What is the next shoe to drop for the Mariners?

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?