Kyle Seager, Mariners Agree on New Contract: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction

The Mariners and Kyle Seager have agreed on a seven-year contract extension that will lock him up through the 2021 season. 

Continue for updates.

Wednesday, Dec. 3

Zduriencik, McClendon, Seager Comment on New Deal 

A day after Kyle Seager's new deal was officially announced, the Mariners held a press conference. GM Jack Zduriencik talked about the investment via the team's official Twitter account: 

Lloyd McClendon has sky-high expectations for the third basemen via Rebecca Hale of Mariners.com and the team:

Seager himself also commented on the deal:

Tuesday, Dec. 2

Mariners Confirm Seager Extension 

The Mariners confirmed Kyle Seager's extension today and GM Jack Zduriencik commented on the signing via their official website: 

"

Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jack Zduriencik announced today the club has signed third baseman Kyle Seager to a 7-year contract through the 2021 season with a club option for the 2022 season. Per club policy, terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

“This is a great day for the Seattle Mariners, our fans and the Seager family. As one of our homegrown players it is nice to know that he will remain with us for at least seven more seasons,” said Zduriencik. “Kyle has taken a step forward each season since joining the organization in 2009, and has turned into one of the premier third baseman in the game. He has exhibited class both on and off the field and is someone we are all extremely proud of. We are very pleased to announce this joint commitment by the Seattle Mariners and Kyle Seager as we strive toward our goal of winning a World Championship.”

"

Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors.com breaks down the financial details of the new deal:

Wednesday, Nov. 24

Seager Reportedly Signs $100M Extension with Mariners 

The best season of Kyle Seager's MLB career will apparently result in the Seattle Mariners third baseman being set for life. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reported Monday that the Mariners and Seager were finalizing a seven-year, $100 million contract extension, which Jon Heyman of CBS Sports confirmed was done:

Seager, 27, was arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter. The deal will allow Seattle to buy out the at-times contentious arbitration process and gain control of him for almost all of his prime years. Seattle has a club option for an eighth season at $20 million, a price it would likely have no problem paying if his ascent continues.   

An All-Star for the first time in 2014, Seager has emerged as one of baseball's best all-around third basemen. He hit .268/.334/.454 with 25 home runs and 96 RBI last season, setting career highs in each of those categories. Renowned for his defensive skills, Seager also added a Gold Glove and dwarfed his previous best in wins above replacement, via FanGraphs.

USA TODAY Sports

“He is the most efficient third baseman in the game today,” Mariners infield coach Chris Woodward told Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. “He has no wasted movement and he still constantly critiques himself even after plays he makes by telling me: ‘I should have taken a better angle, or I should have come to get that last hop.’ He has slowed down one of the most difficult positions on the field.”

Seager's defensive improvement helped hide some deficiencies elsewhere on the roster. Seattle finished 19th in FanGraphs' defensive runs saved metric despite Seager's efforts.

The one place Seattle will hope Seager improves as he matures is plate discipline. His walk rate of eight percent is only so-so, and it was nearly a 2 percent drop from 2013. If he's able to walk a little more and strike out a little less—his fan rate was a career-high 18 percent in 2014—then the Mariners may lock up baseball's best third baseman at a below-market cost.

Either way, this seems to be a fair price given the skyrocketing contract values on the open market.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter