Report: Mariners could trade Narvaez soon
The Seattle Mariners have shown a desire to move catcher Omar Narvaez and a deal could be completed soon, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Narvaez's name continues to pop up in trade talks amid a busy market for backstops this offseason, Passan adds.
The best two catchers available via free agency have recently found new homes. The Atlanta Braves signed Travis d'Arnaud on Sunday and the Chicago White Sox inked Yasmani Grandal to a lucrative multi-year deal last Thursday.
Narvaez posted a .813 OPS with 22 home runs across 132 games in 2019. However, he finished last in FanGraphs' defensive rating in the American League among catchers with at least 300 plate appearances.
The 27-year-old is arbitration-eligible through the 2022 season.
Seattle could name Tom Murphy its starting catcher should the team deal Narvaez. Murphy is still slated to make around the league minimum in 2020 as a pre-arbitration player.
The 28-year-old slashed .273/.324/.535 with 18 homers in 75 contests for the Mariners last season while playing significantly better defense than Narvaez. Murphy also finished with a 3.2 WAR in comparison to the incumbent's 1.8 mark.