It would have been a complicated and strenuous process to finagle an affordable deal for Matt Wieters with his agent, and long time money-grubber, Scott Boras, but it could’ve happened.
Before the Mariners traded for veteran catcher, Carlos Ruiz, who has been established as the backup to Mike Zunino, the Mariners had the option to negotiate a deal for the four-time all-star in Wieters but opted to put all their eggs in the Zunino the basket as the team’s long-term answer instead.
In fairness to Zunino -who was originally the third overall pick in the 2012 draft- the Mariners would’ve had to work something out with his camp to get him to a place where he wants to be as a way of thanking him for his long-term commitment to the club, before working on a deal with the long-time Oriole catcher.