Seattle Mariners News and Notes

In what has been a hectic morning after the World Series, the Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto  has been busy. It would be easy to miss something in the fray. Fear not, we are here with anything you might have missed!

• Free Agency begins today. Clubs are now in a 5 day exclusive negotiation window to resign their free agents. If not deal is reached by the 5th day, said players are free to sign with any team.
• That means the Mariners have 5 days to negotiate with Carlos Ruiz, Jarrod Dyson, Yonder Alonso, Danny Valencia, and Gordon Beckham.
• The team also declined options of Hisashi Iwakuma and Yovani Gallardo. This saves the Mariners more than $20 million. We speculate that Iwakuma could return on a low guaranteed or possibly minor league deal, a sentiment shared by Mariners Insider Shannon Drayer:  https://twitter.com/shannondrayer/status/926152840023642112
• The Mariners also reinstated both Drew Smyly and David Phelps from the 60 Day DL.
• The Mariners claimed former Detroit Tigers Utility Man Andrew Romine on waivers, providing competition with Taylor Motter for the teams Utility role, leaving the current 40 man roster at 35.
• Around the division, the Oakland A’s picked up the $6 million option on second baseman Jed Lowrie. The Angels resigned slugger Justin Upton to a 5 year contract.
• Current New York Yankee outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is being speculatively linked to Seattle.

We have a podcast! On this weeks episode, we break down Seattle’s infield in 2017 and look ahead to 2018. Who do we see as the best option for first base? Backup catcher? Utility man? Plus, we explore a possible Mike Zunino extension and more. Click here  to listen!

Finally, we will be releasing our 2018 Off-Season Plan next week! Find out what we think the Mariners can and will do this offseason.

Next: 4 Trade Targets for the Seattle Mariners

It will be a long cold winter. But we are here for you guys to fire up the off-season Hot Stove!