The Mariners have been more focused on the trade market than free agency this winter, adding Kolten Wong from the Brewers and Teoscar Hernandez from the Blue Jays, and while there’s additions still to be made, Corey Brock of The Athletic reports that it’s unlikely they’ll add significant piece through free agency. With that being said, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times relays that Jerry Dipoto would ideally like to add one or two bats, including a right-handed corner outfielder, or a corner infielder.
“We’d like to find one more bat … maybe two,” Dipoto said. “We’re open to doing it, but we’re also perfectly happy to go with what we have.”
Starting with the outfield, Hernandez and Julio Rodriguez will occupy two of the spots, but a change in left could be possible. Mitch Haniger recently signed with the Giants on a three-year, $43.5MM deal, while Jesse Winker was dealt to the Brewers. They’ve currently got former top prospect Jarred Kelenic penciled in to handle left, but he’s struggled to hit big league pitching. Taylor Trammell is another young option, but he too has struggled to hit in the big leagues. Both Kelenic and Trammell are left handers. It’s possible the Mariners could look to trade one or both of those two names to acquire a corner outfielder, and both are certainly still young enough that teams will have interest in trying to extract their upside.
There’s a few directions the Mariners could go in the the corner spot and it’s hard to know where to draw the line at what constitutes a “significant piece” when it comes to free agency. Aaron Judge is obviously the best outfielder available, with the next best right-handed option probably being Trey Mancini. Other options could include a shorter-term, veteran such as Andrew McCutchen or AJ Pollock. Alternatively, the team could turn to the trade market. Bryan Reynolds handed in a trade request over the weekend, and while he’s a switch-hitter and not a pure right-hander, he grades out well in left and the Mariners have had previous interest in the Pirate.
The infield appears less urgent for Dipoto and co. Eugenio Suarez and Ty France are currently slotted into the two corner spots, but that’s not to say there’s not a move to be made there. Utility infielder Abraham Toro was part of the Wong trade, and he spent a fair bit of time at third in 2022 so the Mariners could look for a similar type of player to come in and fill that role off the bench. They’ve also opened up the DH spot a bit by trading Winker, and so they could look to rotate Suarez and France in and out of that spot a bit more in 2023 to keep everyone fresh.
One such utility player on the roster currently is Dylan Moore, and Dipoto confirmed he’d undergo surgery for a core injury that Moore’s had since the end of the season. The procedure would take place in the coming days, and comes with a 6-8 week window of recovery, so providing there’s no setbacks Moore should be good to go for spring training. The 30-year-old hit .224/.368/.385 across 255 plate appearances in 2022 while logging time at every position apart from pitcher and catcher, although he spent the bulk of his time in right field and shortstop.
I think you have your core of Cal/Ty/Wong/Geno/JP/Julio/Teoscar/Swaggerty/DMo and to me those are really the only locks.
Trammel will probably be in there and rightfully so; kids a great athlete and has a high ceiling and showed strides at times last year….but he still has a ton to prove. As does JK.
The pitching top to bottom is as good as any team in baseball; and we could still end up dealing from there as a strength of the team.
For Jerry to say that we are comfortable going into the year with what we have now; I hope that’s hyperbole. Cause this team just blew its chance to have a super outfield; and now have basically 2 offensive holes in LF/everyday DH abs that SHOULD be filled with OUTSIDE UPGRADES; be that via FA or trade. That’s what the M’s need to go Stallone over the top.
If you’re starting Haggerty on the regular, something went terribly wrong.
The Mariner community is head over heels for Haggerty.
Haggs? As a utility player? Absolutely. A regular? That would be aiming low.
Yes, we love Swaggerty. But he’s a bench player.
This is Seattle… there’s A LOT terribly wrong.
The core are the guys that aren’t expendable and you build around. Rentals on 1-year deals don’t fit that description.
Trammell right now is likely going to be a reserve stashed in Tacoma, unless he’s traded. That has value, too, but I don’t think he’s seen as anything more than that.
I agree with everything else. They should look externally and get the best possible bats they can.
SODOMOJO, I respectfully disagree.
I think Dipoto really is happy enough with what we have.
He could still add a corner outfielder,sure, but I am happy about the team right now.
I’ll be there opening day with bells on no matter what, Fred!
Fred….I agree! It feels like you and I are the ONLY Mariners fans who are content with what we’ve done so far! I do think Dipoto will bring jn someone to play a LF/DH role- whether that is a big upgrade over whats in the system now (Kelenic, Marlowe, Trammell, Haggerty) remains to be seen.
For all the M’s fans who are upset- they clearly need to be reminded that the Mariners went 60-33 from June 21 onwards. Despite injuries to key hitters Julio, Ty France, Haniger and Eugenio. JP Crawford was also clearly playing thru a lot of pain.
Adam Frazier had an 83 wRC+ over the 2nd half. How did Wong do over that time? He only had a 141 wRC+ which btw was actually BETTER than 3 of those 4 premium SS’s. Only Correa had a marginally better second half.
Just saying this current lineup is a good lineup
ayrbhoy, your second paragraph says it all.
I look forward to 2023 with the most eagerness I’ve felt in years.
I’d also like to add to that 2nd paragraph by saying a lot of M’s fans underestimate the impact of Verlander’s absence in HOU. Does HOU still have a good Rotation and Pen from top to bottom? Absolutely, but they will be without a 6.1 fWAR Cy Young SP next yr.
Barring any lengthy injuries, an SP1-4 of Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Robbie Ray gives SEA a Top 10 rotation in MLB. Even Marco or Flexen (maybe Brash?) at SP5 is better than most SP5’s in the League. I’m excited to see what the club does for the next 3-5 seasons! The Mariners were the 2nd youngest team in MLB last yr. That youth now has playoff experience of getting to the ALDS 3 years and 60 games into a rebuild. Many of our young core players have yet to hit their peak, prime years! ST can’t get here soon enough!
What do you know….Willson Contreras is NOT going to the Astros! What a shame
Here’s another thing I’ll say; it’s Dec 7th and I know this team isn’t done making moves. Jerry seems coy on the opportunity to spend for someone big; but I think we’d all feel 1000 times better if we could add a JD Martinez and Nimmo. Even a low key guy like Mancini could end up doing wonders.
Is ownership truly willing to compete along side of Jerry and the players? Are they willing to hold up their end of this bargain? If they do then I believe we have what it takes to really “make a run.” Until they dish out a little bit more…and I get it; they’ve spent a ton recently already and it’s been progress as you would expect spending wise as the team has improved from within.
Now, let’s finish the damn job! Get another 20-30 mil out there annually for this season at least. It’s right there, man.
It feels so close that we can taste it. It would be a shame for this opportunity to build off of what they have grown to pass out city by.
SODOMOJO;
Thank you! This team is close, but ownership needs to be willing to spend a little bit to get this team over the hump. Maybe that comes in the form of a 1 year “prove it” deal with Michael Conforto (since ownership let Mitch Haniger walk away) or a deal with Andrew Benintendi or someone similar. But I am not convinced this team is actually improved over last year’s team.
Expecting the pitching staff to stay healthy all year is asking for trouble. Expecting JP Crawford or Jarred Kelenic or Taylor Trammell to take a step forward is not smart. Maybe a healthy year from Tom Murphy helps solidify the catching position. Maybe Kolten Wong breaks the trend of players having good years before coming here and then not having the same good years. It just feels like too many “maybes” and “ifs” to expect to seriously contend for the playoffs.
Martinez’s power dipped last season while playing in the AL East. Mancini didn’t have a good year and I’m not sure how well either player really project.
Getting Nimmo would be huge. A healthy Brantley could do wonders.
But I’m not confident Seattle will sign any free agents at this point. We’ve heard nothing but excuses for unfulfilled promises.
The money saved during the rebuild hasn’t been spent. Future commitments are not what they suggest they are, and what we have seen echos the moves we saw last offseason.
Getting Reynolds would be great, but even that wouldn’t be enough and the preliminary excuses are infuriating.
They’re blowing a golden opportunity.
Stevil;
Exactly! This is exactly the situation where you add a carefully selected free agent or two. I was never expecting Aaron Judge, I will admit to hoping for Trea Turner, and I wasn’t considering Justin Verlander or Jacob deGrom. But adding a Brandon Nimmo (as you pointed out) or Andrew Benintendi could really help.
It feels like ownership is saying, “Phew, we broke the playoff-less streak, the pressure is off, we can skate by on making the playoffs for the first time in 20 years and anything we do from here will be accepted.”
By the way, I am not convinced this team is actually any better right now than it was at the start of last year. Career stats, Teoscar Hernandez and Mitch Haniger are almost exactly the same player. Adam Frazier had a better contact year coming to Seattle than Kolten Wong has coming to Seattle this time. I just don’t see how any of the moves so far have actually addressed the offensive issues in any meaningful way.
I think the M’s will add another OFer but my gut says it’s going to be the type of FA that’s more like a Jurickson Profar or Brian Anderson type. The M’s love players like those 2, guys that can handle INF and OF spots, hitters that don’t chase bad pitches and have better than avg OBP. I also think that if they can outbid other teams I’m sure they’d at least make a run at getting Bryan Reynolds.
As much as I’d love to see a Nimmo or even Benintendi in LF I just don’t see them overpaying for those guys for 2 reasons- 1) They not only have 3 young OFers in JK, TT and Marlowe but Zach DeLoach is also knocking on the door. 2) If they want to extend Cal Raleigh and one or both of Gilbert and Kirby those extensions will not be cheap. The 2023 payroll is already projected to be $138,000. Those 3 young players would cost a fortune if they ever got to FA. You are easily looking at adding $30M annually for 2 front end SP’s and a switch hitting Catcher with light tower power and elite Defense. If you add one of J Profar or BA to those ext’s now you’re looking at a payroll at or just over $180M. Ty France is another candidate for extensions. He would get the payroll North of $190M!! Is this ownership group going to spend more than they ever have? They’re the 13th media market… it’s hard to see them getting inside Top 10 in payroll.
It’s easy to say the M’s should just go for it by offering Nimmo a 5 or 6 yr deal for at least $120-140M but I get the feeling they have sold ownership on the idea that they are a team that can develop young players. I hope I’m wrong!
I would say the team is actually a little better, but not because of the players on the field, but because of Luis Castillo and what will probably be a better bullpen (they still need a LHRP).
But they haven’t made themselves a better team than any of the contenders. One person a week or two ago suggested they were ‘treading water’. I agree.
There’s still time, but I don’t like what we’re hearing. I know some fans are excited about hearing that JD Martinez is in town, but he profiles a little too similarly to Jesse Winker. Can’t play defense and his power disappeared last season.
How amusing would it be to see them acquire a third player that profiles similarly to a player being replaced!?
I don’t think they’re going to spend either, but disagree on the reasoning. I don’t think they’re confident in Kelenic, Trammell, Marlowe, or DeLoach. I think using one of them is plan C or D–but probably more likely. I also don’t believe for a second that they’ll have trouble extending GIlbert, Kirby, or Raleigh. They’re all pre-arb, Gilbert & Raleigh aren’t eligible until 2025 (Kirby, 2026), and those salaries without/before extensions aren’t likely going to be more than 10-15m until 2026 (and may be lower).
The numbers you’re seeing on 2023 payroll are off. Take a look at Cot’s. They have adjusted for the proper arb estimates. Flexen is also factored in and we all know he is likely going to be traded, and if not, perhaps Gonzales will be.
But a 130-140m payroll is nothing. Seattle is a mid-market team, and as I’ve laid out on other platforms, the 2022 revenue was at least 370m last year (using 2021 figures and considering the increase in attendance). It was probably higher.
Most teams spend somewhere around 50% of their revenue on payroll. Never mind what they said about spending the money saved during the rebuild. Just using the 370m figure, 50% would be 185m.
Seattle is in zero danger of going into the red. Their future commitments are a joke, as only Julio & Luis are under contract beyond 2026, JP & Ray will be in their final years in 2026, and others, like White, have club options. His salary isn’t guaranteed. Worth noting, Ray may opt out after 2024.
The point is, they absolutely could afford to address their biggest needs with stars.
I’m actually not mad that they didn’t get Turner. If he turned down 342 from San Diego (a smaller market team than Seattle, FWIW), he wasn’t going to come to Seattle. I didn’t see Bogaerts or Swanson as fits, but I’m curious what Correa will get and I don’t think Nimmo is going to get anywhere near the kind of money the SSs are getting.
Right now, if they were to sign Nimmo and Brantley, I’d be pretty thrilled. If they were to trade for Reynolds and sign Brantley, I’d be just as thrilled.
I’m not holding my breath. I think they’re scared to overspend even a little to get what they really need despite having the space.
Stevil;
That is absolutely a valid point. The pitching definitely seems better, especially with the addition of Luis Castillo. But I don’t understand how any of the moves made so far have improved the offense at all.
There is still time, but like you, I do not like what we are hearing from Dipoto about the chances of adding anyone that will positively impact the offense.
Stevil, fellas, I’m of the mind that this team, AT BEST is a wash from last year. We added Teo and Wong, we lost Hani Wink Toro and Carlos, (which it could be argued that wink and Toro could be addition by subtraction, sure) Swanny.
A full season of Castillo will
Help. But we are banking on that pitching to stay healthy and carry this team. Carry the offense that is clearly not as apt as out pitching. I get it, you can pick a part Mancini, Martinez, whoever I name you can pick on, but regardless; WE NEED OFFENSIVE reinforcements. We need guys that can hit. We need to be taking a look at these guys, not focus on their negatives and be scared to spend for them in what will be low commitment contracts. If you don’t believe that, if you truly believe that this team is better off or as good as we were last year; thats looking through rose colored glasses, imo.
If they don’t spend anymore, or acquire a Reynolds via trade or something similar, I will be extremely disappointed.
SODOMOJO;
I am right there with you. It is easy to point to Kolten Wong’s stats from this last year and compare them to Adam Frazier. But Frazier was coming off a great year when the Mariners picked him up. And Teoscar Hernandez is essentially just a healthier Mitch Haniger, their career batting lines are almost identical. So Kolten Wong hopefully does better this coming year than Adam Frazier, but no promise on that front. Teoscar Hernandez hopefully is healthy all year and can provide Mitch Haniger level offense for a full year, but no promises there either. The only moves that have happened so far are essentially replacing Frazier with Wong and replacing Haniger with Hernandez. Like you, I believe that at best evens out to where last year was.
The pitching looks better this year, but again as you pointed out, that very much depends on the pitching staying healthy all year.
I personally am very upset that the Mariners didn’t bring Mitch Haniger back. With him off the board, I would really like to see a Brandon Nimmo or Andrew Benintendi or Bryan Reynolds. Maybe Michael Conforto is worth taking a gamble on for one year? I just… I don’t think I have any hope left that management will actually do anything to make the offense noticeably better.
It’s hard to not be pessimistic about ownership. I’ve been watching them ruin everything since the days of Woody Woodpecker and those early Nintendo years.
But like I said earlier I absolutely DO trust Jerry and a nice long run of success seems to be at our doorstep. I think more than anything, I’m just trying to convey: that I believe this team is super close, and I would be immensely disappointed if they don’t take this HUGE opportunity they have RIGHT NOW to really make a run. I can taste it!
A couple of things…
First, the pitching doesn’t have to stay perfectly healthy throughout the season as long as the depth is respectable. With Brash in reserve (and a shiny new cutter), plus Hancock, Dollard, and Miller close, I think they’re in good shape.
Second, Jerry’s comments this afternoon (apparently while I was commenting here!) were encouraging. He admitted Seattle is a mid-market team and suggested payroll should (or could) run in the top-10. We’ll see if it actually gets there, and it doesn’t really matter what the final numbers or ranking happens to be, it just matters that they’re getting players that can get them to a World Series.
Those comments make me wonder if there was some progress with a free agent or two.
As I’ve said before, I’ll reserve judgement until we know what the team is, but they have really underwhelmed till this point.
Stevil;
Excellent points. I am trying really hard to hold onto hope, I just don’t know that I can believe management will approve a move along the lines of Andrew Benintendi or Brandon Nimmo until I see it.
With the roster as currently constructed, not sure where else the Mariners can add an impact, other than the OF. Maybe a one year “prove it” deal with Conforto ends up working out?
When I dove into the entire conversation, I just saw more excuses and misleading statements that contradict what was said at the time of the rebuild, so my hope is right back to where it was earlier today: in the cellar.
And I know there are contradictions, because I saved the comments from 2018.
This isn’t on Jerry, though. It’s on ownership.
Just wanted to say that I enjoyed this discussion and your guys input. Your deep consideration for my team is echoed and much appreciated! I am ultimately the perpetual optimist that gets my heart broken every year; despite my annual off-season malcontent. The last couple years have been better, for sure. And as I said earlier we are still in the early stages in December; it won’t be fair to truly assess anything until we get closer to spring.
Stevil and SODOMOJO;
I will be eagerly watching the team, come February and the start of the season. I just really, really want management to give the okay to go after someone who will positively impact the offense and give this team a better chance so make the playoffs and make some noise in the playoffs.
Here is to hoping that we have something to look forward to.
Simon says more articles. You spoiled us last night.
Simon, are you relegated to midnights for some reason? Don’t get me wrong, I love the new content at night…
He should have a time slot of his choice. I like the late night action though so selfishly he is right where he belongs.
Bargain shopping after the first playoff appearance in two decades when the long term payroll is in one of the best places it’s been in a decade is pathetic. He’s going to lose the fanbase real quick.
Only if the fan base fails to realize payroll comes from the top. Stanton needs to open his checkbook and let Dipoto land a big name, this team needs an impact bat like Nimmo.
Agree! Remember the feeling of landing L. Castillo? Gee…how has that worked out?? Obviously Trades are the key because FAs don’t want to come up to Southern Alaska. 😉
Imagine another significant bat like B. Reynolds. IMHO we have to be more aggressive to compete in our division.
Yeah, the FAs left aren’t going to be paid so much that they’ll turn down an extra $30-40M like Judge and Turner.
Castillo was a mid-season acquisition when there is no free market with adequate talent…that’s not even remotely close. That trade also damaged the depth of our farm system that would now be non-existent if we trade for Reynolds.
Trader Jerry could be Tom Brady’s stunt double.
Late night with Hampton keeping the stove hot
An outfield with Aaron Judge, Julio Rodriguez and Teoscar Hernandez could be lethal.
Jerry gonna get Judge at 10yr/400mil
That is the Yanks offer! M’s gotta go 11/550 to lock him up.
I know its a long shot but Ms front office is pretty specific about the “person” and doesn’t really care if you have facial hair. To boot, everyone knows the Mariners are primed to compete in post season for the next few years so I’m hanging on this pipe dream for at least another day or two.
Is Simon based on the West Coast or a caffeine addict? Perhaps both?
Seattle has a nice young core and I like both Hernandez and Wong there.
It’s an interesting gamble to complete the outfield. Either you trust the talent that led to lofty prospect rankings is there and play the kids or you bypass the opportunity to see if that talent is real and get outside help.
Dylan Moore is a gamer. But he is not the kinda player teams wanting to be champions carry.
Dylan Moore could probably be a starter for many clubs at various positions especially in hitter friendly parks. I’m a Seattle fan but lets use DMo as trade chip and keep Sam Haggerty.
Love Dylan and he is absolutely worthy of a role on a great team; but if he’s getting more than 250-300 abs it’s because something went wrong. He needs to be coming in late in games to run and play d. He needs to be available to sub for a week or two at a time given an injury to a starter or two. Beyond that, there’s not much to say. I don’t think there’s anyway that he will ever be an high level everyday player. And again, I am a huge fan of the guy and especially love that he’s got ice in his veins late in games.
But if he goes to the A’s??
Ewwwww.
He ran a 117 wRC+ against RHPs last season and 137 against LHPs, and in high-leverage situations, it was 162.
He’s not a regular, but he’s an excellent role player. They likely targeted Wong as their fallback for 2B because of the ability to platoon him with Moore.
As long as he’s healthy and producing like he did last season, he’s probably going to get more than 250-300 PAs.
I’ve heard Servais, Dipoto, and Blowers all say that they feel Dylan’s best position by far is second base. I get why they are so adamant on having him play there. Next year’s ban on the shift is going to call for extremely talented defensive infielders. DMo has tremendous range and paired with former Gold Glover Kolten Wong, will lockdown that side of the infield. All while getting rid of Winker and Toro in the process. Suddenly, value for you’re defense at the position just went up.
He’s a great defensive sub. If you’re starting him, that’s bad.
No, it’s really not bad. His bat was above average last season and his second base defense is solid. If he’s batting near the top of the lineup, it’s a problem. If he’s batting 8 or 9, it’s fine. He’s good enough to play on a competitive team and would be one of the best players on the worst teams.
If the rumor of Kelenic, Ford, Hancock, and Brash for Reynolds have any validity, I’d be all for that. They need a great hitter and a great defensive OF, because Teo isn’t all that in the field…
there’s no validity to that rumor, sorry to provide bad news
Journalists floated those names and it’s almost a guarantee that some of them would be involved. My guess is that Pittsburgh would want Gabriel Gonzalez rather than Kelenic.
I think Seattle would probably have to get a third team involved. They would exhaust most of their starter depth if guys like Brash and Hancock were to go, but we know Reynolds is a targeted player and has been for a while. If there’s a way for Seattle to land him, Reynolds is one player they would probably splurge for.
And that would probably be the right thing to do.
I think the M’s should deal Bryce Miller and hold onto Brash and Hancock.. Miller, Kelenic, Ford, and Marlowe.
He’s a role player. Every good team has them.
I’m ok with Dylan as a platoon starter against lefties in LF or 2B, but if that’s what the team is forced to do then again, I think that’s aiming low. I’d rather have Dylan AND Haggs ready to rock on the bench. Great teams teams have depth. We will need them.
At this point, I’m sure Dylan is penciled in the relieve Wong occasionally against lefties specifically and I am cool with that position the way it is currently; so long as we are able to explore upgrades elsewhere.
Going with what you have Jerry , is not good enough. That is apparent to all.
Not Jerry’s fault. He’s not the one signing the checks.
How about a right handed corner outfielder named Mitch Haniger on a 1 year 19 million and change deal? They must have thought he is going to be injured or have a awful year.
Giants paid a little much but Mitch could pan out especially with a full season! Haniger works really hard on his game. He isn’t trying to milk injuries and he has sincere dedication to being a great ball player. Owners and GM Dipoto appear to be pinching pennies for some reason and I really hope its because of secret talks with Judge.
I hope Haniger stays free of injuries for the remainder of his career so Giants fans can come to love him as much as we did (and many still do) in Seattle. He’s a team-first guy, and he’s a gamer.
Slothcliff;
Absolutely true. Super disappointed that the Mariners decided not to bring him back, but I only hope the best for him. Hope he stays healthy and proves to everyone that the Mariners should have brought him back.
I think ownership has closed the purse-strings (if they were even open) on adding any salary via free agency. Which is sorta the point of free agency and the Mariners are at that inflection point where you are supposed to add to your core of young players with a couple free agent studs. So there is a step missing here. Yes, since we have Trader Jerry as PBO maybe one can say we added these studs via trade rather than free agency. (Luis Castillo, Teo Hernandez, Kolten Wong). However can’t we do both? Certainly there is room for that financially, but now that option seems to have been taken away, which leaves us with a roster that looks much like it did at the beginning of the 2022 season.
M’s ownership doing what they do. Make you believe they might pull that Louisville Slugger out of their backend… but alas… nope… can’t get out of their own way. Winning a championship isn’t a priority, it is a lucky happenstance.
Also, I suspect Dipoto doesn’t want to hand out 10-year deals to players who are 30… he inherited one of those after Jack Zduriencik signed Cano (which didn’tseem like a bad deal at the time), and was able to somehow get rid of that contract right around the time started going bad after the first five years of the deal. Of course I can’t read Dipoto’s mind, but he seems more interested in handling out linger deals to younger players, and I’m thinking the M’s want to dedicate the big bucks to extensions for kids like Gilbert, Kirby and Raleigh. If the young guys play well again in 2023 I think they’ll get some nice deals.
The team, from OD 22 to now is better. But, if they want to compete for championships, this is not the 40-man that will get that done. Teo is an upgrade over Hanny, and Kolten is superior to Frazier. But they still have a gaping hole in the OF/DH PA distribution. And that is before any potential IL stints. The promise to use payroll saved from the rebuilding years, is starting to ring hollow. Hopeful that the Trader J’s still have something impressive up their sleeves.
Otherwise, M’s fans have been duped, again.
Ownership showing their true intention. I saw it coming a mile away.
We heard you the first time BabyBoy
“The promise to use payroll saved from the rebuilding years, is starting to ring hollow”.
This is absolutely not true. The M’s just gave a 14 year contract to J-Rod they were not anticipating having to make so early, but makes so much financial sense for both parties it needed to be done. They also extended Luis Castillo, who wasn’t even on the team until August and paid $115M for Robbie Ray last offseason. While it may not be to everyone’s wishes, the club is laying the groundwork to contend for the next decade instead of shoot their wad and overpay on some of these guys just to make fans impulsively happy.
Agreed. Here’s one thing that is concerning though, as Dipoto has already said, he’s considering future payroll in current decisions, which, to me, is a bad idea. Our best future players are all pitchers minus Julio/Cal. Pitchers are so finicky that who’s to say Kirby doesn’t need TJ next year and never fully recovers? Abandoning opportunity to compete for a Championship now seems ill advised. But there’s plenty of time left in FA to bring in impact.
Trade the farm for Reynolds bring it Will Myers or jd Martinez for a year. Then go get Ohtani next year
as much as people want to trade for Reynolds, BC will most likely wait until the deadline next year to deal him
He hinted as much yesterday
That’s fine for the mariners to wait till the trade deadline. Leaves early season at bats for White, Kelenic and Trammell in the 9 hole to see if one of them can figure it out.
Lots of free agency left, but really concerned with our unwillingness to add bats via free agency. Our farm is average now, most of our top guys are blocked by current young ML players already as is. With the Rangers getting better we’re arguably worse off now that we were last year. Hoping we repeat nobody seeing extended time on the DL is dangerous. It’s times like these I also remember Dipoto has won only one more playoff series in his entire career than I have.
Good ole Mariners. No one encompasses mediocrity like this organization!
If the Mariners are truly committed to JP Crawford at SS, I don’t see any way for them to upgrade the lineup, except at LF. They have made it very, very clear that they want to use DH to rotate players, so no real way to upgrade DH. I just don’t see how any one player that is left available can make a big enough difference in LF to push the Mariners over the edge and finally help them defeat their demons in the Astros.
C – Cal Raleigh, Tom Murphy (maybe a full season of Tom Murphy helps?)
1B – Ty France
2B – Kolten Wong/Dylan Moore (is Kolten Wong going to turn into another Adam Frazier?)
SS – JP Crawford
3B – Eugenio Suarez
LF – Jarred Kelenic/Taylor Trammell (can either of them finally, finally take a step forward?)
CF – Julio Rodriguez
RF – Teoscar Hernandez (I am convinced the only upgrade here is availability)
DH – Some rotation of the above players + Sam Haggerty/Evan White
Is this really any upgrade over what the Mariners rolled out last year?
Just something for everyone to consider when trying to compare Teoscar Hernandez and Mitch Haniger… Career lines are:
Teoscar Hernandez – .262/.319/.499
Mitch Haniger – .261/.335/.476
So Teoscar has a little more power, Mitch gets on base more often. Otherwise, very little difference between them.
I don’t think it was so much a commitment to Crawford at SS as it was more of them having an out for not wanting to bring on the payroll. Which is fair. I think if they bring in Benintendi and or Yoshida it all makes more sense.
The big point here is who has played the most games?
Selah Rick 2;
My only point is this: Is Teoscar Hernandez enough of an upgrade? Yes, he has been healthier, yes he has played more. But when they are playing, Mitch Haniger and Teoscar Hernandez are essentially the same player. I personally am not convinced that this improves the lineup enough to overtake the Astros or make a serious run at the playoffs. I would love to be wrong, and I will gladly admit it if I am.
Something else to consider when looking at the moves made so far. Here are the lines of Adam Frazier and Kolten Wong from the year before the Mariners added them:
Adam Frazier – .305/.368/.411
Kolten Wong – .251/.339/.430
Hopefully comparing Adam Frazier to Kolten Wong and comparing Mitch Haniger to Teoscar Hernandez explains why I am not confident the Mariners have done enough to improve the offense. Do I like the additions? Yes. Do I think they are enough? No. And I just haven’t seen enough yet to believe that they are actually going to put their money where their mouth is and actually do something to give the Mariners a realistic chance of catching the Astros and doing well in the playoffs.
I for one would rather build a contender with a shot at it all than blow all the resources now one what’s really a crapshoot anyways once you reach the playoffs. If ownership continuously disappoints you, why don’t you find a team that better aligns with your methodology? Stay the course M’s.
M’s ownership once again proving that the priority is maximizing profit and if they win it’s a bonus. How much better would this team be if they were top 10 in payroll versus bottom 10?
Why not go after Xander Bogarts? He can play all over the infield and he can rake. Then sign Wil Myers on a short deal. They can rest guys and rotate them at dh. It almost seems like they’re giving up on this year and going all in on Ohtani next year. Could they make these deals and still have a shot at Ohtani?
I wouldn’t get your hopes up. There’s nothing that happens this season that changes for next offseason. Cal/Gilbert/Kirby will still have contracts on the horizon and there’s really no position player in the system that will change the long term outlook IMO. I think next offseason will be a similar trade/buy low in FA type approach.
Even if Otahni is a pipe dream. They clearly need another bat. Their DH situation is a joke.
“I didn’t see that coming.” – Jerry DiPoto, after inadvertently trading himself to Alaska Airlines for a pallet of onboard Biscoff cookies.
I’m a little disappointed so far with how this team as approached bettering this team. This is no different than there stingy ways they haven’t done anything yet accept to replace players who left.. We cannot catch those Astro’s as things are but have U seen how those angels have added on? Texas should be improved as well were not going to be able to win as many games in our division as it is, it will be tough to win as many games next year as well
The Giants keep piling it on, look for them to be in the world series.
I’m mixed because of the kinds of contracts this off-season, but they have money, could really use another star player, and depleted most of the high trade value prospects in the system via trade and promotion. They also are a team that’s right at the point in the contention cycle that it makes sense to add an impact player via Free Agency and keep trade pieces for mid-season and future off-season trades. I doubt they’re done. I still feel like they could use another SP, even if most people think they’re loaded on pitching.
I just don’t see why one of Gonzales or Flexen should be a lock for SP. I do like Gonzales plenty but it feels like a roster spot that could still be upgraded.
There’s still moves they could make that would help (Profar) but it feels like the chance to add major upgrades has mostly passed this offseason.