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3 moves the Mariners need to make now that the winter meetings are over

The winter meetings are over, and they went fairly quietly. Here are 3 moves that the Mariners need to make to turn around their offseason

By Christopher O'Day |
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Minnesota Twins v Seattle Mariners / Steph Chambers/GettyImages
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For all the excitement around the Mariners, I think we were all hoping that something big was going to happen over the winter meetings. Jarred Kelenic, Marco Gonzales, and Evan White kicked things off when the team traded them to the Atlanta Braves, and it really seemed like that was going to be the move that kicked the rest of the offseason plan into gear.

Instead... crickets. The Mariners haven't done anything else, and only a small handful of things across the league have even happened since then. The Juan Soto move opened the door a bit, as we saw Eduardo Rodriguez head to the Diamondbacks and Jeimer Candelario head to the Cincinnati Reds. Candy would've been a nice addition to the Mariners as they could use an upgrade at third base, but that's off the table now.

There are a lot of holes on this team. All year in 2023, fans clamored for the team to go out and get another bat. It goes back to last offseason, as you could see the hole in the lineup. AJ Pollock and Tommy LaStella were not the answer, and the LaStella move never made sense at all.

The reason I bring this up is that the Mariners are faced with more holes in their lineup than they were at this point last year. Urias is a low-floor/high-ceiling play at third. You have Rojas/Cabby at second that frustrates some fans (not me, I like Rojas), no real option at DH, no LF, and no RF... unless you think Dylan Moore and Dominic Canzone are going to play those spots.

I think you get the point. The Mariners need to make some moves if they want to be a legit playoff team, which we know they are on the cusp of. Here are 3 moves that the Mariners need to make now that the winter meetings are over.

Move #1: Mariners need to make an impact trade

This could go at the end, but I want to put it on here first. If the Mariners are going to do anything this offseason, it's likely that this is the route that they would take to do it. It's been hammered, and rightfully so, that Stanton and Dipoto have not put any money into hitting in free agency. We've said it before and I'll say it again, 1YR/$7M to Pollock last year was the largest deal to a FA hitter since 2015.

That's wild, and still hard to believe.

If they are going to continue to go that route, we have to look at the trade market. Would it be to call the Rays and try and pry away a hitter or two from them? Possibly going even bigger with the Glasnow route+hitting to cut down the Rays payroll? That could lead to another trade to acquire more hitting, but the Rays are the team that we have heard about the most.

Or would it be another team? Supposedly, Pete Alonso is available from the Mets. Then you have the Cardinals who have a bit of a logjam in the outfield, and it sounds like you may be able to coax either Nolan Arenado or Paul Goldschmidt away from them at the right price, but I see those as unlikely. It could be O'Neill or Nootbar or Walker, someone like that.

Or would it be more of a dark horse? Colorado possibly for Nolan Jones or Brendan Rodgers? Maybe a move with the Twins to grab someone from them? Could you pry someone away from the Marlins to re-unite them with Brant Brown?

Hey, let's go crazy and get Beiber, Clase, and Jose Ramirez from the Guardians. Yeah, I know it won't happen, so I'll just boot up MLB The Show to feel good about it. Still, the Mariners need to make an impact trade, and I think that's the most likely thing that happens after the completion of the winter meetings.

Move #2: Mariners need to sign a legit corner OF

The move that I think happens is a trade. It's what the Mariners always do. The one that I want to happen, though, is to see them sign a corner outfielder, and I have a little ranking in my head of favorites. For some reason, I think that Jung Hoo Lee is going to be a fantastic addition to whoever signs him this offseason.

It's highly unlikely that he hits like he did in the KBO. That just doesn't happen, and the 340 BA and 6% K rate that he has had the last few years should not be expected. However, he won five straight Gold Gloves over there, so he would be a great corner addition. Not a speedster by any means, nor is he have crazy pop. I do think that seeing batting averages pushing 300 with 10/10 HR/SB is possible though. Why wouldn't you want that?

Outside of him, it goes Lourdes Gurriel Jr, Jorge Soler, and Harrison Bader as a lower-end get. Get a legit OF who makes an immediate impact on your team. You can't roll out Canzone and Moore and expect fans to take the team seriously. You just can't. The Mariners have to go out and add a free agent bat to this team in a corner outfield spot. They are there, and the team has the money to do it. Bite the bullet for once and make it happen.

Move #3: Mariners still need another bat... somewhere

Are we asking a lot in trying to get another bat? I don't think so. Not when you look at the team and see that they already subtracted three starters from their lineup last year, and the only replacement you can argue that they have is Luis Urias. I want him to succeed, and I think all of us here at Sodo Mojo do, but you still need 3 additions to the team even if he does well. Corner OF, corner OF, and a DH.

That's where the third move comes in, to satisfy that DH spot while still being able to play the field a bit. Whether they have enough to spend on someone like Rhys Hoskins is unlikely, but he could take play first and have Ty DH, or vice versa. There are some other options out there that might be cheaper though, and that are definitely worth looking at.

Could it be Justin Turner? JD Martinez? Eddie Rosario? Tommy Pham? Adam Duvall? Joc Pederson? Michael Brantley? Joey Votto?

There are a lot of options out there that won't break the bank and can still net you a solid hitter. Those holes in the lineup have to be filled, and finding a mix of decent player at a decent number is the route that can be taken to placate fans while keeping the cost reasonable. If the Mariners are going to be successful, then these are the three moves they need to make... or at least something along those lines.

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