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Although the Mariners extended their major league-worst playoff drought to 15 years in 2016, it was still an encouraging campaign for the club. In the Mariners’ first year under general manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais, they finished seventh in the American League in winning percentage (.531, 86-76) and a more impressive fourth in run differential (plus-61). Seattle’s record was good enough to keep the team in the wild-race race until the penultimate day of the season, though merely staying in the hunt doesn’t suffice. With that in mind, Dipoto will spend the next several months trying to position the roster to get over the hump in 2017 and put the Mariners in the postseason for the first time since their historic 116-win 2001 campaign.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Robinson Cano, 2B: $168MM through 2023
- Kyle Seager, 3B: $85MM through 2021 ($15MM club option for 2022)
- Felix Hernandez, SP: $79MM through 2019 ($1MM conditional club option for 2020)
- Nelson Cruz, DH/RF: $32MM through 2018
- Hisashi Iwakuma, SP: $15MM through 2018 ($10MM club option for 2018; $1MM buyout; option will vest at $15MM if Iwakuma throws 324 combined innings between 2016-17 and doesn’t end ’17 season with unspecified injury)
- Steve Cishek, RP: $6MM through 2017
Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projections via MLB Trade Rumors)
- Charlie Furbush (5.121) – $1.6MM
- Tom Wilhelmsen (5.072) – $3.8MM
- Ryan Cook (4.086) – $1.2MM
- Leonys Martin (4.078) – $6.3MM
- Evan Scribner (3.142) – $1.1MM
- Steve Clevenger (3.123) – $800K
- Nick Vincent (3.067) – $1.5MM
- Vidal Nuno (3.015) – $1.1MM
- James Paxton (2.151) – $2.7MM
- Taijuan Walker (2.127) – $2.8MM
- Jesus Sucre (2.136) – $600K
- Non-tender candidates: Furbush, Wilhelmsen, Cook, Clevenger, Sucre
Contract Options
- Seth Smith, OF: $7MM club option ($250K buyout)
- Chris Iannetta, C: $4.25MM club option
Free Agents
Mariners Depth Chart; Mariners Payroll Information
Earlier in the Mariners’ lengthy skid, there were seasons in which woeful offensive production torpedoed their chances of competing. That wasn’t the case in 2016, however, as the Mariners eclipsed the 700-run plateau (768) for the first time since 2007. All told, Seattle crossed home plate more than 23 of the majors’ other 29 teams and finished second only to Boston’s outstanding offense in wRC+ (107).
The Mariners’ main offensive threats – second baseman Robinson Cano, designated hitter Nelson Cruz and third baseman Kyle Seager – will be back next year, but there are questions about some of the team’s complementary pieces. Ideally for the Mariners, they’ll upgrade their position player group during the offseason with better defenders and baserunners who can also contribute offensively. Defensively, this year’s Mariners ranked 23rd in both Ultimate Zone Rating (minus-24.9) and Defensive Runs Saved (minus-22). On the base paths, they placed 24th in steals (56) and toward the bottom in UBR (23rd) and BsR (26th) – two of FanGraphs’ metrics.
While shortstop Ketel Marte was one of the Mariners’ best baserunners this season, he weighed the club down in other facets and could head to Triple-A Tacoma for further development next year. Seattle already tried to replace Marte over the summer with the Reds’ Zack Cozart, but the teams ran out of time to reach a deal before the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline. As a 31-year-old with one season left on his contract, the rebuilding Reds could shop Cozart again over the winter. Given the dearth of free agent shortstops on the upcoming market, the Mariners renewing their previous pursuit of Cozart seems like a no-brainer. Not only has Cozart has been a terrific defender since breaking in as a full-time major leaguer in 2012, but his most recent production indicates he’d provide the Mariners another respectable bat. Dating back to last season, Cozart has slashed .254/.308/.435 with 25 home runs in 722 plate appearances. In nearly the same amount of PAs (713), Marte has hit .267/.309/.349 with three homers.
If the Mariners acquire Cozart, he’d team with Cano and Seager to comprise the majority of their infield next season. Elsewhere, there’s no established option at first base, where midseason acquisition Dan Vogelbach could pick up the lion’s share of playing time as a left-handed hitter. The 23-year-old has more than held his own against minor league pitching, and he wouldn’t have a difficult act to follow in soon-to-be free agent Adam Lind (.239/.286/.431 in 2016).
Despite his shortcomings as a baserunner and defender, the big-bodied Vogelbach represents the Mariners’ best in-house option to take the reins at first. If that happens, platooning Vogelbach with a capable right-handed hitter would make sense. The Mariners have an impending free agent who fits the bill in Dae-ho Lee. In his first year in the majors, the longtime star in Korea and Japan slashed an above-average .261/.329/.446 with eight long balls in 157 PAs against southpaws. The 34-year-old Lee likely wouldn’t cost much for the Mariners to re-sign, having made an economical $1MM this season.
While the Mariners could determine that Vogelbach isn’t yet the answer as a primary option and look outside for aid, Dipoto has already made it clear that he wants a younger group of position players in 2017 (via Brent Stecker of 710 ESPN Seattle). Scouring free agency, where there are a slew of potential targets in their mid-30s (Edwin Encarnacion, Mike Napoli and Steve Pearce, to name a few), wouldn’t help Dipoto accomplish that goal. On paper, though, each is a more enticing (and far more expensive) choice than Vogelbach. The trade market probably won’t offer much, though the Brewers might put soon-to-be 30-year-old slugger Chris Carter on the block or even non-tender him.
Behind the plate, the Mariners seem prepared to turn to Mike Zunino again on the heels of an encouraging season that Servais called an “absolute success” (via Stecker). Because he began the year in Tacoma, Zunino only appeared in 55 games with the Mariners. The .195 career hitter batted an unsightly .207 along the way, but his 10.9 percent walk rate and .262 ISO led to .318 on-base and .470 slugging percentages. His overall batting line was easily above average, but it’s up in the air whether the third overall pick in the 2012 draft will continue drawing walks or hitting for power at such high clips. Nevertheless, he’s an asset as a defender, and Servais feels “really good about where he’s at and the strides he’s made to kinda be a front-line, everyday catcher.”
Even if the Mariners are confident enough in Zunino to avoid spending on one the market’s best available catchers – Wilson Ramos, Matt Wieters, Jason Castro and Nick Hundley – they could still use a decent complement at the position. Unfortunately, pickings will be slim outside of that quartet. Current backup Chris Iannetta has fallen off both offensively and defensively over the past two seasons, which could convince the Mariners to decline his $4.25MM option, but it’s debatable whether anyone from the group of A.J. Ellis, Kurt Suzuki, Geovany Soto and Alex Avila is superior to him. The Mariners also have Jesus Sucre on hand, though it’s difficult to trust a 28-year-old with a .209/.246/.276 line in 264 major league PAs. Meanwhile, Steve Clevenger is a non-tender waiting to happen.
In the outfield, the Mariners only have one starter – center fielder Leonys Martin – under control for 2017. The team relied heavily on Seth Smith, Nori Aoki and Franklin Gutierrez in the corners this year, and there are now decisions to make with all three. Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reported last month that the Mariners plan to exercise Smith’s $7MM option, adding that Gutierrez will probably return in lieu of departing as a free agent. If true, the left-handed Smith and the right-handed Gutierrez would make for a useful platoon in right field. That would still leave one open spot, but Aoki is unlikely to occupy it if the club retains Smith, per Dutton.
Aside from Martin, Smith, Aoki and Gutierrez, the Mariners’ outfield candidates include relative unknowns in Guillermo Heredia and August acquisition Ben Gamel. Those two weren’t especially impressive in late-season auditions, which could lead the Mariners to look for an upgrade in the offseason. FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reported last month that Seattle might make a splash on a “complementary piece” during the winter. The outfield would be a sensible place to spend in that type of scenario.
Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler would be a particularly intriguing target if he gets to free agency. Fowler has long been a solid contributor at the plate and on the bases, and he’s coming off a respectable defensive year thanks to a change in alignment. The switch-hitting 30-year-old also got on base nearly 40 percent of the time this season and has done so at a .366 career clip, which should intrigue an OBP proponent like Dipoto. Potential drawbacks: Fowler would require a pricey multiyear commitment, signing him would cost the Mariners a first-round pick (currently No. 18 overall) if the Cubs tender him a qualifying offer, and either Fowler or Martin would have to be receptive to playing a corner.
Like Fowler, the Rangers’ Ian Desmond would also cost the Mariners significant money and a top pick. His versatility is interesting, though, as Desmond lined up at both left and center this year after spending the first several seasons of his career at shortstop. It’s unclear whether Desmond would consider moving back to short, but if he markets himself as an infielder/outfielder, a team in need in both areas (the Mariners, for instance) could enter the bidding.
As is the case with Desmond, fellow Ranger Carlos Gomez is an impending free agent who has played multiple outfield spots. While Gomez wouldn’t cost a pick and would bring a history of speed and defense to the Mariners, there’s considerable risk with him after he flamed out with the Astros from 2015-16. Gomez returned to his previous All-Star form at the plate with the Rangers in September, however, and will be on many teams’ radars as a result.
Shifting to their rotation, the Mariners have almost an entire starting five seemingly locked in with Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton and Taijuan Walker, but it’s an unspectacular group. Hernandez and Iwakuma no longer look like front-line options, and Walker has been somewhat of a letdown in the majors since his days as an elite prospect. The Mariners possess other rotation possibilities in Nate Karns, who performed much better as a starter than as a reliever in 2016, and Ariel Miranda. Otherwise, the open market will feature plenty of flawed alternatives. Dipoto hasn’t been shy about making trades, so he could certainly explore that route, too.
Adding a productive innings eater would seem logical, as Hernandez is coming off his lowest mark since 2005 (153 1/3), Iwakuma has durability questions, Paxton has never thrown more than 171 2/3 frames in any professional season, and Walker just had ankle surgery and hasn’t exceeded 169 2/3 in any year. However, having a consistent track record of taking the ball every fifth day wasn’t enough for the Mariners to retain Wade Miley, whom they traded to Baltimore in July for Miranda. Miley was ineffective for Seattle and would have cost the club $8.75MM in 2017. Durable free agents like Edinson Volquez and former Mariner R.A. Dickey should carry similar (perhaps higher) per-year price tags to Miley, but it’s not a lock either would be part of the solution. While Bartolo Colon is better than Miley, Volquez and Dickey, signing the soon-to-be 44-year-old would require him to leave the Mets and switch coasts.
If Karns and Miranda don’t end up as starters, they could factor into the bullpen, where Seattle will be in fine shape even if it non-tenders Tom Wilhelmsen, Charlie Furbush and/or Ryan Cook. The Mariners got great rookie performances this year from closer Edwin Diaz and Dan Altavilla. Evan Scribner, Nick Vincent and Vidal Nuno also look like shoo-ins to occupy spots. Steve Cishek and Tony Zych should figure heavily into the equation in theory, but there are notable health issues with the pair. Regardless, the Mariners clearly have a righty-heavy bullpen and could use a late-game lefty. They’ll be able to find solid and affordable southpaws on the market, where Jerry Blevins, Brett Cecil, Boone Logan, J.P. Howell, Mike Dunn and Marc Rzepczynski will be among the possibilities not named Aroldis Chapman.
Since 2014, a year after they signed a $2 billion television deal, the Mariners’ payroll has risen exponentially. Seattle opened 2016 with a franchise-record $142MM-plus in 25-man roster commitments (up more than $50MM from 2014) and should surpass that mark next season. The club was on the cusp of the playoffs this year, and with new owner John Stanton motivated to win, Dipoto should have the resources available to put the Mariners in contention for an AL West title in 2017.
Furbush has to be non tendered. I read he is out all of next year.
Dae-ho Lee isn’t listed under Free Agents
With all the expectations that the Ms will trade for Cozart, how much higher will that up the Reds’ asking price?
I don’t think that will matter specifically. The sides already know their respective positions pretty well, I’d imagine.
Questions is how much interest other orgs bring to the table and whether Cinci has any real inclination to open the year with him on their roster.
Ok, thank you. That makes sense.
Who cares about the Marines?!? Another big spending team that spent so much on a few players, that they’ve tied their own hands from fielding a decent team…boo-hoo-hoo. Hard to feel sorry for a team that’s so politically ‘correct”, that they suspended Steve Clevenger for tweeting his honest and truthful opinions about thugs loooting and burning in Charlotte. The Mariners would rather offend law abiding citizens that agree with Steve, than the BLM crowd…what a sad commentary by team management.
He’s a 3rd catcher at best that was acquired to dump salary and was injured for the rest of the season. It was just an easy way to get him off the roster. Quit trying to make this a political thing.
Are you kidding me? The M’s made this a political “thing” by pressuring Clevenger to apologize for his truthful and honest tweets, then by suspending him without pay for the rest of the season. While I agree he probably wasn’t in their future plans, what the M’s did to Clevenger was obviously meant to appease their liberal fan base. Can’t have a law and order kind of guy on the roster in a city like Seattle now, can we?
Sounds like someone is having a bad day
No, I’m not having a bad day. I just feel Clevenger was made to pay for his honest and truthful opinions, by the intolerant liberal Mariners.
Truthful? Was this a statement of fact? “Everyone involved should be locked behind bars like animals!”
Reads to me like an opinion — a poor and offensive opinion.
Hey Jeff, I said it was his opinion, and it was directed at the people who were burning and looting…if that’s not acting like animals, I don’t know what is. So yeah, all the looters and torch artists should’ve been thrown in jail. How is that offensive, if you believe in law and order?
Law and order involves process, in this country. So, it wouldn’t be wrong to opine something like: “if you are damaging property or harming people during a riot, you should be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” But saying “everyone involved” (?) should be “locked behind bars” doesn’t seem quite to reflect that. Saying “like animals” is yet more ridiculous.
He also clearly went beyond criticizing those who were committing vandalism or thievery or whatever. He singled out the Black Lives Matter movement — which, agree or disagree, is certainly not a pack of property-crime-committing thugs and isn’t responsible for every individual act in any urban protest in the country — as well as our African American president (whatever he had to do with it). And before that, he referenced the racial elements at play (some white people apparently being the target of some random violence) and rather oddly tied in the Kaepernick protest into the whole thing.
Combine para 1 (throw behind bars like animals) with para 2 (black v white in ways that went well beyond the actual protests he was commenting on) and you see why this was not taken in the limited manner you suggest.
Anyway, I don’t really intend to wade into this to express strong opinions on the matter. I am just explaining the perspective of those who saw this as plainly inappropriate, which obviously included his employer.
We could discuss this all day, Jeff, and still not agree. I still stand behind Clevenger, and feel he got a raw deal, just for voicing his opinions, which a LOT of people agree with. Racial relations were a lot better before Obama took office, and BLM has fanned the flames even more, with a lot of false narratives. Also, a LOT of people feel BLM is a terrorist group, and should be put on a watch list for all the hate they spew and all the crime they commit…just as the KKK should b put on a watch list.
I appreciate that you are discussing this matter respectfully, so I hope you won’t take my response otherwise. But (surprise! ha) I have to push back.
You didn’t respond to any of my actual points. Should I assume you’re just entrenched in a viewpoint rather than engaging in a discussion to enrich everyone’s understanding?
You’re retreating to broader arguments (Obama bad, BLM bad) that are irrelevant to the matter at hand. (I disagree with them, and find them to be entirely misinformed, though that too is beside the point.)
Clevenger’s statements painted with a broad brush, reflected generalized judgments, and in my view weren’t consistent with the fundamental nature of the American political system. The point isn’t that he was wrong to criticize violence against innocent people — who, indeed, would disagree with that? — it’s that he went well beyond that to make a broad statement that was racially-tinged and divisive.
First off… Clevenger lacked common sense in posting his beliefs on twitter during this time – regardless of what he wrote.
Second… while the intent may have been to criticize rioters, that is not how the tweet read to most… and thus it was wrong.
HOWEVER… the M’s most likely made this political when the M’s suspended Clevenger for 2 weeks without pay. They should have just flat out cut him. That would have sent the proper message… since we all know that the M’s knew at that time whether or not Clevenger would be kept on the 40 man roster or not.
However, since Clevenger was suspended first, and we all assume he will be non-tendered shortly, Clevenger will lose an additional $20,000+ from his salary. WHY??? The point gets through to him if you cut him… but Clevenger gets his full contract that he is owed as well… but not if you suspend him first.
The suspension just prolongs the attachment with the M’s, and costs Clevenger a lot of money extra.. Thus if this is not a political motive, what is it?
First off…how is tweeting your opinion a lack of common sense?
Second…liberals love to twist people’s words around, to create false narratives to get upset about, so how is people’s misinterpretation of his tweets his fault?
BTW, I’m a moderate, so I don’t really care for the far right either.
I’ll defer to Todd’s answer above for how people interpreted the tweets.
As for the lack of common sense, very few celebrities or professional athletes can say or tweet anything that is not in lock step with the political media without a major attack coming back at him. This is well known, and you can say all you want to about freedom of speech or rights for all people… but in this current political process where the political media is looking for stories to prove themselves correct… Clevenger’s tweets were an easy target… and will probably cost him his career.
For the record I do not condone what the political media is doing, but they have the power… and nobody is going to take that away from them anytime soon… so get used to it
Bluesman remember in life it’s not how you intended to portray something it’s how it is perceived and as much as I’m a big believer in the 1st ammendment and your right to say what u want to say it’s an ownership/business decision if it’s not a smart business decision to keep a guy because he’s offending a fan base you don’t tolerate it when he’s a 3rd catcher it’s the same thing as a ray rice vs adrian Peterson comparison ray rice isn’t in the league for the same reason Peterson was suspended but rice was black balled why he just wasn’t that good good or great players can say a lot more because of the talent (and no I’m not saying DV is the same as a comment just saying people tolerate certain things from certain players) and if he didn’t believe hole heartedly what he said he could have said I’m sorry that what I said was portrayed as this this is what I meant I didn’t want people to get the wrong idea I just don’t want looting/rioting and innocent people getting hurt
Wow so much wrong with this post
I’ll skip the political points and just address your baseball argument. The Mariners were 11th in payroll this year and actually below average, yet they nearly got a wild card spot and finished with a quite impressive record. Furthermore, most of their key players continue to be under team control for next season. I’d say that’s actually a pretty good model for a baseball team.
Mariners*
First of all they didn’t spend so much they tied their own hands they had two GMs make bad trades and draft picks. They also have not had some of the can’t miss prospects turn out like Ackley. As for the other part not sure I will disagree.
I think at 1st you are forgetting about DJ Peterson his numbers in AAA were not too much different than Vogelbach that is why this trade didn’t and still doesn’t make sense unless they make one of them a DH when Cruz is gone. I have said it multiple times I know but I am confused by it.
If they do trade for Cozart which I still feel is down the list on upgrades Dipoto better not trade Gohara for him now. That would be crazy it was crazy then and would be worse now. Marte has the problem of relaxing on the easy plays and making errors on them then making a tremendous play later on. It is maturity last year was his first full year in the big leagues I would say he probably learned a lot from it. It would not surprise me if they stood pat on him. We shall see.
OF and 1st is the biggest areas they need to fix and if they pick up Smiths option I hope it is for his bat off the bench because we need a bat too. He doesn’t fit Dipoto’s definition of an OFer he wants fast and athletic. His virtue is he sees a lot of pitches and had a decent OBP. I am the optimist here I think the pitching staff can be really good. They need to keep Felix pitch count low early in the season so he doesn’t wear down Paxton and Walker need to stay healthy and we will be fine. Paxton was really good then got hit in the elbow with the comebacker and took a few starts then had fingernail and blister problems. He seems to have little nagging things hold him back.
I was surprised by the team last year I didn’t think they would make a run until this year so now I am expecting good things hopefully Dipoto can do some good stuff this winter and not hurt the team long term. We’ve had enough of that.
I definitely didn’t forget Peterson. He just hasn’t performed well enough to earn a spot yet. Vogelbach has done nothing but hit throughout his minor league career. Peterson was really good at Double-A this year, but he was so-so with Tacoma and highly disappointing at multiple levels in 2015.
We will see about Vogelbach still can’t get past Simms and the short arm comment. I also didn’t like to see a good young arm like Montgomery go for a 1st bm/dh. Especially if he has to be platooned. We need some of these young players to start living up to their potential and make it up way too many misses in the Bavasi/Z era. Time to get some right.
Big time steal for the Cubs. Non-athletic, bat only 1B/DH types are a dime a dozen. Seattle already has a few.
Non tender Cook, Furbush, Clevenger, Wilhelmsen for sure.
I’m thinking they’ll roster Paul Fry and DJ Peterson to protect them from the Rule 5 draft.
Definite no on the Iannetta option, probable no on Aoki option, probable yes on Seth Smith option.
Trade for Zack Cozart.
Sign CJ Wilson, Greg Holland, Steve Pearce, Colby Rasmus, and Franklin Gutierrez.
That’s my idea of a productive offseason.
I like the Wilson (if they get him on a team friendly contract) and Pearce, I just don’t know about Rasmus. The Ms really need a guy with solid defense who can get on base in front of the middle of our lineup, and Rasmus doesn’t really seem to fit that bill.
Rasmus is a badly underrated player, I don’t care to profile for high OBP outfielders there are other ways to make value. People don’t like the K’s but he also walks enough to make it work and hits for power. Overall slight above average 102 career wRC+ hitter with plus baserunning and defense.
Rasmus, Fowler, and Reddick all came into the league about the same time, guess who’s fWAR is who’s… 15.9, 17.5, and 18.5. If I can I’ll take the buy low on the big number.
I can see Rasmus, especially if they say no to Seth… but as I wrote below, I do think Dipoto likes Heredia and Gamel… as at least platoon guys. if not starters.
Love the Wilson and Holland moves.
The injuries to Pearce and Cozart bother me some, but I can see the gamble on one… but probably not both until the players actually hit the diamonds and working out.
Yeah I like Gamel and love Heredia, and think they’ll fall in at some point in the near future but I doubt the M’s hit spring training without another established player on an MLB deal (in addition to Martin and probably a return of Smith/Guti). Both rookies can be optioned to begin 2017 and the team will benefit from that depth rather than being vulnerable to getting dragged down by it. I sort of view the OF as being a bit like the rotation in that if you don’t have too much you don’t have enough. I say the same for Karns and Miranda, love the upside but I’d prefer to block them adding an established starter and let the depth fill in as it may.
I think it would be awesome to see the mariners snag Gomez or Desmond. It might give them a legitimate chance to get king Felix to the playoffs.
The way Dipoto has been talking and acting the past year, it is highly unlikely the M’s go after any players with a QO., since Dipoto wants to get younger, and he wants to build a very strong farm system.
That said, the M’s will have at least $20M up to 35M to spend this off season, so who gets QO offers will highly effect the M’s off season.
Further, the M’s have a lot of cheap right handed relief pitchers with MLB experience (roughly 12 -14 players), as well as an apparent willingness to trade a young starter with MLB experience (Walker, Karns, Miranda)… so the HOT STOVE in Seattle will be hot all winter.
I fully expect the following to happen:
1. Guti comes back
2. Either Aoki or Seth comes back, but will be traded as soon as a young kid is ready from Tacoma… be it Heredia, Gamel, Powell, O’Neill
3. A cheap veteran 1B signed, ideally either right handed or can also handle RF
4. A monster trade involving a young SP to get a #2 SP with a high salary – like Zimmerman, Greinke, Porcello, Wainwright or similar
5. Several small trades using relief pitchers and some farm guys to get AA & AAA prospects that appear to fit Dipoto’s style of athletic, good OBP or good K/BB ratio, and blocked in their current organization
6. Several low cost pitchers to be added both on MLB and minor league contracts… seems to be a Dipoto specialty
7. A veteran C to be signed
A Guti and Aoki/Smith platoon will only cover one of the open OF spots. That leaves the Ms with one more spot to fill.
I could totally see Dipoto signing Carlos Gomez to a one year deal, after all he has the defense and base running Dipoto likes. But I don’t know if the Ms can afford to sign him and then watch him provide the same offense he had in Houston.
While it could be possible for Dipoto to sign a veteran OF, especially if defense and athleticism are there… I think Dipoto believes he covered that with Heredia and Gamel. One of these guys will probably start at the MLB level as a 4th OF or in platoon, while the other develops more in Tacoma and comes up mid season.
Further, I’ll bet that either O’Malley or Freeman are still around as a utility / defensive replacement when needed as well.
Lastly, I will not be surprised if the veteran back up 1B can play the OF as well.
That’s pretty close to what I was thinking however I disagree that they’ll be shopping for catching, I don’t think that upgrading over Zunino or Sucre is money well spent.
Bigger needs at SP, RP, 1B, SS, and OF in my opinion, and as I see it even though they won’t be shopping for top shelf free agents there are a slew of intriguing risk/reward players coming off of injury/down years in this market [CJ Wilson, Greg Holland (a closer on a guaranteed deal would drive down Diaz’ future arbitration salaries and he’s likely to go to arb 4 times as a super 2), Steve Pearce to platoon with Vogelbach and serve as 2B/3B/OF depth, Stephen Drew or Andres Blanco as low cost one year SS stopgaps, Jon Jay or Colby Rasmus for a corner OF spot].
In the OF I do like bringing back Smith/Gutierrez, and Martin will play CF as long as his skill holds up, but I think it would leave the OF too shallow to go into the season counting on Heredia, Gamel, Romero, Powell, O’Malley, or anyone else in house to hold down LF. I’d advocate signing Rasmus or Jon Jay.
First off, just to be clear, I do not think the veteran C to be signed will replace Zunino. The veteran would be the back up, and possibly left handed & offensive based versus Sucre who is all defense.
I also agree that low cost one or two year stoppers at SS and one spot in the OF are preferable, so that the youngsters can learn the “Control the Zone” philosophy better… and the names you mention are good. I believe Dipoto will try to trade for at least one of these positions even for short term – like Cozart (not my favorite but) or someone like Chris Taylor.
Lastly, after listening to a few others, I believe Dipoto is going to try to get one player who is in their last year of their contract who is likely to get a QO…. a big time rental. This maybe a starting pitcher, closer, OF or other… but the idea is that Dipoto needs to able to sign a big name free agent in 2018, and since Dipoto does not like losing 1st round draft choices, Dipoto will need to try to get someone that will be worth a QO that he does not want / need to resign in 2018… thus getting a second 1st round pick that he can lose when signing another.
If they traded for Cozart pre season and he had another good year he might be QO material. Also some of the players I listed as bounceback short term free agent interests could potentially rebuild their value to that level (CJ Wilson, Greg Holland, Colby Rasmus).
I think for DiPoto to punt the 1st round pick for a free agent next year it will require a roster that has less question marks, I.E. Marte, Vogelbach, and one of our OF prospects establishing themselves. This year appears to be suited more towards filling several small needs rather than any large need. I’d love to see them go out and get a real ace starter again at some point, wonder how they feel about Shohei Otani.
As for the catcher thing, I figured that’s what you meant. The problem I have with it is that Sucre will be going to arbitration and getting a nominal raise, and then he’d have to go through optional waivers in order to be sent back to the minors in 2017. If they really do want to sign a vet catcher to an MLB deal we’ll probably just see Sucre non tendered, it wouldn’t make sense to carry both. In my opinion it’s not worth the extra couple of million to get a vet who’ll play once a week, maybe hit a little better but likely play worse defense. I think Zunino/Sucre is an excellent run prevention unit and I’m content at keeping that the priority at catcher.
Oh man, almost forgot you mentioned Chris Taylor. Not one of management’s finer decisions last year snubbing him if you ask me. Why they chose Sardinas and O’Malley to fill in for Marte when he was injured and struggling last year is beyond me, and the Zach Lee trade makes me feel ill. I think they threw a win or two in the garbage the way they handled SS. And then they go and get all excited about Gamel who’s got a AAA OPS lower than Taylor’s and plays further down the defensive spectrum. I think there was some real favoritism there, watch Taylor go to some crappy team this year and become a respectable starter.
On the catching, I might be too aggressively minded. I just really like the way the Cubs use their players interchangeably also as weapons late in games… and while there is no way for Dipoto to duplicate that, I was holding out some hope for another bat at that position.
As for any international free agent this year, I think the on going negotiations on the CBA are stifling any discussions now. Who knows if anything will get resolved though.
When it comes to trades, I must admit I did not like half of the ones Dipoto made, and I questioned most when they happened. Maybe Zach Lee will turn into a Wade Davis clone in 6 months – I haven’t given up hope yet, but I do also hope that Taylor does make it. The kid deserved better while he was here, and he should make some team very happy in the future.
Why no mention of hard-throwing righthanded reliever Arquimedes Caminero, who appeared in one-third of Seattle’s 54 games after his trade on August 6?
He wasn’t particularly good but I think they’ll retain him for the live arm just in case he develops command. He’s out of options though, so he’ll have a short leash.