The move won't be so kind to Cruz, who now calls one of the tougher ballparks on power hitters home. Cruz never hit more than 33 homers while with the Rangers -- Arlington plays much like OPACY in regards to right-handed home-run hitters -- and only once did he eclipse the 30-homer mark. The 34-year-old likely isn't getting better as he ages, so a normalization from his outstanding 2014 season is in order.

That doesn't mean he won't still be valuable, as he'll still hit somewhere near Seager and Robinson Cano in the lineup and should have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs. But expecting a repeat of last year would be a mistake.

M's, Jays Swap Saunders, Happ

In a move that actually subtracted some offense from their 2015 squad, the Mariners dealt Michael Saunders to the Blue Jays for J.A. Happ Wednesday.

The deal creates some interesting excess for the M's while filling an important need for the Jays. In Saunders, the Jays add an everyday left fielder who batted .273/.341/.450 this past season while battling injuries that limited him to 78 games. Saunders is just two seasons removed from hitting 19 homers and stealing 21 bases, and the 28-year-old reached double digits in both categories in 2013 as well. Saunders won't be asked to do too much in an offense that recently added Josh Donaldson to its ranks, and if he can stay healthy he should be a good producer in the AL East.

Happ gets added to a rotation that already had a number of options prior to the trade. Ace Felix Hernandez and no. 2 Hisashi Iwakuma are locks for the rotation, and James Paxton, Chris Young, Roenis Elias, Taijuan Walker and Happ will be in contention for the other three spots. Happ may be flipped for more offensive help -- Zduriencik told reporters Thursday he'd already been called about the lefty's availability -- or the team may get even more aggressive and dangle top prospect Walker for a corner outfielder such as Justin Upton or Yoenis Cespedes. Either way, it appears the move was a precursor to another deal for the active Mariners.

Moss The Next To Go?

Speaking of active, few general managers have been more active than A's GM Billy Beane.

Fresh off trading Donaldson for a package including Brett Lawrie, word out of Cleveland is that Brandon Moss could be the next player on his way out of Oakland. Subtracting Moss after dealing Donaldson would leave the club without its two top offensive performers from a 2014 season in which it made the postseason.

What Beane would want in return for the 31-year-old is unclear. The club got two potential starters in the Donaldson deal, but both Sean Nolin and Kendall Graveman are unproven. Jon Lester will get big bucks from someone -- and soon -- and Jason Hammel is a free agent as well. Add in the fact that A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parker are still recovering from Tommy John surgery, and a starting pitcher -- of which the Indians have a few, and some interesting names to boot -- could interest Beane.

Of course, the A's are also said to be shopping Jeff Samardzija, and they recently inked designated hitter Billy Butler to a three-year, $30 million contract. So trying to figure out what Beane will do next is an exercise in futility.

Quick Hits: The Braves removed one more corner outfielder from the free agent market Wednesday when they signed Nick Markakis to a four-year, $44 million deal. Markakis is a Gold Glove right fielder to replace Jason Heyward, but the 31-year-old lacks the offensive upside of the departed Heyward ... On Upton, the other Braves outfielder seemingly on the way out the door, the Mariners aren't the only team linked to the 27-year-old. According to reports, the Orioles, Rangers and Padres are all involved in talks with the Braves for Upton. The Braves dealt Heyward for cost-controlled pitching, and it's assumed they would ask for more of the same for their All-Star left fielder ... Jon Lester is drawing heavy interest from at least four clubs, with the Cubs, Red Sox, Giants and Dodgers all in the mix, and a conclusion appears to be drawing closer. The Cubs reportedly have a sizeable offer on the table, but it's the Dodgers making an 11th-hour push for the southpaw ... If the Giants fail to land Lester, they may turn their attention to Ervin Santana. A return to the Royals or a new venture with the Red Sox also remain possibilities for Santana ... Another of the moving pieces connected to the Lester saga is a potential trade of Matt Kemp. The Dodgers could look to shed his salary if they commit big money to Lester, and the Padres are reportedly interested. Preliminary discussions between the two clubs have Yasmani Grandal as part of the package going to the Dodgers and LA eating some of Kemp's contract to facilitate a deal ... The Twins got into the game when they signed Torii Hunter to a one-year, $10.5 million deal. The 39-year-old will surely bring ... Something to the Twins' clubhouse ... Chase Headley, whose demand rose considerably when Pablo Sandoval signed with the Red Sox, is reported to have a four-year, $65 million offer in hand. The Marlins are said to be interested but not at that price, and it's unclear which team -- the Giants, Yankees and Indians have all been tied to Headley at points this winter -- made the rich offer to the third baseman ... The Rays' managerial search is down to two after Raul Ibanez withdrew his name from consideration for family reasons. Kevin Cash and Don Wakamatsu are the two remaining candidates for the position ... The Rangers re-signed Colby Lewis to a one-year, $4 million contract Thursday. Lewis' final numbers weren't pretty, but the 35-year-old had a 3.86 ERA in the season's second half to finish strong ... There was some thought that a potential chain reaction of Lester signing with the Dodgers could see Zack Greinke get traded, but the Dodgers have had no discussions on that subject. Such a move would equate to robbing Peter to pay Paul, an equation that wouldn't make much sense for a club set on contending in 2015.