Who the Mariners will miss in 2024
Well, maybe they won't miss them. Some of these guys definitely had the "hope the door hits them on the way out" feeling associated with watching them leave, while others we were genuinely sad to see go. Sorry about the cash, PTBNLs, or picks, but I'm not including you here.
Riley O'Brien - RP
Tatem Levins - C/1B
Isaiah Campbell - RP
Eugenio Suárez - 3B
Marco Gonzales - SP
Evan White - 1B/OF
Jarred Kelenic - OF
Robbie Ray - SP
José Caballero - UTIL
Justin Topa - RP
Gabriel Gonzalez - OF
Darren Bowen - SP
Zach DeLoach - OF
Prelander Berroa - RP
Darren McCaughan - SP
Teoscar Hernandez - OF
Tom Murphy - C
Mike Ford - 1B/DH
Holy cow is that a lot of players leaving the team. Some of them were AAA guys, or even a bit lower in Levins' case. It's easy to see why we as fans were worried early in the offseason. A lot of the team left to kick off the offseason, and there were a ton of holes after watching Teo leave, and then the Kelenic and Geno trades did not really net any immediate offensive replacements.
It's been a while, but it really did feel like there was a time that the Mariners were going to need somewhere around 3/4 bats to just field a semi-respectable lineup around Julio, Cal, and JP. Looking through the list, you can quickly see some of the needs in there. Ford was gone, and even though he wasn't great, he did have a nice OPS+ while providing pop for the team at DH. RF, LF, 3B, and backup catcher were all gone as well, as the Mariners jettisoned both their HR power and their K problem.
Some of these subtractions, like Cabby, felt like wins because they pulled from an area of strength (second base) to fill an area of need (outfield). If this was any other team in baseball, you would really be worried about how to replace those players, and the perceived value of the ones being brought in to do so. Instead, it was time to let Jerry and Justin cook.