3 former Mariners we'll be glad are gone in 2024 and 2 we'll wish stayed

Mariners player fans wish stayed: Tom Murphy

After just talking about culture with Kelenic, we go to the flipside here with Tom Murphy. One of the most entertaining players in the Mariners clubhouse and an absolute glue guy, Tom Murphy was an absolute fan favorite.

"Murph" wasn't just a fan favorite, however, he was a very good baseball player, and though he struggled to remain healthy, he was one of the Mariners' best bats when he was in the lineup. He only played in 47 games in 2023 but posted a crazy 140 wRC+ with eight home runs in just 159 plate appearances.

Murphy played 41 of his 47 games at catcher, and in reality, he should've had a similar role that Mitch Garver should have this year. He should've been the emergency catcher who was the primary DH. This would allow him to stay healthy and for the Mariners to take advantage of his big-time bat.

The biggest issue I have with not retaining Murphy was the contract he signed with the Giants was not a prohibitive one at all. The Mariners very easily should've been able to match that contract; the issue remains that Dipoto and Hollander were under such strict financial constraints, that allocating $4M to a backup catcher who struggled to stay healthy just wasn't worth it.

Letting someone like Murphy go, someone who was really good and fit so well in the clubhouse, over $4M is something that will frustrate fans. This is all on ownership and I hope Murphy goes to San Fransisco and makes Mariner's ownership regret letting him walk over a few million bucks.