3 needs the Mariners still have to become serious contenders in the AL West

This offseason is certainly a tale of two halves. The first half of the offseason looked to be very disappointing, with expectations that the Mariners would be swimming in the deep end for guys like Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and Cody Bellinger, yet we were expected to be excited about the additions of Luis Urias and Mitch Garver. We were expecting a payroll that would rival that of the Rangers, Blue Jays, and Astros, but after many concerns about the regional sports network issues (for many other teams as well), we were told that the budget would probably fall in line with where it was last year (around that $140-$145 million mark).

We then saw some major salary dumps, when the Mariners shed the contracts of both Marco Gonzalez and Eugenio Suarez (there may have been more to Geno than just the contract). They followed that up by trading former ace, Robbie Ray, to the Giants in return for Mariners' fan favorite, Mitch Haniger.

All signs pointed to the Mariners being done and trying to just piece together what they could with the very limited financial resources that were allotted to them, but that wasn't the end of it. They made two more trades that were perhaps the most surprising trades of the offseason, acquiring former all-star second baseman, Jorge Polanco, along with breakout reliever, Gregory Santos.

With all of that being said, you have to give Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander their flowers; they have absolutely killed this offseason (not even factoring in the limited financial resources, they have just raised the floor so much). That's not to say that they can't improve this team, however, and today we look at three needs that the Mariners could still address to further prove they are going to compete for the division title.

No. 1 priority: Right-Handed outfielder

The Mariners have overhauled their outfield, in a way, compared to the start of 2023. In 2023, they rolled out Teoscar Hernandez, Julio Rodriguez, and a mix of Jarred Kelenic and AJ Pollock. This seemed to be a solid mix early on, but after some early struggles from Pollock and a near second-half collapse from Kelenic (after a dominant first half), there were a lot of questions surrounding how the Mariners would address their offense and corner outfield positions coming into the 2023-24 offseason.

The Mariners made it abundantly clear that they were going to be making some serious changes to this roster when they dealt the former top prospect (Kelenic), in nothing more than a salary dump. They didn't extend the qualifying offer to Hernandez (who ended up on a one-year deal with the Dodgers), pointing to some serious changes coming to the outfield when Dipoto stated that they wanted to cut down on strikeouts and improve the overall contact ability of their offense.

They have added a high strikeout bat in Luke Raley, but someone who might possess more power than both Kelenic and Hernandez. They also added Haniger, though his addition was more to even salaries with the Giants. This is where the first priority for the Mariners lies; a solid right-handed hitting outfielder.

We mentioned a few options earlier, but the Mariners would be smart to further raise their floor with a solid defender that mashes lefties like Michael A. Taylor, a bat first corner outfielder like Adam Duvall, or a solid switch-hitting corner outfielder (his numbers are significantly better vs LHP) like Robbie Grossman. All of these outfielders should fit within the Mariners remaining budget and could prove very valuable come midseason when injuries or just natural struggles take place.

An overlooked need: No. 6 starting pitcher

Coming into this offseason, many thought that the Mariners would be dealing from their depth of young, controllable starting pitching depth in order to acquire some offensive upgrades. The Mariners have made upgrades to the offense and no matter how you slice it, they have raised the overall floor. They have done all of this without having to trade any of their pitching (which is a huge plus, considering their advantage in the AL West has been their starting pitching).

When you look at the rotation after the one through five, it gets a little scary. They have the former first-round pick in Emerson Hancock, along with reliever stretched out Austin Voth, but they are really lacking a number six starter or swingman type of reliever that could really provide a lot of value to this pitching staff.

When you look at pitchers that have already signed, guys like Jakob Junis, former Mariners James Paxton, and Emilio Pagan, the Mariners may have missed out on a few solid options, but that doesn't mean there are none left. One name that could make sense that is still available is Eric Lauer (who was really good in 2021 and 2022 and is just 28 years old until June of 2024), he could be a solid addition to start the year in the rotation to give Woo some innings in the minor leagues to control his innings and could move to the bullpen later in the year. It is also a could position for Lauer to rebuild his value as T-Mobile field is one of the best parks in the MLB for pitchers, and the Mariners have boasted one of the better defenses in recent memory.