Marcus Stroman isn't the only player recruiting star free agents to join his team this offseason.
In fact, if ex-Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant signs with the Mariners after MLB's lockout, it might be an inside job.
Mariners reliever Paul Sewald joined "Jake & Stacy" on 710 ESPN radio this week, where he said he's trying to get Bryant to sign with Seattle.
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Sewald and Bryant are good friends, both grew up in the Las Vegas area and were teammates in college.
“I convinced him to go to University of San Diego with me and play with me there,” Sewald said. “I am doing the best that I possibly can to get him to be a Seattle Mariner for the next few years.
"I'm not in charge of how much money he gets or what deal he takes. But I promise, I'm doing my best to be a middleman between him and the front office."
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Whether Sewald's recruiting makes a difference, the Mariners have been linked to Bryant this offseason and make sense as a possible fit.
Not only did the Mariners try to acquire Bryant at the trade deadline last summer, but they're looking to add a marquee player this winter to their collection of young talent.
Not to mention Las Vegas' proximity to Seattle, and Arizona — the Mariners' spring training home.
“We have a variety of different ways we can address our team,” Mariners president Jerry Dipoto said at the GM Meetings. “We are most interested in players who have the versatility to do a couple of different things, because it allows us to be creative in how we fill those gaps.
“But at the end of the day we want to improve our talent base, and we want to improve our run-scoring capability.”
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Free agency and all big-league transactions are frozen due to the lockout, but perhaps Sewald and Bryant will be teammates again in the near future.