Mariners Need OF Help, Ben Gamel Out 4-6 weeks

Ichiro and Jon Jay

Any body who has read my article, or looked at the official twitter account for our site, knows that I am not a fan of resigning Ichiro. A true Mariners legend, Ichiro’s name will forever fly at Safeco field, when his number is undoubtedly retired in the near future.

However, you cannot fix today’s problems with yesterday’s solutions. Franchises that spend too much time staring through their rear view mirror almost always crash into what is ahead of them. Ichiro WAS a great player. He isn’t anymore. The Mariners need real solutions, not fantastical fever dreams of the Mariners that once were.

Jon Jay makes a lot of sense for the Mariners. He was linked to the Mariners earlier this off-season, but was put on the back burner after the acquisition of Dee Gordon. Jay makes more sense than Ichiro,

Jay, a 33-year-old outfielder, has been solidly unspectacular the past 2 seasons, and is undoubtedly willing to take a 1 year deal for 2018. He is a career .288/.355/.383 hitter, who grades out as a good base-runner while playing average defense in all 3 spots.

In short, Jay’s value is that he isn’t terrible at anything. A steady, veteran presence in the outfield is good, and gives Ben Gamel exactly what he needs: the ability to not rush back, and spend an extended rehab stint down in Tacoma.