4 Mariners free agent traps that would prove Jerry Dipoto has learned nothing

Jerry Dipoto has said that he wants to reset the Seattle Mariners' culture this winter. He's mostly referring to the clubhouse vibe and style of play, but he needs to take a look in the mirror when it comes to his own roster construction.

It's hard to argue with how Dipoto has built teams around power pitching and power hitting, but his efforts to add value on the margins have more of a mixed track record. Fans have every right to specifically be sick of Dipoto's love of right-handed platoon hitters, an experiment that has produced such trainwrecks as AJ Pollock, Rob Refsnyder and Taylor Ward.

Yet with Ward and Victor Robles set to vacate the bench this winter, one fears that Dipoto may go forward with another effort to find a righty platoon hitter anyway. So, beware the following free agents.

The Mariners need to give these 4 free agents a wide berth

OF Randal Grichuk

There's one reason and one reason only to sign Grichuk, and it boils down to "dude absolutely mashes lefties." Since 2020, he's racked up a 137 wRC+ over 1,071 plate appearances against southpaws. He even hit his peak as a lefty masher this year, posting a 181 wRC+.

Then again, "dude absolutely mashes lefties" was also the book on Refsnyder before he broke down and gave the Mariners just a 33 wRC+ on a $6.25 million investment before getting released and retiring. As Grichuk is 35 years old, he may be similarly near the end of his own road.

OF Lane Thomas

Thomas hasn't been around for as long as Grichuk, but he has occupied a similar niche with a 133 wRC+ against lefties dating back to 2021. Even Tarik Skubal knows how dangerous he can be. And unlike Grichuk, he's still relatively young at 31 years old.

The catch with Thomas is that his last two seasons have been on the rocky side. Injuries limited him to 39 games last year, and he never really got rolling with either Kansas City or Atlanta this year. His 125 wRC+ against lefties was solid, but not enough to redeem a total of just 0.4 rWAR.

OF Ramón Laureano

Laureano was a dynamic center fielder for the A's once upon a time, but his true calling proved to be as a righty platoon bat who stuck to the corners. Between 2021 and 2025, he had a 131 wRC+ against lefties.

There is some variance in that performance, as Laureano was more good than great against lefties in 2022 and 2023 and downright bad (48 wRC+) this year before he had season-ending hip surgery in June. Between that and the fact that he's 32 years old, there's just too much risk here for Dipoto to even consider him on a low-money deal.

3B/1B/DH Miguel Andujar

Andujar seemed on his way out of affiliated ball for a minute there, but that changed when the A's took a chance on him in 2024 and turned him into a potent platoon weapon. Across 2024 and 2025, his 178 wRC+ against lefties was the fourth-best mark in all of baseball.

That bubble burst this year. Andujar only had a 90 wRC+ against lefties, and that was with even less positional versatility than he'd offered in years past. He played 61 games as a DH, compared to a total of 10 at third base and first base. He'll turn 32 before Opening Day next year, so youth is another thing he does not have on his side.

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