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

We are just about a month away from the first tidbits of the off-season news to start trickling into our timelines. But as we talk about what moves are possible for the Mariners, shouldn’t we first define what a good off-season looks like?

Now before we begin, we should note that what constitutes a successful off-season for the Mariners is up for debate. No matter how illogical it actually is, there are people who would consider this off-season an abject failure if they don’t land Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg.

But here on Earth 616, we should try to have realistic expectations. While signing Cole or Strasburg, or trading for Mookie Betts, sound like fun, they aren’t really practical. At least, not where the roster currently sits.

Besides that, player-specific grading of success isn’t fair. If you only consider it a good off-season if the Mariners sign Gerrit Cole, but they instead acquire Hyun-Jin Ryu, did they really fail to deliver? Or were your expectations simply too high?

What we are looking at today are attainable goals that are fair to expect from a team that is where the Mariners are. We may have some ideas about the type of players that fit our parameters, but we won’t be so bold (or delusional) to say “this player or bust”.

Instead, we are discussing open-ended goals that can be accomplished with multiple different players and routes to achieve said goals. With all that in mind, let’s get started.

1. Find bounceback rotation candidates

Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto has been very clear about not wanting to block any of his young position players from playing at the big league level for large chunks of the MLB season. However, he can’t say the same for his starting rotation.

While Justin Dunn and Logan Gilbert will very likely end the season in the Mariners rotation, it is unlikely they will get there until June or July. And with 40% of their final 5 man rotation of 2019 leaving in free agency, they need pitchers to fill in.

But not just any pitchers. It is easy to find another Tommy Milone or Wade LeBlanc. But they are nothing more than stop-gaps. Dipoto needs to acquire an arm or two with serious upside. At least, enough upside to warrant serious trade discussion when Dunn and Gilbert are ready.

Arms like Chris Archer or Julio Teheran could be available in trade, while pitchers like Rick Porcello or Michael Pineda could make sense in free agency. Of course, there are dozens of pitchers who fit that need, but Seattle needs to land at least one of these types of arms.

2. Identify who needs to go to clear playing time

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.