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A year-by-year look at Mariners payroll
What has the Mariners' payroll looked like over the years? Let's take a look to see how they compare to the rest of baseball when it comes to spending
In the last couple of years, it seems as if the Mariners have been a bit tight with their money, choosing to pinch pennies over spending a bit more money to try and force the contention window open. Well, some fans continue to blame Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander for this, the blame should actually fall to John Stanton, as he is the one signing the checks and giving them the salary cap number.
Has it always been that way? Those who have been around more than a few years will remember that the strings weren't always pulled tight on the proverbial moneybag, and that this squad actually used to spend a bit of money. Some of that was just from a handful of a big contracts that were handed out, but it was still enough to rank them up there in spending, more in line where lots of fans think they should be year over year.
That's been the big qualm that the collective fan has had recently, with the team not spending enough money. There is an argument to be made that it's low now to be able to afford re-signing all of the youth that the team has (i.e. Kirby, Gilbert, Raleigh), but it still doesn't make fans happy when the signing of Mitch Garver makes noise as the first multi-year deal handed out to a hitter since Dipoto & Hollander started building the team, back around the time Stanton took over.
Just where does that salary cap number rank, though? That's what we are here to look at today. How the Mariners payroll has ranked across baseball. Let's dive right in.
Seattle Mariners payroll: When the checkbook was open
Seattle Mariners payroll for 2015 season: 12th
Seattle Mariners payroll for 2016 season: 11th
Seattle Mariners payroll for 2017 season: 13th
Seattle Mariners payroll for 2018 season: 8th
Seattle Mariners payroll for 2019 season: 11th
Let's drop back in time to a decade ago. Stanton was not yet at the helm of the Mariners, and Nintendo were still the ones in charge. Jack Zduriencik was running the show in the Front Office as the GM, and was actually allowed to spend money (imagine that).
A lot of this money comes from a couple of contracts that were handed out, and they were the main reasons that the Mariners were actually able to compete over that time. Let's first start with the one that everyone loved, Nelson Cruz. Nelly a.k.a. Boomstick signed a 4YR/$57M contract back in 2015, in what was the 3rd-largets contract ever handed out by the Mariners in Free Agency up to that point. He dominated during his time with the Mariners, and I don't think a single fan regrets any part of that signing.
Then, there is the big one. Far and away the largest FA contract handed out by the Mariners, and one of the bigger ones in baseball history. Robinson Cano. Luckily for the Mariners, Cano still played pretty darn well during his time in Seattle, accruing a 23.3 WAR across five seasons. Debate the trade all you want, but it still made sense from Seattle's point of view, and I don't feel bad about it to the day, even if Kelenic isn't in town anymore.
The Mariners also had Juan Nicasio and Fernando Rodney during these years, and while they weren't massive deals, still rank as the 12th and 18th largest contracts ever handed out prior to the 2024 offseason. The Nicasio one was a Dipoto signing, and the 3rd largest signing the Mariners have made since he came aboard.
Seattle Mariners payroll: The penny pinching years
Seattle Mariners payroll for 2020 season: 21st
Seattle Mariners payroll for 2021 season: 25th
Seattle Mariners payroll for 2022 season: 22nd
Seattle Mariners payroll for 2023 season: 18th
Seattle Mariners payroll for 2024 season: 17th
There are two sides to the argument, here. One, is that the Mariners are trying to play the long-game, hoping to keep their core together for the long-term. That they'll be signing the young guys to extensions to keep them around, and that's what they are saving their money for. We saw it with Luis Castillo as well as Julio Rodriguez.
However, you would have hoped to see another one handed out to either Kirby or Gilbert over the offseason, and that didn't happen. It seems like every start they make, the number just keeps going up based on how well they've been doing.
They finally signed a multi-year free agent over the offseason in Mitch Garver, and all that does is further prove how little this team has spent in Free Agency over the years. The only reason they signed Robbie Ray is because he literally called the team and asked to play here. Do you want to know who the next biggest signings are since Dipoto was brought to the Mariners?
Ken Giles, James Paxton, and Marc Rzepczynski.
I know that the Mariners have made more trades than literally anyone in baseball. I commend them for that, because I believe that they have done a better job in their situation than nearly any other GM would be able to do in baseball. It just stinks seeing the Mariners finding success, having more fans than they have in a long time, and not putting that money back into the team.