Buster Olney of ESPN tweets this today:

SEA continues to look for big bat potential in a Lee deal, and 2 guys fit the description:Justin Smoak of TEX and Yonder Alonso of the Reds.

The Mariners have made it very public that they are interested in young and extremely talented players that will be Major League ready by 2012 since the core of their youth should be peaking around that season.

Smoak, 23, has already made the Major Leagues. It will take him time for him to completely mature as a Major League baseball player, but he has a bright future ahead. He’s currently hitting .208/.319/.366 with 8 home runs in 64 games this year.

Alonso, 23, is one of the Reds’ top prospects who plays mostly first base, but has spent some time in left field this season in the Minor Leagues. In 2010 he is hitting .259/.326/.387 with stints in Double-A and Triple-A.