Seattle Mariners: Sign or Decline — Andrew Romine

What do you think?

Of course the answer is no, absolutely no. The Mariners should not re-sign Andrew Romine whatsoever. Don’t even think about it. Nope. I’d leave it at that, but that wouldn’t make for a very good article now, would it? Instead, I’m going to rag on Romine one last time, because that’s what I’m best at.

How in the world was this guy able to stay on the 25-man roster of a playoff-contending team for an entire season? Romine was by and large a waste of roster spot on an already thin bench to begin with.

The answer could simply be that the Mariners failed to commit to the playoff race, hesitant to part ways with the very little prospect capital they have to supplement certain roles they may deem passable. That’s what Andrew Romine was — passable, at least defensively. On the offensive side… ooh boy.

Romine ranked 398th out of 413 hitters with at least 130 plate appearances, posting a wRC+ of 44. Overall he slashed an abysmal .210/.260/.244 and hit his second RBI of the season in Sunday’s finale versus the Rangers.

Yes, yes, I’m aware that the Mariners did not employ Romine for his offense. To be honest, he’s not the worst baseball player I’ve seen and I probably make more out of my loathing of him than I should.

Where my issue lies with Romine is more accurately directed toward the Mariners’ organization. Again, how in the world was a player of Andrew Romine’s ineptitude able to maintain a spot on a contending club? It really doesn’t make sense. There were opportunities to upgrade the role during the season like good clubs do. The Red Sox, Yankees, Athletics, Astros, and Indians all have amazing depth on their bench. The Mariners did not at any point in this season and Romine was a part of that.

The bench didn’t just lack depth because of the talent, however. Scott Servais and Jerry Dipoto insisted upon consistently having an eight-man bullpen throughout the season, thinning the positional depth even more and making every single spot available that much more important. Letting Romine waste one of those precious spots for an entire season earns the Mariners’ a sad little stormy cloud on their report card.

Hopefully we never have to see Romine in the teal and navy ever again, nor any player like him if this team is truly serious about contending in 2019. That means you, Kristopher Negrón.

Sign or Decline? Decline, decline, decline, DECLINE.

Prediction: Romine ends up with a lower-tier team in the vein of Detroit, Minnesota, Kansas City. Any AL Central team, really. Or the Mariners sign him to a Minor League deal, which, uh, gross.