The Mariners’ front office operated under tight payroll restrictions from ownership in light of uncertainty regarding the team’s television contract this offseason. That didn’t stop “Trader Jerry” Dipoto, the team’s president of baseball operations, from aggressively overhauling the roster with a series of trades colored by monetary implications. (This year’s Mariners Review might include the lengthiest “trades and waiver claims” section I’ve ever written in a decade of doing these reviews.)
Major League Signings
- Mitch Garver, DH/C: Two years, $24MM
- Ryne Stanek, RHP: One year, $4MM
- Austin Voth, RHP: One year, $1.3MM
2024 spend: $17.3MM
Total spend: $29.3MM
Option Decisions
- None
Trades and Waiver Claims
- Acquired OF Mitch Haniger, RHP Anthony DeSclafani and cash from Giants in exchange for LHP Robbie Ray
- Acquired 2B Jorge Polanco from Twins in exchange for DeSclafani, RHP Justin Topa, OF Gabriel Gonzalez and RHP Darren Bowen
- Acquired RHP Gregory Santos from White Sox in exchange for OF Zach DeLoach, RHP Prelander Berroa and Competitive Balance Round B draft pick (No. 69 overall)
- Acquired OF Luke Raley from Rays in exchange for 2B/SS Jose Caballero
- Acquired RHP Carlos Vargas and C Seby Zavala from Diamondbacks in exchange for 3B Eugenio Suarez
- Acquired 3B Luis Urias from Red Sox in exchange for RHP Isaiah Campbell
- Acquired RHP Jackson Kowar and RHP Cole Phillips from Braves in exchange for OF Jarred Kelenic, LHP Marco Gonzales and 1B Evan White
- Acquired C Blake Hunt from Rays in exchange for C Tatem Levins
- Acquired 2B/OF Samad Taylor from Royals in exchange for PTBNL (later announced to be RHP Natanael Garabitos)
- Acquired RHP Cody Bolton from Pirates in exchange for cash
- Traded RHP Riley O’Brien to Cardinals in exchange for cash
- Traded RHP Darren McCaughan to Marlins in exchange for cash
- Claimed RHP Mauricio Llovera off waivers from Red Sox (later outrighted to Triple-A)
- Claimed RHP Collin Snider off waivers from Diamondbacks
- Claimed RHP Levi Stoudt off waivers from Reds
- Claimed RHP Kaleb Ort off waivers from Red Sox (later lost via waivers to Marlins)
- Claimed OF Canaan Smith-Njigba off waivers from Pirates (later lost back to Pirates via waivers)
Minor League Signings
- Brian Anderson, Heath Hembree, Michael Chavis, Nick Solak, Cole Tucker, Cory Abbott, Kirby Snead, Joey Krehbiel, Casey Lawrence, Jason Vosler, Rangel Ravelo, Tyson Miller, Brett de Geus, Michael Papierski, Sean Poppen, Ty Buttrey, Trevor Kelley, Jordan Holloway
Notable Losses
- Teoscar Hernandez, Robbie Ray, Eugenio Suarez, Tom Murphy, Jarred Kelenic, Mike Ford, Marco Gonzales, Justin Topa, Jose Caballero, Isaiah Campbell, Prelander Berroa, Evan White, Penn Murfee (claimed by Braves), Cooper Hummel (claimed by Mets), Ryan Jensen (claimed by Marlins), Luis Torrens, Brian O’Keefe, Adam Oller, Easton McGee
It became clear fairly early in the offseason that despite the Mariners’ recent success, including the end of their two-decade playoff drought in 2022, payroll wouldn’t be rising much in 2024. Like so many clubs around the league, their offseason dealings were colored by uncertainty surrounding the team’s television rights. While Seattle wasn’t planning to cut payroll like many other clubs around the game, the Seattle Times reported in early December that president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, general manager Justin Hollander and the rest of the front office received a smaller budget than anticipated from ownership.
That didn’t stop plenty of speculation regarding Seattle-area native Blake Snell, but a big free agent splash like that never seemed likely given the front office’s apparent budgetary restrictions. Instead, Dipoto went with a familiar approach: operating primarily on the trade market. Even by his own standards, this was an offseason for the ages in terms of wheeling and dealing. The Mariners made a staggering 12 trades over the course of their offseason.
Perhaps most remarkable about that progression of trades isn’t the sheer volume but rather the fact that Seattle held onto its entire crop of vaunted young pitchers. Entering the offseason, it seemed quite likely that one of Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo or Emerson Hancock could be dealt as the team looked to bolster other areas of the roster. Controllable starting pitching is always in demand, and there was less of it available this season than in years past. The Mariners, facing needs at designated hitter, second base, third base and in the outfield, could very likely have moved a young starter and filled multiple holes in one fell swoop.
That wasn’t meant to be, however. Dipoto would reveal that he unsurprisingly received considerable interest in his young pitchers but “never liked the way it looked” before adding that holding onto the entire group as always “Plan A.”
Even if the plan was to hold onto that group, changes were clearly needed. Dipoto hinted at a possible retooling early in the winter suggesting that he hoped add some more contact-oriented bats to the roster in the wake of last year’s prodigious strikeout totals. While the Mariners achieved this to some extent, that desire certainly didn’t inform all of their offseason moves, as many of the team’s new acquisitions still strike out at alarming rates.
Eugenio Suarez was the first domino to fall in this regard. He’d been a solid contributor for the Mariners in each of the two prior seasons but struck out in 31% of his plate appearances along the way and saw his power output dip in 2023. Suarez led the American League in strikeouts in both 2022 and 2023. A substantial dip in his defensive grades could well cause his value to plummet, as he was effectively a league-average bat in ’23 (102 wRC+). His contact rate on pitches in the zone sat more than five percentage points shy of league-average, and on pitches off the plate, it was nearly 13 percentage points shy of the mean. Suarez is making just enough contact and playing just sharp enough defense to remain an above-average regular, but his margin for error is thinning.
In return for Suarez, the Mariners got one of the game’s hardest-throwing young relievers, Carlos Vargas, and a backup catcher who strikes out at a staggering 35% clip: Seby Zavala. While Zavala was acquired for his glove, not his bat, it was a bit curious to see the team cite a desire to improve contact skills and then acquire such a whiff-heavy backstop. Cal Raleigh will work a larger workload than most starting catchers, but Zavala’s whiffs are still prodigious. For a Mariners club that is as good as any in the game — maybe better than any other — at maximizing bullpen performance, getting a power arm like Vargas is particularly intriguing. Still, the $12MM in cost savings in this deal was surely a motivating factor.
Replacing Suarez at the hot corner will be fellow trade pickup Luis Urias and holdover Josh Rojas, whom the M’s acquired last summer in exchange for Paul Sewald (a move that, in retrospect, perhaps foreshadowed the current offseason’s payroll restrictions, when considering Sewald’s arbitration salary). Urias was a buy-low grab who posted a solid .244/.320/.446 slash in 2021-22 with the Brewers before an injury-ruined ’23 season. In hindsight, the Mariners might regret committing $5MM to him so early, as veteran infielders like Gio Urshela and Amed Rosario signed for a year and $1.5MM apiece late in spring training, but their price tags falling to such extreme levels was generally unforeseeable.
The Suarez trade irked Mariners fans, as it seemed clearly financially motivated to at least some extent, but the trade of Jarred Kelenic, Evan White and Marco Gonzales smacked even more heavily of a salary dump. The M’s acquired a former second-rounder, Cole Phillips, who’d yet to pitch professionally due to injury and a change-of-scenery former prospect in Jackson Kowar. Both have since undergone Tommy John surgery.
Kelenic was a symbol of hope during the Mariners’ last rebuild — touted as a potential outfield cornerstone alongside current face of the franchise Julio Rodriguez. Things simply haven’t panned out that way, however. Kelenic has looked flummoxed by MLB pitching on a repeated basis, particularly fellow lefties. He had a hot start in 2023 but faded immensely before breaking his foot when he kicked a water cooler following a strikeout in a key situation. The Mariners shed $24.25MM of payroll in that deal and received little in return. But dealing Kelenic and his 31.7% strikeout rate did mesh with Dipoto’s goal of improving the team’s contact.
Between the departures of Suarez, Kelenic and free agent Teoscar Hernandez (who signed with the Dodgers on a one-year deal), the M’s bid adieu to a trio who combined for 1788 plate appearances and each struck out in 31% of their plate appearances (or more). In trading Suarez, Kelenic, Gonzales and White, the Mariners also trimmed nearly $37MM off the long-term payroll.
Those weren’t the only cost-driven deals of the winter, however. Dipoto shipped the final three seasons of Robbie Ray’s $115MM contract to the Giants in a trade bringing back old friend Mitch Haniger and right-hander Anthony DeSclafani. The Mariners know just how productive Haniger can be when at his best but are also plenty familiar with his susceptibility to injuries and strikeouts. As with Garver, he’s not a panacea for the team’s contact woes, but Haniger has never punched out at a clip higher than 2019’s 28.6%. He was at 28.4% in 2023 while battling through an oblique strain, a back strain and another fluky injury: a broken arm sustained when he was hit by a pitch.
Outside of last year, Haniger has been an above-average offensive player in every full season of his career. He’ll probably never return to his peak 2017-18 form, but even 2022’s .246/.308/.429 slash was 13% better than average, per wRC+. The Mariners would likely be fine with that level of output, and anything extra would be a bonus.
The Haniger/DeSclafani/Ray trade also set the stage for one of the Mariners’ biggest acquisitions of the offseason. It took several months to come together, but the M’s and Twins finally made good on what was a clear on-paper match from a trade partner standpoint. Seattle acquired switch-hitting second baseman Jorge Polanco from the Twins, sending back DeSclafani to provide some pitching depth, righty Justin Topa to beef up the Minnesota bullpen, and a pair of prospects: Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen. Gonzalez is particularly well-regarded, landing on a handful of top-100 lists this winter. Bowen joined the back end of the Twins’ top 30 prospects. The Mariners included the $6MM of salary relief the Giants provided for DeSclafani and kicked in another $2MM, leaving the Twins on the hook for $4MM of DeSclafani’s $12MM salary.
The Mariners weakened their bullpen, thinned out their rotation depth a bit and traded one of their best outfield prospects to get the trade done. From a roster construction standpoint, however, it worked for both parties. Seattle’s pitching is a strength, while second base was a glaring need. Mariners second basemen hit .205/.294/.313 last season. Only four teams (Giants, Brewers, Rockies, White Sox) saw their second basemen turn in a worse wRC+ mark than Seattle’s collective 75.
Going from that dearth of production to Polanco, who’s slashed .267/.337/.458 over his past 2362 plate appearances in the majors (117 wRC+) is a massive upgrade. Like Haniger, he’s had some recent injury issues, but Polanco is a balanced switch-hitter who’s signed for just $10.5MM in 2024 with a $12MM club option for the 2025 season. Knee and hamstring injuries limited him to 80 games last year, but he’s a clearly above-average hitter and capable defender at second base. His 18.2% career strikeout rate should help the Mariners’ contact goals, though it’s worth noting he did whiff in a career-high 25.7% of his plate appearances last year.
Sending Topa to Minnesota in that trade on the heels of his 2023 breakout — 69 innings, 23 holds, 2.61 ERA, 21.9% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate, 56.7% grounder rate — may also have served as a catalyst for one of the Mariners’ most uncharacteristic moves in recent memory. Seattle has thrived at turning minor league signees, waiver pickups and other little-noticed acquisitions into impact relievers. Topa himself is an example of it. They’ve become so prominent at doing so that the team has even coined the “Steckenrider Bucket” term — a nod to them signing Drew Steckenrider to a minor league pact a few years back and enjoying a dominant season of setup work from the journeyman righty.
Their February acquisition of White Sox closer Gregory Santos, however, marked the rare instance in which the Mariners paid a steep price in a trade for a reliever. It’s easy enough to see why Santos appealed to them. He pitched 66 1/3 innings of 3.39 ERA ball in front of a terrible defense, striking out 22.8% of his opponents against a 5.9% walk rate. Santos kept the ball on the ground at a 52.5% clip, averaged a blistering 98.8 mph on his heater, induced swinging strikes (13.4%) and chases off the plate (34.9%) at high clips, and regularly avoided dangerous contact (34.9% hard-hit rate, 1% barrel rate). Beyond that, he’s controllable for five more years and not arbitration-eligible until after the 2025 season.
Still, sending not only prospects Zach DeLoach and Prelander Berroa, but also a Competitive Balance draft pick that’ll slot in at 69th overall this summer, marked a divergence from the Mariners’ typical methods. Perhaps the M’s grew weary of mining for hidden gems on an annual basis. Perhaps they simply (and quite understandably) loved Santos’ arm and were enamored of the idea of pairing him with Andres Munoz and Matt Brash in the long term. Whatever the rationale, it gives the Mariners a potential three-headed bullpen monster for the ages. Both Brash and Santos are banged up and will begin the season on the injured list, but neither is believed to be facing a monthslong absence. At some point in the not-too-distant future, that trio will be locking down leads for manager Scott Servais. It’s a fun group on which to dream.
Polanco’s acquisition also helped replenish some of the depth the Mariners lost when trading Jose Caballero to the Rays in exchange for slugger Luke Raley. The 27-year-old Caballero debuted and usurped Kolten Wong as the starting second baseman, though he faded quite a bit after a hot start. Flipping him for Raley adds a considerable influx of left-handed power to the Seattle lineup — Raley homered 19 times in just 406 plate appearances and posted a stout .241 ISO — but does also set the club back in terms of contact skills. Raley fanned at a 31.5% rate in 2023. He hasn’t hit lefties at all in his brief MLB career (.206/.257/.324), so he’ll likely be platooned with Dylan Moore or serve as a bench bat, if the club prefers to give hot-hitting Dominic Canzone the first crack at the larger portion of the left field job. Either way, Raley’s out of options, so he’ll be on the roster.
We’re deep into this look back at the Seattle offseason but haven’t even yet touched on the team’s free agent dealings. That’s both a testament to the astonishing volume of trades and also a reflection of a fairly modest offseason in terms of free agent activity. However, the Mariners did shed a good chunk of money in the trades of Suarez, Kelenic/White/Gonzales, and Ray — as much as $43MM overall. That money has since been largely reinvested into the roster.
To replace Hernandez, Seattle signed Mitch Garver to a two-year, $24MM deal. Garver comes with his own strikeout concerns, but not to the extent of the players he’ll effectively be replacing. He’s fanned in 25.6% of his career plate appearances (24.2% over the past two seasons in Texas) and, more importantly, has quietly been one of the best-hitting catchers in the game when healthy.
Seattle will use Garver as the primary DH, though he could potentially suit up for a few games behind the plate depending on the health of Raleigh and Zavala. This was a bat-driven move, however. Over the past three seasons, Garver has hit .249/.347/.479 (128 wRC+) with 42 homers in 802 plate appearances. He’s a career .272/.377/.509 hitter against lefties. He’s been injured often, doesn’t run well and fans more than the average hitter, so there are some concerns. But the Mariners will hope regular DH at-bats keep him in the lineup more frequently — and if they’re right, he has more than enough bat to fill that role.
The aforementioned injuries to Santos, Brash and Kowar in camp proved too much even for a deep Seattle bullpen to withstand without making any noise. As those three relievers were banged up, the Mariners turned back to the free agent market and signed Ryne Stanek — one of the best remaining relievers — to a one-year, $4MM deal. He’s coming off a down season in terms of ERA and strikeout rate, but Stanek posted the first sub-10% walk rate of his career in 2023 and is yet another power-armed reliever with a fastball that sits north of 98 mph. Each of Munoz, Brash and Santos top 98 mph on average, as well.
Seattle’s only other free agent pickup, Austin Voth, is more in line with their traditional bullpen acquisitions. He inked a $1.3MM deal and will open the season as a swingman. The 31-year-old once looked like a potential long-term rotation option with the Nationals but never found consistency in D.C. He was designated for assignment in 2022, thrived down the stretch after landing in Baltimore (3.04 ERA in 22 appearances, including 17 starts), but couldn’t replicate that success in 2023 (5.19 ERA in 34 2/3 innings). The Mariners will be his third club, and if they can get Voth right, he’ll be controllable through the 2025 season via arbitration.
The Mariners overhauled their lineup, essentially swapping out Hernandez, Suarez, Kelenic, Caballero, Wong, Mike Ford, Tom Murphy and AJ Pollock for a group including Polanco, Haniger, Garver, Raley, Urias and Zavala. It’s not a perfect lineup still, the core of Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh, J.P. Crawford and Ty France — who’ll ideally have a bounceback season — was always going to be the engine driving a contending Mariners club. The new group might not represent as dramatic a reduction in strikeouts as the front office hoped, but this collection of hitters should indeed put the ball in play more frequently.
And for all that turnover, the Mariners made it work without parting with any of their vaunted young starting pitchers or radically increasing payroll. Trading Miller or Woo for a bat, then signing Snell and Matt Chapman might have been a more straightforward means of operating, but those types of expenditures were never in the cards, given ownership’s budget.
The Mariners kept their core in tact, replaced a good bit of any lost production from the departures of Suarez and Hernandez, and did so while operating within a pretty tight set of financial restrictions. They may not be AL West favorites, but this group should be competitive again and the lineup looks solid, even if it’s a wildly different group than they trotted out a year ago. The biggest acquisitions — Polanco, Garver, Santos — are all signed/controlled through at least 2025 as well, making this whirlwind offseason one that’ll impact them beyond the current campaign.
I gave them a B. I think they did a good job of improving the lineup without spending a lot of money while making great depth acquisitions.
Yeah if you take into account the financial limitations they were under yes they did pretty well. Still can’t believe they got the Giants to take Ray.
Yeah getting rid of Ray, Gonzalez and White was great. I think they did well in those deals.
What’s with all the Ray hate? I know he didn’t repeat 2021, but who knows if he was pitching through elbow issues. I don’t know if Haniger will ever play even close to an entire season, and DeSclafani now looks to be out for a good while. Though the deal was cash neutral, I still think it could go either way.
I disagree. Their rotation is inexperienced and Ray is a gamer. Highest strikeout rate in baseball.
As Holden said, Haniger had a couple career years and that’s it. Desclafani wasn’t even that good when he plays. Giants totally won that trade in my book.
Forgot they traded Desclafani, but Polanco had maybe one great season, so they traded quite a few players and got a guy who they are banking on a career year for. I don’t think they won either of those trades with the Twins or Giants and the truth is, none of the names they acquired are “big game” players. Yet they lost Ray in the process.
“One good year”
Polanco has averaged an OPS+ of 111 over a 10 year career.
They’re getting an above average offensive 2B with ok defense and a guy capable of roughly 2 or more WAR. Compared to what Mariners were using before that’s a win.
They traded away three players, one being their #3 prospect for a 2.0 WAR player in Polanco. That’s not an improvement in my eyes.
He’s okay at best but it doesn’t put them over the top for matching Astros and Rangers.
Correction:
They traded away a reliever and essentially lottery tickets for a 2 WAR player
Gabriel Gonzalez is in A ball so let’s pump the breaks on him for a minute as guys in A ball a notorious for falling down ranking charts higher they go.
The other guy Bowden is 23 struggling in a ball as a reliever.
So to this point Mariners traded a reliever in Topa and some guys who might be something) for Polanco.
More importantly
Polanco helps now.
Gonzalez is 3-4 years away which by that time Gilbert Kirby Castillo and a lot of the core will be at or near free agency with younger guys needing massive extensions of their own.
You can replace prospects. Teams do it every year via draft and ifa spending. What you can’t do is get back cheap arb years or years on your contention window.
They didn’t trade away there #3 prospect
Check me in with an A+. Those financial limitations were a bigger negative force than we might imagine.
I don’t know about A+ but I like what they did everything considered.
Hey Fred, they like what you said. You still can turn on the charm. I have mixed feeling about this, They did alright given there limitations, self imposed one’s at that, meaning they cry wolf but nobody believes them, do they? You watch they will continue in having good turnouts again. They show what players contracts are so lets see what owners are.
Fred… you have always been a cheap date, and we appreciate that.
Given how painless the Brave’s traded away Marco and Evan, I need one of the two young pitchers who came back in the Kelenic trade to play at MLB well for a year or more for this to be an A grade.
If Vargas becomes a solid RF pitcher for the M’s, then the A+ is worthy.
And repeat after me… IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT KELENIC does from here forward, he was NEVER going to succeed as a Mariner.
Actually, tacomarain, I admit I was hasty with that A+.
But I didn’t admit it because so many people liked my comment.
And I agree with you about Kelenic.
The trades list for Dipoto is always great.
I really like their offseason. Was at their game on Saturday and that lineup is legit. Really no letup in it.
From a pure talent acquisition standpoint they get a B but considering the financial constraints, Dipoto gets an A.
Holy smokes ! What percentage of total trades did he make this season !? He does not disappoint
Front office couldn’t have done any better of a job with the constraints that they were given.
I don’t care how Jerry DiPoto words it, but if their goal is to sustain a competent roster and try to make the playoffs every year, that’s a whole lot more than a lot of other teams out there.
So many new players, SEA has to create a whole new chemistry for the offense.
Solid deep pitching keeps you in alot of games.
Very good chance at a WC maybe even division
Probably give Dipoto & Hollander an B+ or A-. I still don’t like giving Kelenic away for nothing but money. Feels like that could bite us in the butt. I’ll admit though that he hasn’t shown much at this point and may never be more than a platoon corner OF.
I’ll give ownership a D-. At least they didn’t cut the payroll I guess? It’s still a kick in the balls that we’re in a prime competition window and they won’t let us go for it.
Kelenic is his own worst enemy and has been a dumpster fire in spring training. He clearly can’t mentally handle playing in the bugs and I don’t know if that’s something he can correct.
They must get paid by the word.
I wonder if the M’s saved enough in the budget to take on Goldy or Arenado at the deadline? The Cards could kick in cash if the return made sense.
I gave them a D. I’ll probably get slanmed for this. I think the Robbie Ray trade was stupid. I know most people will say their rotation is “the best” but they have a lot to prove with young arms and although Ray may not pitch in 2024, his strikeout ratio and experience would help any rotation.
And I really don’t think Mitch Haniger is the answer. He’s an injury prone player on the wrong side of 30 who can’t hit for average. And I’m not impressed with Jorge Polanco. Honestly, they picked up a bunch of players who were successful on career years but not consistent year to year, so I’m not sure they’re going to be as good as advertised.
But the real reason they get a D is they are up and coming but did not do enough to catch Texas or Astros when they’re at a time where they need to push forward.
Maybe I’m a downer, I just don’t think they’ve done enough to put them in a good position to win. Honestly, I want them to be good, I just think they made themselves not get over the hump from last year.
I say third place is reasonable, but I say they miss wild card.
Eeore has spoken.
Surprised to see a lot of people voting As and Bs here. The lineup didn’t really improve much if at all from last year, replacing Suarez, JK , Murphy, Cabballero, Ford and Teoscar with Garver, Urias, Polanco, Raley and Haniger feels like it is just lateral movement, and at best our lineup is in the same place it was last year. I do like what we’ve done in the bullpen, however injuries have already come
The lineup is worse than last year. Haniger is washed up and injury-prone, Polanco had maybe two great seasons surrounded by several okay or mediocre seasons and Raley is a back up at best. Urias, who knows. He’s had potential but never really lived up to it and had a terrible 2023. I don’t know about Garver, but he’s not a big name.
I’ll get slammed for it, but I gave them a D.
The lineup is superior to last year, Polcanco is a huge upgrade for the infield. And we reduced the number of strikeouts. Mariners had like 3 of the top 4 players in terms of strikeouts. That’s not how you win baseball games at any level.
Haniger makes them better? I call him hanger because of all those k’s
I gave the an F. They took a 3rd place team and did nothing to make it rise in the standings. Pitching is great, but you don’t win championships with a couple.300 hitters. Very disappointing mediocrity once again for 2024.
They traded their best pitcher in Ray (arguably). No one else is proven in that rotation, and as you said, they downgraded their offense. But I still gave them a D.
You’re joking right? Ray isn’t even close to the best pitcher in the rotation. He is at best 3rd or 4th. I can’t believe you would even attempt to make the argument he is their best SP.
He’s got experience. Everyone else has a lot to prove. Calling him the best may have been wrong on my part, but I still definitely feel he’s got the track record the other guys don’t. It’s just injuries.
Ray- highest strikeout rate in baseball. 2 years ago no one was crying about him being a 3 or 4 pitcher. Definitely believe M’s lost that trade miserably
You’re extra hopeful for the M’s by the way. I see them getting third place
Their best pitcher was Ray? You’ve lost all credibility in baseball talk with that comment and anybody who’s going to try to have a conversation with you here is wasting their time. You must be out of your mind.
Well I did correct myself that I shouldn’t have said “best.” Wrong word on my part.
But, I still believe he is a great pitcher who has far more experience than anyone else they have, albeit one of the highest k rates in baseball.
Your dramatic. I was wrong and I owned up to it, but I still think it was a terrible trade on their part. So I guess I should pack up and quit now?
Far more experience than anyone else they have? He has appeared in 40 more games than Luis Castillo has in his career. That’s just over one season worth of starts. Far more experience than anyone else they have is flat out wrong. If you haven’t noticed, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert are pretty good too. Nobody is worried about them and how they’ll perform. And Miller and Woo held their own and will only get better. Getting rid of Ray was a win. Getting rid of his contract was the main part of this trade. Haniger has been great when healthy. That’s a massive if obviously. I do believe, though, IF he stays healthy this year, which he has done before, he will perform.
Haniger is pretty bad. Maybe not for the M’s, but Ray has had a career full of experience. You’re only looking at the Mariners. He did much better elsewhere and has probably the highest k rate in the game when healthy.
I meant to say “without a couple of .300 hitters”. I wish there was a way to edit your own comments….
The Mariners don’t need a couple of .300 hitters. You win championships with great pitching, a few clutch hits in October, and a little bit of luck.
M’s are gonna have to give up some of those fine young pitchers if you wanna get one of Cards big boys
It will never happen. As it is, the Cardinals would have to pay down their remaining salary. Cards don’t have what it would take to get one of our young controllable starters.
I don’t blame Jerry for the actions of ownership, and maybe the loss of tv revenue is really significant, but the fact is the Mariners need to go for it right now to take advantage of their young core, and this is the opposite of “going for it.”
I gave them a D because after missing the playoffs last year, treading water at best in free agency is really not something the fans should be okay with. We only have a few years of this young core, and they need free agent signings to put them over the top which the team did not do, and they actually cut payroll by about $25 million compared to last year.
Just make it so I can pay to watch the games on my computer without blackout restrictions. It’s not hard.
They’ve actually spent slightly more than last years payroll.
I lived in Seattle from 1989-2018, and was an M’s fan. The FO has really squandered numerous opportunities throughout the years being a championship quality organization. They get ever so close, then handcuff the team with financial constraints. While the young arms are looking promising, aside from J Rod, they have had a dearth of being able to develop hitting talent in house since A Rod. This off-season was about shedding salary and shedding batter’s strikeouts(Teoscar and Suarez) but what did they replace their power with? Mitch Haniger?? Looking at another 3rd or 4th place finish in the AL West.
Excellent, considering the budget constraints.
Texas, Houston, and can Seattle beat out Toronto and the Yankees? The Orioles are gonna win the east, and the rays and Red Sox are probably not going to compete.
I give an F to the cheapskate owners but I’ll be damned if Dipoto didn’t do a good job given the turd sandwich they handed him. There’s really no argument that the team isn’t better on paper than last year’s, which is impressive given no payroll growth.
More names brought in this offseason than pitchers used last season.
That is saying something.
Still hate our ownership group (guarantee they find money for any property that comes available near the stadium), but the Polanco and Santos trades, as well as the pivot to Stanek made me like the offseason a lot more.
I am not a Garver guy, but their treatment of the DH position last year was one of my bigger gripes, so I am happy they addressed it in a meaningful way.
While he has had a great spring, I am not a Haniger guy, and while everyone pictures Ray giving up a bomb in the playoffs, he was the best player in that deal (even if he won’t be back until July-ish). Relying on youth at the 4-5 spots in the rotation (and with Hancock as our NMU) we could use that veteran horse.
I think the corners all around the diamond could have been addressed better and could be a big concern. I’ll give it a B, but no way we should be in our window doing this stuff.
D. Much ado about a slight improvement of the roster.
“…..could very likely have moved a young starter and filled multiple holes in one fell swoop.” Are you serious Steve Adams? That was a well written sentence but has no basis in reality! You can’t fill multiple holes by trading one young pitcher.
I gave it a B. Polanco and Garver, when they stay on the field, will provide consistency and length to the lineup, with JP, Julio, and Cal.
Ty, Haniger, Urias, Rojas are decent bounce back bets. If they flop, Canzone, Raley, Locklear, Bliss might just pick up the slack. And Taylor provides a nice alternative to Moore and Haggerty. At UT. And Blake Hunt is a promising backup catcher.
Other than starting pitching, where after a strong front 5 they are vulnerable, the depth and options are really good everywhere.
Watch out for Canzone! If Spring Training
is any indication of things to come, he looks like he could be pretty good this season.
Of course you have the Astro’s ,who are projected too win the division. Seattle, and because their roster makeover they have to be a dark horse which makes this that much more interesting. Will have to see how this plays out. The M’s depth will be call on tested, and if needed, will they be able to add players that will make a difference. In that regard. I suppose were all on the same footing. I think they call this how lucky can you be because we don’t really know, and we need it.