A year-by-year look at Mariners payroll

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.