Seattle Mariners Rumors: New Center Fielder In Place, Austin Jackson Trade Coming?

Seattle Mariners rumors confirm a new center fielder may be in place. This could mean a Mariners trade of Austin Jackson won’t be too far behind. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the San Francisco Giants may be very interested in the veteran outfielder. As for what is taking place in the short-term, the Mariners have Brad Miller playing center field on Wednesday (August 26).

Putting Miller in center field is a concerted effort to not only get him in the active lineup, but to see how he can do at the position. Since getting called up from Triple-A Tacoma, Ketel Marte has been playing a lot at shortstop, taking away opportunities from Miller. With Marte currently posting a .333 batting average and doing well from the leadoff spot, Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon has no reason to move back to Miller.

There have been numerous Seattle Mariners rumors about Brad Miller this season, beginning with Chris Taylor trying to take his job earlier in the season. Miller out-played Taylor by quite a bit, but hasn’t brought a consistency on defense that the coaching staff was pleased with. That has led to the team playing Miller in the outfield, with 62 innings of left field work, 16 innings in right field, and six inning in center field entering play on Wednesday.

At just 25 years old, Brad Miller still has a lot of baseball left in his career. He is also under team control for four more seasons, showing that he could have a lot of value to the franchise. If the coaching staff for the Mariners can get him to be good in the outfield, it will give the team more flexibility as it tries to re-tool for the 2016 MLB season. While his .725 OPS isn’t setting the world on fire, it certainly is better than many players the Mariners have tried in the outfield.

With Austin Jackson set to be a free agent in the offseason and the Mariners with no top-notch outfield prospects ready to take over in center field, the smart move is to see if Miller could become a full-time option. With the team nearly eliminated from postseason contention, there is also nothing to lose by giving him this opportunity. Even if an Austin Jackson trade doesn’t materialize, getting Miller work in the outfield helps in the long-run, no matter how any other Seattle Mariners rumors play out.

[Image Source: Denis Poroy/Getty Images]