Cubs: Mariners closer Paul Sewald posts picture with Kris Bryant

As we all wait with bated breath with MLB and the player’s union in talks again today, it looks like former Cubs superstar Kris Bryant is enjoying a nice day with Mariners closer Paul Sewald – perhaps on the golf course.

Now, before you freak out and assume that means Bryant to Seattle is a foregone conclusion, there’s some information you should be aware of. Sewald and Bryant are both from Las Vegas and were teammates at the University of San Diego for two years, so you probably shouldn’t read too much into the picture.

Still, the Mariners have been mentioned constantly this winter as a potential landing spot for the former National League MVP. We talked about how he might want to team up with another longtime friend, Bryce Harper, in Philadelphia – but those same arguments could be applied to the Mariners if you buy into that line of thinking.

Seattle is looking to snap a postseason drought that dates back to 2001. They nearly pulled it off last season, outperforming expectations and projections en route to their first 90-win season since 2003. With one of the best farm systems in the league and a crop of young talent on the rise, Bryant could be a key piece to the puzzle at T-Mobile Park moving forward.

Sewald, for his part, played a major role in the bullpen last year in Seattle, making a career-high 62 appearances and working to a personal-best 3.06 ERA. He won’t hit free agency for several years so if Bryant wound up joining him as a member of the M’s, the two could be reunited for more than just this year, too. That’s not to say it’ll be a deciding factor as Bryant hears from interested suitors post-lockout, but it’s still worth taking note of.

To that point, the Mariners will not be the only team looking to add the three-time All-Star to their roster ahead of Opening Day. As I noted earlier today, the White Sox and Rockies have been linked to Bryant at various points this offseason – and this will be a big story for Cubs fans to keep an eye on once/if the labor dispute ever concludes.