Mariners owner commits to breaking Dodgers' first rule of signing free agents

It's often said that statistics and numbers can be manipulated to support any argument. This came to mind when Mariners chairman John Stanton had a Q&A with The Seattle Times last week and Adam Jude asked him about the perception within the fanbase that ownership doesn't have a burning desire to win a championship, specifically based on payroll resources. Stanton responded by stating that payroll has been increased in each of the past five years.

As much as Stanton told Jude his job wasn't to judge perceptions as fair or unfair, his comments about the payroll increasing over the last five seasons were still intended to come across as a positive. Heck, we're a little surprised he didn't also point out that this season's Opening Day payroll for the M's was a franchise high. However, while both things are objectively true, they don't come close to telling the whole story.

Aaron Levine of FOX 13 does an excellent job of providing context regarding the Mariners' payroll. Of particular note, that this year's payroll of $167.9 million is only $7.1 million more than in 2017. Levine then adds the hammer blow that with inflation, the 2017 payroll would translate to a $220 million today, meaning $52 million more than what the M's spent this season.

Arguably of more importance though, is how much the Mariners spend in comparison to other teams. As much as this season's Opening Day payroll is a franchise high, it still only ranked 16th out of all 30 teams. Not that this is anything new, with Levine pointing out that the Mariners' average payroll over the past six years is $29 million less than the Major League average.

John Stanton explains the Mariners' approach to attempt to justify why they don't spend more

We appreciate that throwing money around without a care in the world isn't a necessity, with the Rays offering the prime example of an organization which can still consistently compete despite a limited budget. Still, the Mariners are the type of team which can afford to spend more than they do, helped by traditionally doing well with attendances and being one of the stronger franchises when it comes to net profit.

However, for anyone in the fanbase hoping the Mariners are going to change their philosophy anytime soon, it's highly unlikely. Stanton explained to Jude that ownership believes in investing in players they draft and are able to extend while they're still in their 20s. The prime example being Julio Rodríguez, who he's excited to have signed for over a decade.

Stanton blunty added that this approach is preferred to signing a 30 or 31-year-old who was a star in their 20s, to play through their 30s and perhaps beyond. The thinking being that it's better to have players earlier in their career for the long term. This is where he justifies the payroll by saying their approach just so happens to be less expensive, because of how the economics of baseball work.

History does confirm Stanton's approach, with him and the rest of the ownership group taking control of the Mariners after they had signed Robinson Canó to his 10-year, $240 million. Further, that the M's signed Robbie Ray off his age-29 season and Josh Naylor off his age-28 season. Still, this doesn't change the reality that there will be plenty of fans not happy with this philosophy.

Mariners ownership is facing a less than favorable legacy in Seattle

Look, it's not that the Mariners' philosophy is necessarily misguided, especially as a mid-market team in the majors. At the same time though, this mindset is pretty much a disregard for the open market. In fact in some ways, the M's are the anti-Dodgers.

The difference in philosophies couldn't be more stark, when you consider 10 years ago Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said: "If you're always rational about every free agent, you will finish third on every free agent." In other words, sometimes you have to get dumb to get things done.

Certainly this approach has worked for the Dodgers, who have been to five World Series in nine seasons and won three times. Of course, this is an extreme example given the seemingly endless funds available in Los Angeles. Still, while we would never expect the Mariners to have the same carefree mindset, the fact remains that they are the only current Major League franchise to never even play in the Fall Classic.

Unless Stanton and company become more financially flexible, i.e. generous, at some point, the perception they don't have a burning to win a championship threatens to become their legacy.

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