A 2024 Mariners off-season plan from a fan's perspective

My perfect Mariners off-season starts with them raising their payroll. After the trade of Geno they sit roughly at $127 million via spotrac.com, I would like to see that number at $180-$190 million by the end of the offseason. That gives Jerry roughly $53-$63 million to work with.
Minnesota Twins v Seattle Mariners
Minnesota Twins v Seattle Mariners / Steph Chambers/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Yandy Diaz
Toronto Blue Jays v Tampa Bay Rays / Mark Taylor/GettyImages

Trade Bryan Woo or Bryce Miller plus prospects for Yandy Diaz
Sign Lourdes Gurriel for 4 years $52 million

Yandy Diaz makes a lot of sense for the Mariners as they try to become a more contact-hitting team while limiting strikeouts. Yandy Diaz was a 5.2 WAR player in 2023. A 15.7 K% and a 10.8 BB% are all above the MLB average. The other thing about Yandy is that he wouldn't be a 1-year rental like Juan Soto. Yandy is currently owed $8 million in 2024, $10 million in 2025, with a $12 million club option in 2026. This guy is on the top of my wish list for the Mariners to acquire this offseason.

Mariners need a left fielder and Gurriel would fill that spot for them. He is a guy that has 17.4 K% which is well below average, again, the Mariners are trying to limit that. The only knock I have on him is that he doesn't walk that much and his OBP in 2023 was only .309 this was below his average so I am not too worried about that. Gurriel had 24 home runs and 82 RBIs in 2023, he is someone that would add some power while also making contact at a higher rate.

Mariners payroll with Diaz: $160 million
Mariners payroll with Gurriel: $173 million