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What is the next shoe to drop for the Mariners?

The good vibes are headed to Arizona, while the Mariners continue to reimage a contact-oriented 2024 roster.

By Trevor Pedro |
Texas Rangers v Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers v Seattle Mariners / Steph Chambers/GettyImages
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Jerry Dipoto, the Seattle Mariners' President of Baseball Operations, leaned into his "Trader Jerry" persona this afternoon when he shipped strong clubhouse guy and power threat Eugenio Suarez to Arizona. The return could be better. Dipoto landed Seby Zavala, a backup catcher coming off a down year (0.2 WAR), and Carlos Vargas, an intriguing reliever with control issues (7.71BB/9), with the only 'positive' from the transaction being removing 214 strikeouts from the roster. 

Looking at the return, Arizona is picking up the entirety of Suarez's $11M salary. So, there is that, but another shoe must drop soon, right? Right? 

Before we get too crazy about the team following the "adding contact" narrative Dipoto unveiled to the media at the recent Major League Baseball General Manager's meetings, let's look at some possible moves that could come on the heels of this transaction. 

Sign Jeimier Candelario for 3/35M

Candelario is the anti-Suarez. He takes free passes (9.2%) and puts the ball in play at a high rate, as evidenced by his 83.9% in-zone contact rate.

He authored a career-best slash line of .251/.336/.807 in his walk year, which always gives folks a little reason to pause. However, he has a track record of "dominating the zone" and punishing balls in the zone (88.4 AVG EV) in his eight major league seasons. 

MLB.com lists Candelario as a third baseman who can also play the cold corner, which aligns with the Mariners' love of positional flexibility. SPOTRAC has the 29-year-old infielders' market value at...would you look at that, $11.6M. Interesting. 

Trade Bryce Miller, Jonatan Clase, and Walter Ford for Randy Arozarena 

Stop me if you've heard this before: Tampa Bay Rays want to cut payroll and value controllable pitching. It helped that Dipoto has made 14 transactions with the Rays in his Mariners' tenure. Would it hurt to part with a package headlined by Bryce Miller? Yes. But this would be one of those situations where you must give up something to get something. We can't send a bag of balls to Tampa for Arozarena. 

Acquiring Arozarena would solve a long-standing left-field issue in Seattle. But we aren't talking about his defense here, but his fit on a team wanting to emphasize contact in 2024. The 28-year-old outfielder walked at a career-high 12.2% clip last season and whiffed at a league-average 23.9%, which would look awfully nice next to Julio Rodriguez next season.

Trade Bryan Woo and Michael Arroyo for Pete Alonso 

MLB Insider Greg Amsinger joined Seattle Sports' afternoon show, "Wyman and Bob," and outlined Alonso's fit for the 2024 Mariners. Is the Polar Bear better than Ty France? Yes. Can he bang from the designated hitter spot, something Dipoto recently expressed interest in adding to the roster? Yes. 

There are two concerns, though. Last season's performance signaled some alarming trends, including a career-low slash line (.217/.318/.822), thanks to a terrible batting average on balls in play (.205). 2023 was an off year for Alonso, but the real issue with this option is his agent, Scott Boras, which means an extension isn't happening. Dipoto has to ask himself if he is comfortable giving up on a highly talented pitcher with a #3 ceiling and the #9 prospect in a system full of high-upside infielders. 

Any of these moves are possible 'next shoes' this offseason, but chances are we'll get hit with another bombshell transaction we never saw coming. Shohei Ohtani in Mariner teal, anyone? 

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