No one really knows if the Mariners are interested in bringing Adam Dunn to Seattle.  Word is that he wants to remain in the National League, on a team that he can play the outfield, and in a warm weather city.  Seattle has a tough time meeting that criteria, but we know GM Jack Zduriencik is shopping for bargains and Dunn could be one of the greatest bargains this offseason with the way the market is going.

This Washington Post article looks into it (emphasis mine):

Across baseball, Dunn’s reported asking price has left baseball executives — including those at 1500 S. Capitol St. — with their eyebrows just about raised up to their hairlines. Certainly you cannot fault Dunn for trying to name his price, but for the time being, he seems nowhere close to getting it. One agent I spoke with today said that “I think Dunn will get a max of $5 million per year. Anything more than that and I’d be surprised.”

Here’s the other factor in play: Will any A-list team make a run for Dunn?

Dunn’s value, one AL exec told me today, “will fluctuate based on who has a need… so you have to figure out, Does a big-money team need him?”

Perhaps it’s a bit premature to answer, only because Dunn could well remain unemployed until Manny Ramirez signs somewhere. Indeed, Dunn’s true value might not emerge until the losers in the Manny sweepstakes determine how badly they want a 40-HR fallback option. But for now, I feel comfortable saying that no big market team seems like a true, head-over-heels suitor for Dunn. That’s why Dunn just might end up in Washington, the one team that unequivocally wants the guy.

The author, Chico Harlan, goes on to briefly mention the Mariners as a potential suitor after talking to other beat writers and some baseball executives:

MARINERS — They are, at best, a dark horse. I’m getting the impression they’d look at Dunn only if he was a Filene’s-type bargain, maybe two years, $10 million.

I would expect Seattle to go a bit higher than that (which would still make him a bargain), just as I would expect Dunn to require much more than that to play in the American League when he could get a similar or better deal from a team like the Nationals.

It could be interesting to see what happens with him.