Cruz among 8 Mariners to hit free agency

SEATTLE -- With the World Series ending on Sunday, Major League Baseball's free agency began on Monday morning and eight Mariners -- including designated hitter Nelson Cruz -- are among the players now on the open market.
Teams have a five-day window to negotiate exclusively with their own free agents before the eligible players are able to sign with any club starting on Friday.
Cruz looms as the Mariners' biggest decision. The 38-year-old slugger has hit more home runs than any player in the Majors over the past five years, but he is now a free agent after his four-year, $57 million contract with the club expired.
Other Mariners hitting free agency are utility players Gordon Beckham and Andrew Romine, outfielder Cameron Maybin and relievers David Phelps, Adam Warren and Zach Duke.
Denard Span made it eight Mariners free agents after the club declined his $12 million option for 2019, instead preferring a $4 million buyout with the possibility of signing the outfielder at a lower price.
Teams have until 2 p.m. PT on Friday to make qualifying offers to their free agents. The Mariners won't extend any qualifying offers -- which is determined by taking the average of the game's 125 highest-paid players -- given that figure will be $17.9 million.

Cruz would be the one who the club might consider for a qualifying offer, but he is ineligible under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement since he's already received previous qualifying offers from the Rangers and Orioles.
Cruz finished eighth in the American League with 37 home runs and ninth in RBIs with 97, while posting a .256/.342/.509 line in 144 games this past season.
Cruz indicated he'd be interested in returning to Seattle at the end of the year, and the Mariners love the presence he's brought both in their lineup and clubhouse over the past four seasons, but both sides acknowledged it's a business.
"We all know and love Nelson," general manager Jerry Dipoto said shortly after the season ended. "We have to consider what comes next, and the different creative ways that a roster might come together. But we'll never close the door on considering anything up to and including bringing him back. I think Nelly would like to be back, but I'm sure that he is considering his options as well."
If they don't re-sign Cruz, the Mariners would likely go with more of a rotation to fill the DH position. That would open the potential to use Robinson Canó more in that spot, or potentially Ryon Healy or other position players, while also freeing up some money to pursue other needs.
Besides age, the only downside to Cruz is his inability to play a position, and Dipoto indicated at season's end that was a factor.
"It does limit flexibility," Dipoto said. "The DH only with an eight-man bullpen most of the season does present its challenges. But when the DH only is one of your most productive offensive players and one of the most consistently-productive offensive players in the league, it's a little easier to bear.
"Nelson Cruz is a winning player. He's a championship type player. We've not yet determined how we want to look at our DH role and what we want our [pitching] staff to look like next year. Those are conversations that are ongoing. But clearly if we were committed to going back with the DH only, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation right now. We'd have taken care of it much earlier than this."