The Athletic's free agency predictions give Mariners fans hope about 2025 spending

By now, the Seattle Mariners are firmly in their latest contention window. The club didn't make the playoffs this year, but they sported a record above .500 for the fourth straight season; their longest such streak since their run from 2000-2003.

Preisdent of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto is known around the industry as one of the most active executives in the league when it comes to making trades, but he was pretty quiet on the acquisition front this past season, despite the fact that now's the time for the organization to put the pedal to the metal. Outside of Randy Arozarena and Jorge Polanco, none of the team's acquisitions this past season were huge needle-movers.

The 2024-2025 offseason is going to have to be different. Adam Jude of the Seattle Times has already made it clear that Dipoto and Co. will be "open to anything" in potential trade scenarios this offseason. The club is going to be very active in upgrading this roster before their current window of contention closes.

Of course, moves are going to need to be made outside of the trade market, and Dipoto is going to have to make every attempt to reel in some big fish on the free-agent market as well. The contracts of Haniger, Luis Castillo, Julio Rodriguez, Mitch Garver and JP Crawford - to name a few - may bog down the Mariners' payroll in the near future, but something's got to give.

It's also worth noting that Jude and Ryan Divish relayed some good news recently about the organization's total payroll for next year.

MLB insider lists Mariners as 'best fit' for many pending free agents

In the most recent piece from The Athletic's Jim Bowden, the Mariners were named as "best fits" for multiple top free agents, which has fans of the club overjoyed. With Justin Turner and Yimi Garcia set to come off the books as unrestricted free agents and Polanco having a declinable player option, the M's may just be able to carve out some financial flexibility after all.

The top players Bowden, a former MLB general manager himself, have as fits on the Mariners include the following:

• 1B Pete Alonso
• 3B Alex Bregman
• RF Anthony Santander
• 1B/OF Cody Bellinger
• 1B Christian Walker
• 2B Gleyber Torres
• 2B Brandon Lowe
• OF Alex Verdugo
• 1B Paul Goldschmidt
• 1B Rhys Hoskins

Holy cow, now that is a list. Bowden had the top-45 free agents ranked by how big their upcoming contracts will be, so Alonso, Bregman, Santander and Bellinger/Walker are the ones projected to get the most money on the open market.

They also happen to be the best available players who will be anywhere close to Seattle's price range. The club has received subpar production from the first base position from the likes of Evan White, Ty France, Turner and Luke Raley in recent years. They could use an upgrade in the worst way, so a player like Alonso would be an incredible fit.

Players who will require a little bit less money are available, too, which could be of interest to the Mariners. Walker is one of the game's best defensive first basemen who has a ton of thump in his bat, while Goldschmidt is a bounce-back candidate who's always one of the most well-respected veterans in the league.

One thing's clear here: the Mariners need some external help, and they have the perfect man running the show in Jerry Dipoto. He can never sit still for too long and always needs to be making moves. It remains to be seen just how wild they'll go in free agency, but there are going to be a ton of options that make all the sense in the world for the club.

It's time to make it happen and capitalize on their wide open playoff window.