Mariners fans will cringe at ESPN's grades for MLB offseason

With Opening Day less than a month away, most teams are done signing free agents or making big trades.

Especially after last year's band of Scott Boras free agents delayed negotiations into the final days of the offseason before subsequently struggling to warm up, teams were sure to get most of their roster moves done early this year. Now that we know what the Seattle Mariners are working with to start the season, it seems that industry experts and fans are in agreement on how this winter went for the club.

In David Schoenfield of ESPN's grades for each of the 30 teams on the quality of their work this offseason, the Mariners were one of just three teams to receive an F, the other two being the Colorado Rockies and the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Mariners' poor offseason grade is not a surprise

At a glance, this makes sense. Big spenders like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets spared no expense acquiring the hottest talent available. Other teams like the Chicago Cubs kept payroll down but bartered with existing assets to bolster their rosters.

Seattle did neither. The team raised payroll only slightly and signed only two free agents to major league deals, while failing to capitalize on trade interest that started in the Winter Meetings.

Schoenfield's pessimism echoes the sentiment of fans that have grown tired of calling for more activity and spending from the front office. Although the team has failed to revisit the postseason after their miraculous run in 2022, they've were just a couple wins shy of the playoffs in 2023 and 2024. To add insult to injury, projections systems are suggesting that 2025 will be another "close but no cigar" year for Seattle.

But as with most things in life, there's a margin of error and there are a few variables that could push the Mariners over the top if the dice fall the right way.

It wasn't until after the 2024 All-Star break that Jorge Polanco became a viable offensive option, as he finished with a .740 OPS and 11 home runs. The Mariners ultimately got a discount on him, initially declining a $12 million option for 2025 before re-signing him for $7.75 million. There's likely faith from the team that he'll hit the ground running next season. Donovan Solano is an unassuming bat, but could help fill in one of the biggest problems that plagued the team's offense last year.

On paper, it's reasonable to give the front office a failing grade for what they did (or rather didn't) do to improve the roster. However, given the weak grades for other teams in the division (notably the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros) as well as the potential upside for their new acquisitions, the Mariners could end up exceeding expectations come October.