Mariners hire new assistant GM as offseason shuffling continues

While the Seattle Mariners have yet to make a roster move of note, they've already had some big shakeups in the other parts of the organization. They picked up a new head hitting coach, along with his assistant coach, and made a few adjustments to the existing coaching staff, but the latest move was a little higher up the chain of command.

In a slew of front office promotions, Joel Firman was bumped to Assistant General Manager, joining Andy McKay, who currently holds the title. They'll be the third- and fourth-in-command behind Jerry Dipoto (President of Baseball Operations) and Justin Hollander (General Manager).

Firman first joined the organization in 2013 as a Trackman Operator and after a brief stint with the Yankees organization, rose through the ranks of the team's analytics department, becoming the Senior Director of Data Science before his promotion. According to the club, he'll primarily be in charge of leading advanced scouting work to help plan for games at the major-league level while also maintaining his oversight of the team's analytics endeavors.

Could ownership be turning over a new leaf in an attempt to be recognized as a more competitive team? Probably not. These moves are incremental and are rarely as intrinsically impactful as acquiring new players, but they could still be a step in the right direction. The most meaningful decision was to get new hitting coaches while still retaining Edgar Martínez, a move that aligns with a clear organizational need while respecting the wishes of players, all of whom credited the Mariners legend with their strong finish to an otherwise disappointing offensive season.

Nonetheless, the front office will have to keep its eyes on the prize and remain aggressive this winter. Whether that means ponying up the big bucks for a marquee free agent or participating in a more Moneyball-type of trade, they can't afford to simply sit on their hands, especially after a season of so many highs and lows. Seattle isn't the only team guilty of apparent passivity as the Dodgers have made the only significant move, signing Blake Snell to a $182 million contract. The Angels signed Yusei Kikuchi to a much cheaper three-year deal and the Mets recently acquired Frankie Montas on a two-year, $34 million contract, but the rest of the league may instead be waiting on one man to decide where he wants to have his forever home.

Until then, rumors will swirl about the Mariners being "interested" in every name under the sun with no real evidence of legitimate negotiations occurring. Even if those talks do happen, there's even less clarity on the willingness of those players to sign. As with every offseason, fans will have to begrudgingly learn that patience is a virtue and with Seattle, it may still result in a lump of coal this Christmas.