A Mariners player I don't want back: Jesse Winker, OF/DH
Jesse Winker's time in Seattle was extremely up and down. Coming off of his only All-Star appearance, he was the centerpiece of a trade with Cincinnati. If you remember, the Reds sent us Winker and 3B Eugenio Suarez for Justin Dunn, Jake Fraley, Brandon Williamson, and Connor Phillips. As it turns out, Geno was the true centerpiece of that deal. While Fraley had a nice 2023 season, and WIlliamson / Phillips both debuted in 2023, I think I would have made this deal even without WInker in it, given what Geno turned into.
WInker, on the other hand, statistically speaking at least, was not good in a Mariners uniform. Sure, he took his walks, but that is about all he did. He lost almost all of his pop, and he struck out more than he had in his entire career. His lone bright spot was the brawl with the Angels that may have ignited the 14-game win streak. Almost 1 year ago to the day, our very own Chris O'Day again wrote a piece on what Winker was like here in Seattle. He never put in any work, let alone extra work. He pouted when he was not the DH, among a lot of things. He played about the worst defense you can play, and that is why the Mariners moved on from him.
A Mariners player I don't want back: Kolten Wong, 2B
Maybe the worst thing Jesse Winker did was go and get traded for Kolten Wong. I know, that is a little toxic of me to say, but am I wrong? Not since Chone Figgins have we watched a player play so poorly. Kolten had a track record of being a solid player. When the deal happened, especially after the things that were said about Winker, I was excited. Finally, a player that you can count on at second base. Boy, how wrong was I?
The Mariners sent Winker and Abraham Toro to the Brewers for Kolten Wong. While he never was an All-Star, he was a key player for both the Cardinals and Brewers. Then came his 2023 season. He hit just .165 for the Mariners. He was completely unplayable. His negative 0.9 fWAR ranks 1432 out of 1457 players in the Majors. His expectations were to solidify the second base position, and he just could not perform at all for the Mariners. He was released and managed to hit .300 for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Go figure.