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3 Goals to a Successful Off-Season for the Seattle Mariners

By Colby Patnode

OAKLAND, CA - APRIL 06: Bats and helmets belonging to the Seattle Mariners rest in the dugout during their game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on April 6, 2010 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - APRIL 06: Bats and helmets belonging to the Seattle Mariners rest in the dugout during their game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on April 6, 2010 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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2. Identify who needs to go to clear playing time

SEATTLE, WA – JUNE 1: Edwin Encarnacion #10 of the Seattle Mariners is congratulated by teammate Mitch Haniger #17 after hitting a two-run home run off of starting pitcher Andrew Heaney #28 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim that also scored Haniger during the sixth inning of a game at T-Mobile Park on June 1, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA – JUNE 1: Edwin Encarnacion #10 of the Seattle Mariners is congratulated by teammate Mitch Haniger #17 after hitting a two-run home run off of starting pitcher Andrew Heaney #28 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim that also scored Haniger during the sixth inning of a game at T-Mobile Park on June 1, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

Saying you want to get your young position players as much time at the big league level as possible is fine. But now you actually have to go and do it. And for Dipoto, that means identifying who is staying and who is leaving, while also receiving as much value for those who don’t make the cut in trade.

Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the outfield. The Mariners have a number of candidates to be a part of the plan moving forward, including Mallex Smith, Mitch Haniger, Kyle Lewis, Domingo Santana, Jake Fraley, Braden Bishop, and perhaps even Jared Kelenic.

You can get enough playing time to 4 outfielders on a regular basis, so 2 of the first 6 names probably need to go. Choosing which two is a big deal for Dipoto this off-season, as all are young enough with enough club control to make it worthwhile to keep around.

Dipoto won’t face such problems in the infield, where J.P. Crawford and Kyle Seager are already atop the depth charts and no long-term first base option is on the roster to block Evan White. Second base is the only hold up as Dee Gordon sits ahead of Shed Long, but Dipoto will almost certainly find a taker for Gordon.

The Mariners are going to do some selling this off-season, but they now have the MLB quality depth that they didn’t have last year. So as weird as it seems, it is a fantastic sign that quality MLB players need to be traded to make room for the kids.

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