Report: Seattle Mariners have cut over 50 MiLB players

Reports say the M’s have cut more players than expected.

The Mariners have formally announced to its minor league players that they will pay them through the 2020 season, but such news comes with a price. Last night, we heard that at least 30 minor leaguers in Seattle’s system would be released, but per The Score’s Robert Murray, that number instead exceeds 50 names.

It should be noted that The Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish, in a response to a tweet by Lookout Landing, claimed he’s heard conflicting info that’s ranged between 45-50 or more players. He initially broke the news last night about the cuts.

We haven’t heard which players have been specifically released, but all signs point toward a massive dip into the Mariners’ expected Dominican Summer League roster. The one name that has surfaced as one of the cuts is veteran outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, whom the Mariners signed to a minor league contract with a Spring Training invite earlier this year.

While these cuts were to be expected, the extent that the Mariners have gone is a bit surprising. But with the MLB Draft and a stacked undrafted free agency class around the corner, as well as the likely termination of ~40 minor league affiliates in the near future, all teams were bound to clean house in such an extraordinary and unfortunate manner.

The names of the players released should begin to trickle down soon once the moves are finalized by the organization. Whether it’s 45 players or north of 50, the list is going to be substantial and, ultimately, disconcerting. There’s no other way to put it; this sucks.