Who Exactly is Kyle Seager?

Last week, you may have noticed that the Seattle Mariners signed another player to a $100 million deal. You ask yourself, who else deserves that type of money on the Mariners? They have Cano and Felix.

Well, there is a new $100 millionaire on the ballclub and his name is Kyle Seager. He reportedly has agreed to a 7-year deal worth $100 million and has an option for an 8^th year, according to Yahoo! Sports.

Seager is coming off a gold glove season in the field and has been consistent his whole career. He still is arbitration eligible, so this contract will avoid the arbitration years and this contract will kick in instead.

You still may be asking yourself, why Seager? What’s so special about him?

In 2014, Seager had his best season in his young career at the hot corner. He didn’t only get a gold glove and go to his first All Star game, but he also managed to hit .268, a career best, slug .454, and also hit 25 home runs to go along with 96 RBIs, all career highs.

Seager is quietly becoming a star in this league, but he flies way under the radar. Because All Star starter Josh Donaldson played for the rival A’s (now Blue Jays) , the Mariners third baseman gets a back seat which is unfair to Seager.

In his career, Seager has increased his BA, SLG%, OPS, HRs, and RBIs each season he has been in the majors. To go along with those increases, his WAR saw a 1.8 increase from 2013. What seemed to click this year with Kyle Seager was his fielding.

New manager Lloyd McClendon brought along Chris Woodward a former MLB infielder as the Mariners new infield coach. Woodward and Seager worked together very often and it truly showed on the field. In 2014, Seager won the gold glove at third base in the American League and had a fielding percentage of .981. His DRS also increased to 10 from -8 in 2013.

With the Mariners in a win now mode with Felix Hernandez and Robinson Cano under large deals, they needed to lock up their young star. Seager came up through the Mariners system and with GM Jack Zduriencik signing him to this deal, the Mariners will get Seager’s best years at a club-friendly price.

Because he is a homegrown talent, Kyle Seager is worth every penny of this deal. You don’t see too many players nowadays that play out most of their career with the same team. With Seattle signing Seager to this deal, they will now have 3 players worth $100 million or more and they could be adding another expensive piece if they sign or trade for a right handed outfield bat like they desperately need and have been rumored to do.

This is a deal the Mariners needed to make and they did so with a deal that is good for all parties involved. Now that they Mariners have locked up their young superstar, look for them to dip into the free agent market or make a trade.

Kyle Seager is a rising superstar and people should start to recognize.