An Offseason of Chaos

By: Mahal Domingo-Anderson

Following a 2022 campaign that opened a window not seen for the Seattle Mariners since 2001. Heads were shifted to a 2023 season. A season in which expectations were sky-high. The young nucleus included a young superstar in centerfield who had just received a mega-extension for his Rookie of the Year winning rookie season, alongside a pitching staff among the best in the league, and a catcher who hit the now most iconic home run in the history of the franchise. It felt as though this team was destined for a deep postseason run in 2023.

Cal Raleigh's walk off solo homer sends the M's to playoffs for the first time in over 20 years.

Unfortunately, in classic Mariners fashion, the team could not match the success of the year before. Not only did the 2023 Mariners fail to clinch the postseason. The team failed to reach 90 wins. A feat both the 2021 and 2022 Mariners teams achieved.

Following the conclusion of a frustrating and heartbreaking season for the franchise, fans knew the offseason leading into the 2024 season would be crucial. It's easily the most important offseason in a Mariners history filled with stories of failure. Fans and players expected more from a front office headed by Jerry Dipoto. So far, these expectations have been far from met. 

Following a loss on September 30th to the future World Series-winning Texas Rangers, Cal Raleigh asked for more, stating, “We’ve got to commit to winning, we have to commit to going and getting those players you see other teams going out and getting.” Mariners fans immediately took to social media in agreement with Raleigh, and the following day, Raleigh was met with roars of applause in support of his statement. Raleigh ended up apologizing, but those words resonate with every Mariners fan today after a November and the first half of December filled with even greater frustration.

The offseason began after the same Texas Rangers who knocked the Mariners out of postseason contention defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the World Series. This was yet another shot to the heart of Mariners fans in a past year that has been full of shots to the heart. 

The Mariners' first decision of this crucial offseason was not to offer Teoscar Hernandez the qualifying offer. Fans immediately began to speculate why. Some believed it was due to his high strike-out rates in 23’. Others believed it was due to the value of the potential money it would cost. But today, it is clear the reason was to save payroll for a more effective outfield bat and not raise the clubs' payroll above where it was last year. This became clear after two of the Mariners’ next three moves. The first of those was the Mariners' trade of Eugenio Suarez to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Suarez was one of the few players in baseball to play in all 162 games in 2023 and has been a keystone of the clubhouse since being traded to Seattle in 2022. In return for Suarez, Seattle received a veteran backup catcher in Seby Zavala and an AAAA reliever in Carlos Vargas. In other words, Seattle got a lump of coal and a bag of rocks. But the biggest piece of this move for Seattle was the roughly $11 million payroll the Mariners shed. This opening of payroll created space for the President of Baseball Operations, Jerry Dipoto, to cook up some acquisitions, or so fans thought. Fans thought wrong again when the Mariners struck up a trade sending a former top 3 prospect in baseball, Jarred Kelenic, to the Atlanta Braves alongside the contracts of first baseman Evan White and southpaw Marco Gonzalez in exchange for another lump of coal and bag of rocks. Another move by Seattle to free up payroll cleared nearly $20 million. Again, Mariners fans thought moves were coming. But that was almost two weeks ago, and it is still the last move Jerry made.

The Mariners payroll currently sits at around $114 million, about $26 million less than a 2023 season payroll of $141.5 million. Rumors have come out that team majority owner John Stanton is heavily restricting payroll for next year. These rumors took flight during the MLB Winter Meetings when quotes came out from Mariners Manager Scott Servais about the front office doing the best they could with the cards they had been dealt. Fans were again dispatched into a frenzy, and nobody knows what the roster or payroll will look like in 2024.

Mariner fans will wish for big splashes for Christmas, but it is unknown whether that is a fair expectation of Jerry Dipoto and the Seattle Mariners currently. A front office handcuffed by a selfish businessman of an owner continues to struggle with the cards they have been dealt.