3 things the Mariners MUST do this offseason if they want to contend in 2024

Get some insurance at the corners

Coming into 2023, the Mariners had a pretty solid pairing at their corner infield. Geno was coming off a 130 wRC+ year which included 31 home runs and a .459 slugging percentage. Ty France produced a 125 wRC+ with a .436 slugging percentage and a career-high 20 home runs. They were both duds offensively this year. France produced a 104 wRC+ with 12 home runs and a miserable .366 slugging percentage. Geno was still worth 3.2 wins according to fWAR but most of that came on the defensive side of the ball as offensively he was only slightly above average with a 102 wRC+. He hit 22 home runs, the fewest since 2016, not counting the COVID-shortened year. He slugged a putrid .391 compared to his career average. Geno played in 162 games this year, something that he was very proud of, but that should never happen again.

Some free agents to keep an eye out for here include Donovan Solano, Brandon Belt, Justin Turner, Adam Duvall, Rhys Hoskins, and Mitch Garver. Some potential guys the Mariners could explore in the trade market include guys like Spencer Steer, Anthony Santander, Nolan Gorman, Jordan Westsburg,

This has to be a huge goal for the Mariners this offseason. They had no one that could play a competent third base to give Geno a true day off. The Mariners backup first baseman, Mike Ford, is more of a DH and was really hot and cold. Getting someone who can either rotate between these 2 positions and at least fake it for 15 games is a must for this team. If this team wants to be serious contenders for a division title and potential World Series, they need to add someone who can give these guys a day off that won't kill you, and potentially take over at one of these positions full-time if either Geno or Ty produce another dud.