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3 bold moves the Mariners should make at the Winter Meetings

The Winter Meeting are set to begin this Friday. The Mariners have been linked to just about every player available, but who SHOULD they target?

By Jeffrey Nooney |
Toronto Blue Jays v Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays v Tampa Bay Rays / Mark Taylor/GettyImages
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The most exciting part of the offseason is nearly here! The Winter Meetings are set to begin December 3rd down in Nashville. That really is when key free agents could sign their contracts with new teams, and teams can make substantial trades. Hopefully, Jerry Dipoto and the rest of the Mariners Front Office are going to be hitting the phones, and not hitting Music Row.

The Mariners have holes at second base, third base, corner outfield, designated hitter and bullpen. Some of those positions could be filled as soon as next week. This is going to be an exciting time. The Mariners are linked to just about every big name out there, but will they actually spend the big bucks to land any of those players? I sure hope so. Here are 3 bold moves the Mariners SHOULD make to turn this team into a powerhouse.

Remember, prospects are just that: prospects. It is fun to dream about potential, and I am just as guilty of it. But Banners hang forever, and most prospects bust out. Remember the days of dreaming of Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Brad Miller, Nick Franklin, Danny Hultzen, and others? Those guys were all top prospects once upon a time. More times than not, moving prospects for proven talent is the best option. Do not get overly attached to prospects!

1. Trade for Bo Bichette

Okay, calm down Blue Jays fans. No, I do not think the Jays will trade Bichette. But where there is smoke, there is fire. And there are rumors all over about the possibility of the Jays moving Bichette. The Mariners have linked up in trades in the past, and maybe they can do it again. The Mariners have the prospects to land just about any player they want, and Bo would be a perfect fit in Seattle (and every team, honestly).

Seattle sends: OF Gabriel Gonzalez, INF Cole Young, RHP Emerson Hancock and RHP Bryan Woo

Toronto Sends: INF Bo Bichette and LHP Genesis Cabrera

The Blue Jays would be getting a huge haul for Bo, and deservedly so. Bichette has been a monster so far in his career. He has already earned 17.7 WAR in his career, and he still just 25. He has a career slash line of .299/.340/.427/.846 with an OPS+ of 126. He would have to slide over to either second or third base, and he is athletic enough to pull that off. He led the American League in hits in 2021 and 2022, and he only strikes out 20.8% in his career. He fits in perfectly with the Mariners new contact approach.

I am not sure if this is even enough to snag Bo from the Jays or not. I am not even sure the Mariners would be willing to part with that much talent. Hancock and Woo made their debuts in 2023, and Cole Young and Gabriel Gonzalez have skyrocketed up prospect boards. Bo is under club control through the 2025 season, so he is more than a 1 year rental. If I were running the Mariners, and this was offered to me by the Jays, I would 100% take this deal.

2. Trade for Tyler Glasnow

Do the Mariners NEED a starting pitcher? No. But trading or signing one, who is better now than what you have, is a luxury the Mariners can afford. Should they trade for Glasnow or another pitcher, that would free up one or two pitchers to trade for a bat. Mariner fans may not want to hear that, but outside of signing Ohtani or Bellinger, there are no free agent bats who can alter the trajectory of this franchise. That is just the facts.

AS for Glasnow, he would be a 1-year rental. His contract has him earning $25,00,000 for the 2024 season, and the Tampa Bay Rays are not about to pay that to any player. Glasnow came back from Tommy John surgery last season and pitched in 120 innings. He went 10-7 with a 3.53 ERA, and struck out 162 in those 120 innings. Glasnow has been nasty in his career, and adding a true ace like him would make this staff almost unbelievable.

Seattle sends: RHP Emerson Hancock and RHP Ashton Izzi
Tampa Bay sends: RHP Tyler Glasnow

Hancock was good in his debut until he left with an injury and never returned. He will be ready to go come Spring Training, and he still has the prospect pedigree to land a rental-type player. Izzi was drafted out of high school and has pitched in rookie ball. His usage will ramp up in 2024. Izzi is the Mariners #23 ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

3. Sign Shohei Ohtani, Shocking I know.

We have spent so much time writing about Ohtani signing with the Mariners. There is not a lot here I can tell you that you don't already know. Ohtani might be the best player to ever play the game. He is going to command the biggest contract ever given out in Baseball, and he deserves every penny. What are the Mariners chances of actually signing Ohtani? Probably slim. We know he likes the city. He has said he spent a few offseasons here, training at Driveline.

I think there is a chance he signs here, if he wants to be here. Shohei has already turned down hundreds of millions of dollars to come to the U.S. early. Maybe he is driven by money now, but he has never shown to be driven by money in his past. He will go where he wants to go, if the team has offered him a contract. We have seen this before. Felix Hernandez took less money to come to Seattle, because his idol Freddy Garcia was here. Who's to say Ohtani comes to Seattle because Ichiro is here?

Seattle signs Shohei Ohtani to a 5 year, $300,000,000 deal ($60,000,000 AAV)

Signing Ohtani means you do not have to trade a starting pitcher. He will not be pitching in 2024 because he had Tommy John Surgery. That gives the Mariners a window of time to see what pitcher they want / need to deal for more bats. They could wait until the Trade Deadline, when prices come down for rental bats. They could even wait until next offseason, where maybe Woo or Miller's value goes even higher.

As always, Go Mariners!

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