SodoMojo’s Top-10 Most-Viewed Mariners Stories of 2014

Dec 8, 2014; San Deigo, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants manager

speaks with the media at MLB Winter Meetings at Manchester Grand Hyatt. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

8: MLB Winter Meetings: 5 Bold Predictions:

Coming in at number 8 on our top-1o Mariners stories of 2014, editor Dan Hughes made bold Winter Meetings predictions based on what he had seen so far in the offseason. Did he strike gold on any of his predictions?

Dan’s first bold prediction:

The LA Dodgers will NOT trade Matt Kemp. Despite Dan’s argument– which you can read in the original post– the Dodgers eventually traded the slugging, aging outfielder to the San Diego Padres for a nice haul of prospects. The deal saw a hiccup when Matt Kemp was diagnosed with arthritis in both hips, but eventually the deal was finalized and Kemp took the trek a few hundred miles up the west coast.

Second bold prediction:

The Atlanta Braves Will NOT trade Justin Upton. The San Diego Padres sure had it out for Dan’s bold predictions, as Upton was traded to the San Diego Padres a few weeks following the Winter Meetings. Both Kemp and Upton had been trade targets of the Seattle Mariners, but insistence by other teams that the M’s include Taijuan Walker made now-prudent Trader Jack hesitant.

Third bold prediction:

The Seattle Mariners WILL Sign Melky Cabrera. Had the Mariners offered the switch-hitting outfielder a 4th year on his contract, he likely would have been a Mariner. But the M’s front office wasn’t willing to overpay, offered only 3 years, and Melky elected to stay further east like he originally planned. He signed a three-year deal with the Chicago White Sox.

Fourth bold prediction:

Jon Lester will sign with the Boston Red Sox. Dan-o is 0/4 so far. The ill-treatment of the lefty-ace by the Red Sox proved too much to overcome this offseason. The team lowballed him with a contract extension in the spring, before trading him away to the Oakland Athletics at the deadline. Lester eventually signed with the Chicago Cubs on a 6-year, $155 million contract.

Fifth bold prediction:

The San Diego Padres will do SOMETHING. Ding ding! We have a winner! Dan’s final bold prediction for the Winter Meetings saves him, as the Padres went crazy on the trading block. They traded for an all new outfield with Kemp, Upton, and finally Wil Myers from the Tampa Bay Rays. Then, just a few days ago, the Padres traded surplus outfielder Seth Smith to the Mariners in exchange for relief pitcher Brandon Maurer.

It has been a busy offseason for the Mariners, one that included subterfuge rumors about an international free agent short stop: