It’s already been a fairly active offseason for the Mariners, who before the league-implemented lockout by signing reigning Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to a five-year contract and acquiring second baseman/left fielder Adam Frazier in a trade with the Padres. Whenever the transaction freeze lifts, the M’s are expected to resume that aggressive approach as they look to capitalize on a top-ranked farm system and take the next step from last year’s 90-win showing to their first playoff berth in two decades.
The checklist, in some ways, looks similar to early in the offseason. Even with Ray on board, Seattle is likely to add some veteran innings to the back of the rotation. The big right-handed bat sought by president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has not yet been acquired. As such, it’s hardly a surprise that the M’s have been linked extensively to all three of Kris Bryant, Trevor Story and Seiya Suzuki in recent weeks.
Perhaps more interesting is the idea that the Mariners could potentially add two of those names to the fold. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times suggests that it’s at least possible for Seattle to add both Bryant and Story, adding not to “underestimate the possibility” that Frazier could be traded before ever playing a game for the Mariners.
That’s a new and yet-unexplored topic by and large, so it’s worth taking a bit of time to unpack — after establishing a few points up front. For starters, it’s certainly possible that even if Seattle were to pull off an unlikely stunner and sign both Bryant and Story, Frazier could still be deployed as a multi-position super utility player. That’d cut into the available playing time for switch-hitting Abraham Toro, but Toro could conceivably rotate between multiple infield positions (third base, second base and perhaps even first base) and designated hitter himself. He also has minor league options remaining.
Secondly, it should be emphasized that there’s no indication in the report that a blockbuster addition of both Bryant and Story is at all likely, nor does Divish suggest that Frazier will be actively shopped by the Mariners. Some would question the logic of acquiring Frazier in the first place if the end result were only for him to be traded just a couple months later. However, in the (very) hypothetical event that scenario plays out, it surely wouldn’t have been the plan at the time of the deal. Any further activity involving Frazier would quite likely stem from the Mariners unexpectedly landing some big-ticket items they originally didn’t anticipate being possible. And, as Divish notes, a Frazier deal would likely only come together if he were to bring back some form of immediate big league help (perhaps pairing him with some minor league talent).
While Frazier’s time with the Padres didn’t go as either player or team hoped, the 2021 season was nevertheless a strong one for the 30-year-old veteran. In 639 trips to the plate, Frazier slashed .305/.368/.411 — good for a 114 wRC+ — adding in five home runs, five triples and career-highs in doubles (36) and steals (10). His 10.8% strikeout rate was also the lowest of his career by a good margin.
That said, Frazier is a free agent after the 2022 season and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn a $7.2MM salary this year. It’s certainly plausible that the Mariners, with a deep outfield mix and the more cost-effective Toro as an option at both second and third base, might not relish the idea of relegating Frazier to a rather pricey bench piece — if they were able to add a pair of bats. Furthermore, a team with a need at second base (e.g. White Sox) or in the outfield (e.g. Guardians) could potentially show interest were Frazier’s trade market to be rekindled. Dipoto has already made clear he has no intention of trading his top prospects this offseason, but some mid-range talents plus a win-now piece like Frazier could theoretically net some needed pitching help from a trade partner.
Again, it’s safest to assume this is all a long shot and that Frazier will end up playing a notable role with the Mariners this coming season. But with no end in sight to the lockout, it’s also hard not to think about some outside-the-box possibilities and what might lie ahead when baseball returns to brighter days. A second Frazier swap or the Mariners shocking the baseball world with a pair of big-name additions might feel like a reach, but with just $87MM in projected 2022 payroll and only $37MM in 2023, the money is there for Dipoto & Co. to at least consider some ambitious possibilities.
I don’t about paying Ray $25M a year. Seems kinda steep for a guy that has only 2 good seasons. But it’s not my money.
It is your money. If you’re a Mariners fan that is. It’s certainly not the owner’s money. Teams spend what they earn (from you), no more.
Pretty sure Randy hasn’t spent that much on beer and hot dogs
Not with an attitude like that, Dusty.
Maybe he is a pirate or just listens to the games. Works for the team or has connections.
But that money belongs to the owner and it’s their choice whether to reinvest it or not lol
By that logic, the money doesn’t belong to you either. It belongs to your boss. Or the government if you are retired or unemployed.
It is YOUR logic that’s at fault… your scenario is the exact opposite of the one put forth by MatthewLVT17.
I seen worse contracts. At least he isn’t needing surgery. No idea if Seattle was his dream destination or they had to pay a lil more to make it be. And he is coming off a cy young so he has that going for him.
Man, that’s what you gotta pay to get one of these guys.
I believe the children are the future
….you can’t take away my DIG NI TEE
Ya, they gave the guy some r-e-s-p-e-c-t
Apparently the music note emoji doesn’t pop up
I like the Ray deal. 21 mil for 3 years is at least market and the opt out works if he’s great/M’s aren’t and 25 mil for the last 2 is not crippling considering their future payroll. Also the M’s could just trade that contract to the Mets. I’m kidding. I just say that for my friend Dallas Mets. 😉
It all just seems unreal now, Randy.
And the entire MLBPA only amounts to a few people out of a whole nation.
How important can that be?
The rest of us live our lives at the mercy of the wealthy and privileged,
If the Mariners sign 2 big bats, I would rather see them sign Story and Suzuki rather than Bryant and Story. But either way or whatever happens, it’s a plethora of riches for M’s fans. The team has the payroll capacity and prospect capital to do pretty much whatever they desire.
I wouldn’t question the logic if Frazier was traded. They could aquire a prospect or prospects they like better than what they gave to aquire him. I wouldn’t expect him to bring back a mlb pitcher. Would need to find a contending team who was so desperate for a slightly above average 2b that they would trade a mlb pitcher for him. They would also need to have a surplus of pitching. I don’t think many teams want to pay him 7 million and give prospects for him to play the outfield.
I’m honestly just fine making sure we snag one of Bryant/Story, let Frazier play everyday at 2b to start the year and get Toro at bats at 2 and 3. Go get another decent starter, go get another of/DH option (could be Suzuki)
But yeah. I’d love to see Bryant preferably at 3rd….but feel strongly that Story would slide in just fine to replace Kyle’s production and also give us a much needed everyday righty
Bryant at third last year was a shell of himself. As a Giants fan, it was brutal watching him play the field every day.
They didn’t trade for Frazier to trade him again lol. He’s the 2B. No need to spend on Story.
Tell that to Mallex smith
Or Wellington Castillo,
With how expensive Correa is, and the remaining SS needy teams in play, why not sign Story and trade Crawford? I didn’t understand the teams pledge to keep him at SS no matter what. Why make that statement when they’re in a position that any upgrade for them could be a huge difference maker? It’s not like he hits like Jeter… or much better than league average at all. I did t understand the Frazier trade either when the money is there to spend and guys like Bryant, Story etc could push them from WC contender to playoff team….
Or even move Crawford off short if a better player is available. Just didn’t understand the need to swear him into the position.
They committed to Crawford because he has become the heart and soul of the team, and will be the clubhouse leader now that Seager is gone. Those two were really tight. So I think it is the intangibles they are weighing highly in regards to Crawford. He is a Gold Glove Caliber shortstop and he still has room to improve offensively. I am completely OK with having JP cemented into the SS and leadoff position.
Agreed. Moving JP off SS defeats the purpose of him as a player, as he’s much stronger defensively than offensively. And you don’t trade the new unofficial captain. He’s earned that spot through play and leadership.
Okay that clears it up a bit. If his contact and SLG get closer to what he did in the minors, combined with elite defense then he becomes an all star level player.
I was just seeing that the M’s are in the position where adding via free agency now puts them over the top from WC chaser to playoff favorite. They could use a nice bat in the middle of that order. Damn having King Felix NOW would’ve been perfect too I bet.
Crawford is a bum, if they were able to get Story and Bryant they should absolutely sell high on him. He’s never going to be an elite bat, he has no power or elite speed. He’s above average on defense but the Mariners need offense. Could care less if he’s a so-called team leader, I really don’t see that. What I see is a forced effort by the front office to market him as a leader. I think hanigar is much more valuable and would rather see the money spent on him then locking JP up to a long-term deal
I think Bryant and Frazier were both targets at the deadline last year and Toro was option #3. (not that they couldn’t have more than one) Acquiring Frazier, Toro and making an offer to Story makes me think that Bryant is no longer a priority. Signing damn near anybody wont make them trade Frazier. He will be an M in 22.
Off topic but here’s a question for desktop users:
Do you ever get weird text not related to baseball in the search tab when you open the site sometimes? I’ve had this happen a few times and it changes the top stories tab and the headline bar to stories related to whatever names/random words were in the search bar. Refreshing the page doesn’t change anything, it stays like that until I exit out of the tab.
I’m checking MLBTR before bed and I noticed that the headline was about Lou Brock passing away, which was strange, since I thought he was already dead. I realized the glitch was happening again and I see “brock turner+filetype:cer+domain:edu” in the search tab (yknow, the Stanford water polo guy.) I think I’m getting a sneak peek at some behind the scenes developer stuff and it’s getting pretty annoying since the stuff that shows up in the search bar is usually pretty weird.
Message to Tim: Fix your site dawg
Never had this issue boss; I’m on Android.
So why did you answer? He clearly stated the question was for desktop users on the first line.
To answer your question. I have never had the problem with the search bar, but I have occasionally had a lot of headlines that were MUCH older. And usually grouped with some kind of theme that I did not ask for. Doesn’t happen often, usually when I need to just restart.
Sorry I misread or skimmed too fast. My bad.
Check the search bar the next time that happens, sounds like you’ve had the same problem
@Hiflew – This happens to me too quite a bit. If you have the MLBTR site bookmarked, you finish reading an article and then hit the back arrow to try to get back to the homepage, sometimes it will bring up an older view of the homepage (most likely the same day you set your original bookmark on). When this happens, I just click on the bookmark shortcut again (instead of using the back arrow) and it usually brings up the most current articles/homepage. This happens on my iPhone quite a bit.
I think I have seen it but as a micro second glitch.
I don’t think I’ve ever had that happen on my desktop
Never had any issues with the site, on desktop or phone. Have you tried clearing cookies in the browser you use? No idea if it would help, but worth a try. What do I know?
If there was no service time manipulation issue, here would be my BEST team for the Mariners on Opening Day (assuming that it is within four months from now:
1. Frazier 2B
2. Crawford SS
3. Haniger Corner OF
4. France 1B
5. Toro 3B
6. Kelenic Corner OF
7. Lewis CF
8. Murphy C
9. Rodriguez DH
I put Julio Rodriguez at DH at the start of the season so he only has to focus on hitting. Of course, if service time is still an issue, Rodriguez may not start the season in the show. Mariners have to decide whether they are going to try to extend Haniger. If they are able to keep Haniger, I do not think they need Bryant or Story, and especially not Suzuki. They need another starting pitcher. The question is whether trading Frazier (perhaps paired with a prospect NOT named Julio Rodriguez or Noelvi Marte) could get that high quality starting pitcher. Otherwise, they keep Frazier. Neither the Reds nor the As would want Frazier.
Like every potential acquisition, it all depends on the cost. If Story costs more than Castellanos and Schwarber, what if they signed a pure DH type instead? Again, Haniger could be gone in a year, and while Kelenic ended the season on a high note, he is no guarantee. Obviously, Bryant would be the best get for M’s but the most over-hyped and over-priced. But he could play 3B and have Toro be the supersub. Toro could replace Frazier in a year at 2B or move back to 3B if Haniger is not re-signed. But Bryant is seemingly more valuable at 3B than in OF. Bryant can also fill in for France at 1B some days.
So to me, here is the ideal scenario for the Mariners. They make a trade with the Reds for Eugenio Suarez and Sonny Gray. Castillo will get elite prospects and the Mariners should keep Julio Rodriguez, Marte, Kirby, Hancock, Ford, Williamson, Phillips and Alberto Rodriguez. So I would pass on Castillo because i think the cost in prospects would be way too high. But Suarez and Gray could be had for Trammell and a prospect (say one of Edwin Arroyo, Gabriel Gonzalez or Jonathan Clase) in the 10-20 range, and the Reds would throw in a few million in cash. Better approach than Story or Suzuki and not an overly long-term commitment like Bryant.
I never thought about the fact that the lockout could make Lewis healthy for the new opening day. That could be huge for the M’s, potentially.
I think Haniger will stay in the 2 hole and one of Frazier or JP will be bumped to 9, which I believe would also be their best option. If Julio makes the team out of camp (which I actually think is a possibility– Kelenic didn’t really have his service time manipulated; he wasn’t ready prior to the season when Mather made his idiotic statements), I don’t think he’d hit in the 9 slot. I also think the M’s would somewhat rotate all of J. Rod, Kelenic, Lewis, and Haniger through the OF with a focus on Lewis in CF.
I say no to Suarez and would rather allocate money for Bryant, Story, or Suzuki; but I’m absolutely fine targeting Gray. Add Brash to your list of off limits prospects and subtract Hancock. I’m 100% moving Hancock for the right player given his combination of injury and control issues last season. I’d also listen on Phillips if it’s for a controllable player.
Seattle might be better off selling high on righthander Matt Brash, who only 17 months ago was the player to the named in a trade of reliever Taylor Williams, whom San Diego has since waived. Taylor Williams!
Only recently bias suggests that the Mariners should sell low on Emerson Hancock instead of selling high on Brash.
Hancock projects as a mid rotation guy at his ceiling and would be th3 guy I’d trade as well, if we traded one that is. I wouldn’t trade any of Kirby, Brash, or Williamson in any deal. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if any of Stoudt, Phillips, or Macko passed Hancock this season in the rankings.
Granted, I didn’t want Hancock as the draft pick to start with. I wanted us to take Gonzalez.
Nonsense. You don’t draft a guy with the 6th overall pick who projects as a mid rotation starter. Are you really trying to limit his potential after 44 innings in A ball? Sell high on Brash, not low on Hancock.
Definitely no reason to sell low on Hancock.He could potentially have 4 plus pitches.
But Brash has ace potential as well is his command improves a little.
I doubt Seattle moves either player.
Neither Suarez or Gray is an albatross contract, and will not be given away. The Reds will want top prospects for two All-Stars, with multiple years of control.
According to Baseball Trade Values, the contract of Eugenio Suarez is underwater with a negative value of $8.9 million. Over the past two seasons Suarez has posted a line of .199/.293/.440/.733 with only 1.6 fWAR in 202 games.
Seattle might prefer the lefthanded bat of Mike Moustakas, whose negative $32.5 milion trade value would offset the $28.3 million positive trade value of Sonny Gray. Steamer projects Moustakas and Suarez with 2022 wRC+ of 98 each.
Or the Mariners could forget about Suarez and Moustakas altogether.
Agreed Suarez is definitely underwater not even a question Gray, however, is not and would require a prospect package. The amount of prospect package is up for debate but the Mariners certainly have the prospect to get Gray without giving up any of their top prospects.
@Manny – Having France batting 4th & Toro batting 5th is not going to scare too many opposing pitchers. Seattle absolutely needs to add at least one more power bat to their lineup. Kris Bryant makes a lot of sense due to his versatility in the field and his consistently high WRC+ at the plate (with the exception of the 2020 short season of course). Seattle should steer clear of Story, IMO. Between most of his success coming at home in Denver and a very disappointing 2021, it’s hard to project how his bat is going to perform in ‘normal’ stadiums in 2022 and beyond. Trevor Story is a great player but Bryant is the safer choice between the two if you ask me.
Seattle could move Ty France to third base then pursue the lefthanded bat of Anthony Rizzo and his projected 2022 wRC+ of 122 and three-year, $45 million contract over Kris Bryant and his projected 2022 wRC+ of 114 and six-year, $160 million contract.
Or not.
I don’t think the M’s can count on Lewis being an every day CF. 2 knee injuries in his young career he maybe better suited for a corner position. He has the arm for RF. Haniger will likely be the primary DH with sporadic playing time in the outfield. His defensive metrics have severely declined and he does not move very well.
I am not a huge fan of signing Bryant, seems overpriced and a defensive liability wherever they play him. I have read Suzuki could play CF, that would be intriguing.
But the M’s really need a left handed bat. Honestly I would love for them to trade for Nimmo, he’s got one year left played mostly CF, lefty, with great OPS. He is in his last year and now a Boras client. I can’t imagine the cost being one of Seattle’s elite prospects.
On the pitching front, they don’t really want to block any of the prospects, need to add depth, and someone who can eat innings. I would not be against bringing back Anderson, Pineda, or signing Greinke on a one or two year deal.
Robbie Ray has porcello written all over him.
Mr. Highest IQ: there is absolutely NOTHING at all similar between Porcello and Ray except they both happen to be Caucasian Male Starting Pitchers, well one is an ex-starting pitcher, ex-baseball player. Try Again Henry
I agree IQ. That deal could turn bad, quickly for Sea.
“It’s already been a fairly active offseason for the Mariners, who before the league-implemented lockout by signing reigning Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to a five-year contract and acquiring second baseman/left fielder Adam Frazier in a trade with the Padres.”
That is the most non-sensical run on sentence I’ve ever seen. Do you guys edit your work at all?
It is free content and generally good analysis. Just replace ‘by signing” with “signed” and “acquiring’ with “acquired”. Run-on sentence, yes, but the meaning is easily understood.
THAT’S the most nonsensical run-on sentence you’ve ever seen? You need to read the site’s comments more then. The intended meaning is very obvious and it was pretty easy to decipher.
Relax, sfes. It’s a free site that provides excellent content for baseball fans. No one is getting graded for their grammar. If the correct tenses were used, this would not be a run on sentence either. Replace “by signing” with “signed” and replace “acquiring” with “acquired” and the sentence is 100% grammatically correct. You should pay the ridiculous prices for ESPN+ or The Athletic if you want to complain about sentence structure.
Yea you’re right. This lockout is starting to drive me nuts with the lack of baseball content in hot stove season
Happens to the best of us these days!
Ray was a great signing. He will earn the money. I’d take Story over Bryant and stick with Frazier. Check into a starter from Cincinnati. Suzuki is going to the Giants.
Adam Frazier is a reliable 2B and to move him for a different guy who may have better offensive numbers, would hurt the M’s defensively. Frazier has been in a gold glove running’s a few times already. I think by age 33, that will change. But M’s is looking for a short term answer at 2B and Frazier is the best guy for it. It will be disappointing if they took playing time away from Frazier or trade him away. He’s what M’s need
I’m not sold on signing Suzuki. We already have a glut at OF. I get the idea of Lewis’ fragile knees but having Suzuki in reserve seems excessive. I’d rather see them put that Suzuki money into more pitching.
I agree. I won’t necessarily be upset by acquiring Suzuki, but it doesn’t seem like the best use of resources, particularly with Julio knocking on the door.
I can’t figure out why people claim that Seattle has a logjam of OF’s…. They have bodies on the 40 man roster, sure. But look at the stats. They were horrendous. Outside of Haniger, who played above average OF for Seattle last year? Haniger’s defense has regressed substantially, and he isn’t getting any younger. If you want to bank on Kelenic and Julio that’s fine, but they are both currently not contributing to the MLB roster. Kyle Lewis has played played in 112 games in the MLB, has had some success, but you cannot count on him to be the starting CF right now. Dipoto has said this himself. They absolutely need to acquire at least one legit OFer this off-season, preferably someone who can play above average CF. Kelenic was one of the worst CF in baseball last year. He is a LF. Haniger cannot be relied on to play OF regularly anymore and is best suited getting a lot of AB’s at DH. With Lewis’ injury history he should not be counted on the play CF regularly. If Seattle has a logjam in the OF why have they played so many INF’s in the OF over the last 3 or 4 years?
Seattle has the money to get Suzuki, an infielder, and a starting pitcher.
But that ‘glut’ of outfielders includes exactly one who has actually established himself.
It is hard to believe the M’s could go from infielder deprived to having such a surplus they could trade Frrazier. But it is a slow news day, so whatever. I believe the M’s will make a run at Rodon. He may be had for a little less because he doesn’t stay healthy and the team that acquires him should not count on more than 100 innings. That would actually be ideal for the M’s. With the arms they have on the farm they need SP innings for the youngsters anyway. Brash, Dunn, Kirby and Hancock could all get a few starts during the season. But next year these guys will be very marketable.
The need a backup at SS. Crawford cannot play every day. Story is the only option there being considered. Toro and Frazier do not play SS. I am reluctant to give Dillon Moore any more time at the plate. He better come to ST hitting the ball. I would like a trade for a backup SS to replace him. Many of the other younguns’ should hit better in year two.
Lewis may surprise us all and be ready to play CF. But like Rodon they will manage his innings using him mostly at DH.
AlienBob- when I read the article by Ryan Divish I thought of two things:
1) the idea of adding T Story and K Bryant is based on J Dipoto’s comments on adding 2 premium bats this offseason. There are not too many premium Bats left in FA. Therefore its logical Divish explores the idea of adding Story, Bryant and Suzuki. Whether Dipoto adds two of those 3 FA’s remains to be seen. The idea is based upon fact- Seattle IS looking for 2 bats.
2) Divish suggested a hypothetical situation of trading Frazier as an afterthought. He is just anticipating what the Org would do if it added Story and Bryant. In other words he’s just saying- where would Frazier play if its assumed Story would shift to 2B and KB plays 3B. Its again, logical that a trade of Frazier is possible. Highly unlikely, but possible.
Alien Bob- you’re right about the team planning to promote Brash and Kirby this year. I cant wait to see both make their debut. (Check out Pitching Ninja’s latest short clip on him)
Logan Gilbert looked really good in stretches last yr. His outing vs that Yankees lineup was phenomenal. As good as Gilbert was in his debut Kirby is regarded as an even better SP prospect.
You should read Baseball Americas focus on the M’s farm system. Their writers believe Kirby is arguably the best pitching prospect in all of MiLB. They think he will be a true Ace, a bonafide #1 SP who could turn out to be an All-Star with a ceiling of being one of THE best SP’s in the majors. We all have read about Kirby’s excellent command but his pure stuff improved a lot last yr.
Re: your comment on Hancock- I’m not sure where you’re getting that info from. Everything I’ve read suggests we wont see him until 2023 at the earliest. Esp since he now has serious injury concerns. His one and only professional season was cut short due to shoulder problems. He’s nowhere near his debut. His prospect status dropped (out of the Top 100) because of that.
They shut Hancock down out of an abundance of caution. There is no reason to give up on him. He needs to build up his strength and innings. He has a young arm. No one expected Kirby to advance so fast. Hancock could turn it around next season or blow out his arm. Nobody knows. All players carry injury risk.
I didn’t mention anything about giving up on Hancock. I just wanted to know where you read about Hancock being a possible call-up for 2022 because I haven’t seen that anywhere- he was only drafted in 2020. He’s just played 12 games in pro ball. George Kirby is a full year ahead of him.
I’m excited to see Emerson Hancock develop, I hope you’re right on his injury because I saw multiple Industry experts become legitimately concerned about his shoulder. His season wasn’t just shut down early out of caution. He missed multiple starts Including the Futures game when he was out for over a month in June and July.
I cannot WAIT to see both Kirby and Brash in Seattle. The fecundity of pitching arms in that M’s farm system has given us a good base to move forward to that next level. Hopefully we can reap the rewards.
He finished up at AA Arkansas. He should be working hard over the winter. It would not be beyond reason for him to move quickly from AA to AAA Tacoma. He just has to stay healthy and pitch well. Teams don’t waste good arms in the minors anymore.
Trade for Matt Chapman. Two years of control.
Interested in Josh Donaldson? He’s played well when healthy and I’m willing to throw in some cash, some.
Matt Olsen at 1B would be nice also.
why trade good prospects for olsen when you could sign freeman.
If they want to upgrade 1st base .
Who is gonna be their CF in 22′ and beyond???
Kelnic’s small sample didn’t play as a good defender. There’s talk of adding Suzuki. So with haniger, kelnic, Lewis(knee makes him questionable-cf), mr. walkalot-fraley, and then Rodriguez. How does adding Suzuki make this work??? And who plays CF???
I see haniger, kelnic, Rodriguez,Lewis between the 3 OF spots and DH.
We don’ t know who will play CF. All of the outfielders can do it. The question is can any be gold glove caliber? Kelenic would seem to have the inside advantage since he did it last year. I would expect improvement from Kelenic, Lewis to play part-time and maybe Julio or Suzuki gives it a shot. Trammel could improve. There are no certain answers at the moment.
Barring a trade for a center fielder, Seattle may again go with Taylor Trammell as its Opening Day center fielder.
Trammell is a year younger than touted center field prospect Jarren Duran, who has far inferior defensive skills than Trammell. Each disappointed in MLB debuts last year with Trammell posting an OPS+ of 71 in 178 plate appearances and Duran posting an OPS+ of 51 in 112 plate appearances.
Trammell could be given one more opportunity as the Mariners await the arrival of Julio Rodriguez and its resulting outfield shuffle.
As the roster stands now I think it’s basically a competition between Trammell and Julio where all Trammell has to do is perform “well enough” to get another look out of the gate; whereas Julio is gonna have to blow the top off of spring training and also get some help (an injury) for him to be considered in April. Even if the collective bargaining agreement changes the service time so that it doesn’t factor into the decision, I still think he starts the year in Tacoma, and we open the year rolling with the rotation of Mitch/KLew/Kelenic/Fraley/Trammell/DMoore
With Julio next in line. They don’t want Julio as a part time player at any point, he needs abs so he needs to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s beyond ready
Something about Suzuki no one’s talking about is that yes he’s spent the past 6 years as an OFer but he also has professional experience at 3B, 1B, and SS so he could be a very versatile option once Julio Rodriguez gets the call after the season starts. ‘If’ Kelenic or Lewis start the 2022 season horrible then I see calling up Rodriguez and sending Lewis or Kelenic down, but if they all are performing great that’s a great problem for Dipoto to have!
I also think signing Suzuki would be an insurance policy just in case Haniger is gone after 2022. There is also a possibility if Dipoto doesn’t feel like he’s gonna retain Haniger after 2022 he might pull the trigger and trade him mid season “if” Kelenic/Lewis/JRod/Suzuki are ripping the cover off the ball. Before Hanigers testicle injury Atlanta was willing to forfeit their entire farm system for Haniger…now after 2021 his trade value is back up.
So I think Dipoto is gonna jump on Bryant for 3B and grab Suzuki as an insurance policy. And I still think he’s gonna land another top SP somewhere probably via trade, if we can’t land Rodon or Kershaw
This suggestion that Frazier could get flipped was something Ryan mentioned almost immediately after the trade. My take was that it could’ve been more of an insurance move in case Seattle is unable to land a bigger name (as Steve also suggested in this post).
It may be unlikely, but there are a number of teams that could match, especially though with bigger (bad) contacts
I think Seattle or STL are the dark horse candidates to land Correa. Can’t wait to find out.
I’m curious if Seattle made a pitch to try and get CJ Cron at the deadline. I wanted him badly for the Indians because we had Jake Bauers at 1B. Who I predicted would be dreadful — and he was beyond dreadful. So who does Seattle pick up — Bauers. Cron could have been a difference maker either at 1B DH or both. Instead down the stretch the M’s went with Luis Torrens, a weak hitting backup catcher. Not having that extra big bat probably cost them a playoff berth. Dumb.
Torrens is money. Hit .260+ with a 30 HR pace the 2nd half of the year and mashes lefties
No one is mentioned Carlos Rodon.
He could be a difference maker, even if we overpay for 1 season. Gives us more arms and buys more time for the young arms to develop.
Also give Tyler Anderson an invite. He did a decent job and haven’t heard much on him. Again, you can never have enough pitching.
I would like to see us trade for or Matt Olsen Luke Voit. 1B/DH. Voit being cheaper. 2021 version of Voit is huge. An extension for Olsen would be offered as well.
Gives us the option to move Ty France to 3B.
If Toro isn’t going to get the everyday job at 3B, can France handle it on the hot corner?
Kyle Schwarber would be another option. Secures us a power hitting DH/1B option for probably 2 seasons. I think he returns to Boston.
I am not sold on Bryant or Story.
Trading for Matt Olsen is nice but would cost us our future shortstop in Noelvi, I would rather give up an arm for him.
Imagine Olsen at 1B and France at 3B with Voit at DH. Pop!
2B Frazier
RF Haniger
1B Olsen
DH Voit
3B France
CF Lewis
LF Kelenic
C Murphy/Raleigh
SS Crawford
Robbie Ray
Carlos Rodon
Marco Gonzalez
Chris Flexen
Logan Gilbert
Tyler Anderson
Justin Dunn
This is the year, if there is a year, for us to finally get excited for the Ms. Young players, front office seems willing to go after free agents and the division isn’t at its strongest. Love our chances!
Give Adam Frazier a chance. He played 2 seasons full time and was good.
Why should the Mariners trade anyone right now? I don’t draw too much from the 2021 offensive numbers. MLB experimented with the balls at different parks.
They will miss Kyle Seager but to me, Toro-Crawford-Frazier-France with Dylan Moore as a Sub looks like a good IF. Give them a chance.
The OF has a world of potential too with Haniger, Lewis, Kelenic and some players in MiLB.
There’s still hope the once highly touted Evan White and Taylor Trammell,
I don’t understand why the Mariners have dug their heels in with Crawford at SS, and I especially don’t understand why the fans bought into it. The goal is to win..get to the playoffs often, and to win a World Series. Correa is a much better player than Crawford. To continually dig a hole in the sand and shove our head into it when that conversation comes up is nonsense. I don’t care who is playing short when the Mariners win. Seattle and, for some reason the fans, seem to only want to win if JP is playing shortstop. Baffling.