Free agent rankings by position for the Mariners in advance of the Winter Meetings

Mariners position of need #4: Designated Hitter

I know that they need a DH, and desperately so. We saw how, well, gross it was at the start of 2023, and it's been a rotating door of sadness for quite a while. Mike Ford performed admirably here for a while, but it still wasn't good enough in the grand scheme of things for a team that says they want to compete. However, it's a position that can be used as a "day off" spot for your team, but you still need good enough MLB level players to fill in.

What about Joey Wendle? He is exactly in the mold of a handful of other UTIL guys on the team, but could possibly fill the role of a clubhouse leader since all reports have him as a great dude in there. He's got multiple 2+ WAR seasons under his belt, is coming off a down year, and could play all over, even focusing on hitting as a DH.

Next up is someone I've liked for 15 years, but had to despise at the same time... even if I secretly couldn't bring myself to do it. I want Michael Brantley on this team, still. He didn't play much last year, but I believe that he still has a year or two of good hitting left. Grab Brantley, never worry about your DH spot, and let him hit .275/.365/.435 there. Hey, look at that... exactly an 800 OPS. Perfect.

Finally, I have to go with JD Martinez here. The dude can hit, and it's all he has done in his career. He has 112 2B over the last three seasons to go along with 77 HR and 264 RBI while slashing .278/.338/.509. If he can give you on OPS+ of 120 while hitting 30 2B, 20 HR, and slashing .270/.335/.480? Yeah, take that in a heartbeat.