Seattle Mariners Are Done Spending

They already don’t look happy. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

What the what?

That was my reaction while I was at work Thursday when I saw this tweet by Ken Rosenthal.

Then the Twitter-sphere exploded with all kinds of rants and raves about how this was impossible, unlikely, true to form and any number of other explanations for such an atrocious statement.

Then the guy from Duck Dynasty said what he had to say and Twitter quickly shifted to that for the rest of the day.

But let’s get back to the Seattle Mariners for a minute – if you are looking for me to comment on the Duck Dynasty situation, sorry, you have the wrong blog.

Are we to actually believe for one second that the Mariners signed Robinson Cano to his fat deal and assured him that he would be apart of a winning ballclub, by backing him up with Logan Morrison, Corey Hart, Willie Bloomquist and Franklin Gutierrez?

No offense to ANY of those guys. I was actually a big proponent of bringing Hart and Morrison to Seattle. I think they have the potential to be great additions. But not if they are the ONLY additions.

Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider and 1090 The Fan in Seattle, points out the obvious; they are NOT out of money.

"The Mariners have about $67 million and change committed to the 2014 roster and they spent about $84 million last season, suggesting there is indeed room. There had been no indications of a payroll cut prior to the start of the offseason, including comments from CEO Howard Lincoln saying the number certainly wasn’t going to be reduced."

So why all of a sudden now?

I have a theory. I think this is a ploy, a ruse. The Mariners have been mentioned in every rumor related to almost every available free agent under the sun this offseason. Everyone knows the Mariners want to spend this money. Otherwise, why get Cano?

But the asking prices for these free agents have been climbing ever-northward. And why not? Supply and demand, right? The agents know that there is at least one team that would be desperate enough to pay the exorbitant amounts being asked, Seattle.

But what if Seattle was all of a sudden, out of the market for the remaining players?

The asking prices would surely drop, similar to that of a free marketplace of other goods and services. Then, the Mariners can swoop in and outbid the other teams, paying less than what would have landed them a week or so ago.

It’s risky, because you are banking on the fact that these players won’t accept an offer before the Mariners can get back in on the bidding. Also, the M’s are banking on other teams to not overbid and allow the prices to actually come down.

One thing is for certain, the Mariners cannot not, will not look Robinson Cano in the eye and tell him, “This is what you’ve got to work with, welcome to Seattle.”

They are not done spending. I just hope this strategy doesn’t backfire.