What did Jim Bowden have to say about the Mariners offseason grade?

With the Winter Meetings in our rearview mirror, plenty of fans are clamoring for moves from the Mariners. It's a bit of an unfair shake, as the Mariners have done plenty, just not during those Winter Meetings. Jim Bowden came out and graded all the teams in an article for the Athletic, and how he graded the Mariners may surprise some fans.

You have to have a membership to read the article, but if you can't, we will cover everything he talked about, and more, while breaking it down. Let's go through what the Mariners have done, how Bowden graded them, and talk about if it's a reasonable mark to give Seattle through this point in the offseason.

Jim Bowden gave the Mariners an A- for their work this offseason so far

Honestly, I think that's a pretty fair assessment. There have been a fair amount of moving parts from the Mariners already, despite the quiet Winter Meetings. The big ones are seeing Mitch Haniger, Kyle Lewis, and Erik Swanson leave the team. However, they've acquired Kolten Wong and Teoscar Hernandez, two players that fill big holes left on the roster.

They signed Trevor Gott to effectively take Swanson's place, as he is the incoming piece to replace the void left in the Swanson deal for Teoscar. Wong replaces Frazier, and I personally think that's a great move that pushes the team in the right direction.

I'm more bullish than most on what the Mariners have done so far this offseason, but I think an A- is too nice. They still need to find another piece, as you currently are going to have two of the following hitters as starters in the lineup between Taylor Trammell, Sam Haggerty, Dylan Moore, Jarred Kelenic, and Tom Murphy. Those guys should likely all be bench pieces or platoon guys. Having two of them start isn't great. (could be worse, like having all of them start)

I like seeing something positive from a massive media outlet about the Mariners, as it's a nice change of pace. to get to an A-, I think they need to add another decent sized piece that can play the corner outfield spots or DH. Then we can talk about them getting to that grade.