Balancing the roster: How the Seattle Mariners can build a contender in 2019

For a team that has been relatively successful in 2018, the Mariners have quite a few question marks as they exit the season. Some players made excellent contributions while others left more to be desired. If this season was any indication of what’s to come in the future, the Mariners will need to become a more consistent ballclub.

With limited prospect capital to trade from and a payroll near the top of the MLB, the road to a well-balanced lineup isn’t as clear as it may initially seem. The Mariners cannot afford to throw money at a superstar talent or else they’ll hit the luxury tax threshold.

However, the Mariners don’t need to add another superstar to the fold. They have enough as is, with Robinson Cano, Jean Segura, and Mitch Haniger. Nelson Cruz may also return in free agency, re-adding a fourth to the list.

What the Mariners need, from the offensive side, is simple: players who give them more answers than questions. In essence, players that are not relied upon to make certain changes or improvements to their game in order to have a good season.

If the Mariners are serious about contending in 2019, which I think they will claim to be, then a player cut from the same cloth as Ryon Healy and Mike Zunino should not be on the team’s radar.

In fact, while we’re on the topic, I firmly believe that the team should move on from both Healy and Zunino during the upcoming offseason in order to remove themselves entirely from the complications they propose, but we’ll discuss that another time.

The time for high-ceiling, low-floor acquisitions has come to an end. The Mariners have relied upon hitting on these types of acquisitions because of Jerry Dipoto’s unwillingness to dip into the free agency pool. Simply put, this is the best Dipoto can afford on the trade market.

Now, what they need more than ever, is consistency. Bats who won’t jump off the page but also won’t disappear for weeks on end. Of course, acquiring such talent is easier said than done, as all contending teams are looking to fill their rosters with these kinds of players.

What needs to be acknowledged, however, is that I’m not expecting the Mariners to add three new Mitch Hanigers to their roster. No, think more along the lines of a Denard Span. Those players exist in both the free agent and trade markets, giving the Mariners an opportunity to truly thicken their lineup.

This includes improving the bench, deepening it to offer Scott Servais various options when constructing his day-to-day lineup and game plan. One of my constant complaints throughout the season derived from Andrew Romine’s year-long presence on the roster. To put it bluntly, players like Romine do not take roster spots on contending teams.

Whether it’s Romine, Kristopher Negrón, or someone along those lines, they do not have a place on this roster moving forward. They just absolutely can’t. It’s poor roster construction, restricting the manager and the overall flexibility of the team as a whole.

The Mariners are defensively sufficient enough in certain areas that they can afford to sacrifice defense in order to improve offensively in others. The St. Louis Cardinals lead the MLB in errors (123), yet they’re inching closer to a 90-win season along with a playoff berth.

Romine was kept on the team for his defensive flexibility. If they choose, the Mariners could shift Dee Gordon to such a role, or look to supplement the need with a better bat like Daniel Murphy. Either way, having such an offensive liability along the lines of a Romine or Negrón is simply unacceptable moving forward.

I’ll even do you one better: anyone that is an offensive liability, or has the potential to be, cannot have a place on this roster in 2019. Sure, not every player can guarantee success and some will regress in ways that many can never expect.

Still, if the Mariners plan to contend, it’s time to bet on something more certain rather than hoping for everything to go right.