Mariners OFF-season thread

[hawksfansinceday1]

Dipoto had mentioned because of our park he won't shy away from fly ball pitchers. I wonder if he saw Rodney in our park last year?

He said "pitchers" not "gas cans".

 

[hawkfan68]

Dipoto had mentioned because of our park he won't shy away from fly ball pitchers. I wonder if he saw Rodney in our park last year?

He said "pitchers" not "gas cans".

Rodney had 51 saves in 2014 and even though he was volatile last season still had 22 saves while with the M's. More than any other reliever the M's trotted out there last season.

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

Dipoto had mentioned because of our park he won't shy away from fly ball pitchers. I wonder if he saw Rodney in our park last year?

He said "pitchers" not "gas cans".

Rodney had 51 saves in 2014 and even though he was volatile last season still had 22 saves while with the M's. More than any other reliever the M's trotted out there last season.

Rodney was horrible last year.

 

[Rob12]

Dipoto had mentioned because of our park he won't shy away from fly ball pitchers. I wonder if he saw Rodney in our park last year?

He said "pitchers" not "gas cans".

Rodney had 51 saves in 2014 and even though he was volatile last season still had 22 saves while with the M's. More than any other reliever the M's trotted out there last season.

The save stat might very well be the most worthless stat in all of sports. Teams pitch their best relievers in 7th and 8th innings.

Rodney was terrible last season.

 

[hawkfan68]

Dipoto had mentioned because of our park he won't shy away from fly ball pitchers. I wonder if he saw Rodney in our park last year?

He said "pitchers" not "gas cans".

Rodney had 51 saves in 2014 and even though he was volatile last season still had 22 saves while with the M's. More than any other reliever the M's trotted out there last season.

The save stat might very well be the most worthless stat in all of sports. Teams pitch their best relievers in 7th and 8th innings.

Rodney was terrible last season.

I never said he wasn't terrible...he definitely was but the bullpen as a whole was abysmal last season. It wasn't just Rodney. Rodney still had more saves than anyone else on the team. Nobody stepped up to be the consistent closer to replace Rodney.

 

[CurryStopstheRuns]

Sounds like Iwakuma is back on the market after a failed physical with the Dodgers.

 

[JPatera76]

1 yr. Deal with iwakuma

 

[Rob12]

Felix/Iwakuma/Walker/Miley/Karns/Paxton/Nuno/Montgomery

That's pretty solid for depth.

Kuma coming back is HUGE for this team. Just praying he stays healthy. If he does, that has the makings of a way above average rotation - especially if Walker takes a big step forward and Paxton can not be made of glass. Karns is solid as well.

It's really a three-year deal (one year, with vesting options in 2017 and 2018). Great deal for the M's.

Vesting/Club Options

A common variation on the club option contains vesting provisions that allow the option year to become guaranteed upon the fulfillment of certain milestones. Given the MLB’s constraints on permissible metrics for conditioning contracts, vesting provisions (like incentive clauses) generally rely upon accumulation of innings, games finished, or plate appearances rather than tying directly to performance.

 

[Hawk-Lock]

It's awesome that we got Iwakuma back.

 

[Uncle Si]

Felix/Iwakuma/Walker/Miley/Karns/Paxton/Nuno/Montgomery

That's pretty solid for depth.

Kuma coming back is HUGE for this team. Just praying he stays healthy. If he does, that has the makings of a way above average rotation - especially if Walker takes a big step forward and Paxton can not be made of glass. Karns is solid as well.

It's really a three-year deal (one year, with vesting options in 2017 and 2018). Great deal for the M's.

Vesting/Club Options

A common variation on the club option contains vesting provisions that allow the option year to become guaranteed upon the fulfillment of certain milestones. Given the MLB’s constraints on permissible metrics for conditioning contracts, vesting provisions (like incentive clauses) generally rely upon accumulation of innings, games finished, or plate appearances rather than tying directly to performance.

Thats a playoff team rotation...

Need an outfielder but the team is much better (on paper) than last year

 

[sutz]

Sounds good, but, isn't the only reason 'Kuma is available that he failed a physical?

Hope it works out, but that sounds a bit ominous.

 

[Uncle Si]

Sounds good, but, isn't the only reason 'Kuma is available that he failed a physical?

Hope it works out, but that sounds a bit ominous.

No word on that he failed. It may be that the Dodgers reviewed his health and felt he wasn't up to the contract they were offering. Surely Seattle knew his health condition when they offered him the initial contract that he passed on for the Dodgers.

 

[jkitsune]

Getting Kuma back is a huge stroke of luck for the M's, particularly since we almost certainly will get him for cheaper than we initially offered him. As Si said, I'm sure the M's were aware of his health issues when they offered the initial contract. Different teams have different levels of comfort with different ailments, and we know Kuma isn't the most durable starter. The Dodgers offered 3 years guaranteed and probably didn't like that anymore - the Mariners basically have Kuma year-to-year for 3 years, based on durability, and are off the hook for him if he gets hurt again (although the details aren't fully out).

As Si said, outfield is still relying really, really heavily on players having bounceback years, which doesn't make me terribly comfortable, and we're relying on the same for the bullpen, but otherwise the team has improved (I think). After last year, I'm not going to get too excited until it translates to wins, but there's reason to be hopeful if you're into it.

 

[kearly]

Getting Iwakuma back is a nice stroke of luck, though it picks at the scab of the Elias / Smith trade, a bad trade that was necessitated by the apparent loss of Iwakuma. Now Seattle is missing their best reliever and has one starter too many. The M's can move Paxton to the pen but that seems like a huge waste of his potential.

But I guess not every GM can be perfect, and one bad panic induced trade aside, Dipoto has done enough to make the M's a legit darkhorse AL team in 2016. The Starting rotation is probably top 5 in baseball, the defense has a chance to be above average, and the lineup has just the right mix of OBP and power... that is if Nelson Cruz can keep hitting like an MVP-candidate for another year.

The bad news is that other than the two closers Seattle brought in, I think our bullpen is going to be pretty bad. Also, a huge part of the team is well over 30 or playing on 1 year deals. So even if Seattle is good this year, the good times may be short lived.

Jack failed as a GM but one thing I did like about him was that he was always keeping an eye on the future and relied on young players a great deal. Dipoto gives me more of a Pat Gillick vibe. Which in the short term is great. But in the long term, might lead to some lean years.

 

[chris98251]

Getting Iwakuma back is a nice stroke of luck, though it picks at the scab of the Elias / Smith trade, a bad trade that was necessitated by the apparent loss of Iwakuma. Now Seattle is missing their best reliever and has one starter too many. The M's can move Paxton to the pen but that seems like a huge waste of his potential.

But I guess not every GM can be perfect, and one bad panic induced trade aside, Dipoto has done enough to make the M's a legit darkhorse AL team in 2016. The Starting rotation is probably top 5 in baseball, the defense has a chance to be above average, and the lineup has just the right mix of OBP and power... that is if Nelson Cruz can keep hitting like an MVP-candidate for another year.

The bad news is that other than the two closers Seattle brought in, I think our bullpen is going to be pretty bad. Also, a huge part of the team is well over 30 or playing on 1 year deals. So even if Seattle is good this year, the good times may be short lived.

Jack failed as a GM but one thing I did like about him was that he was always keeping an eye on the future and relied on young players a great deal. Dipoto gives me more of a Pat Gillick vibe. Which in the short term is great. But in the long term, might lead to some lean years.

Where I can agree with you in you post, if we get any leaner we will be one of those Skeletons you see hanging in a doctors office as far as baseball is Seattle goes.

 

[Rob12]

Getting Iwakuma back is a nice stroke of luck, though it picks at the scab of the Elias / Smith trade, a bad trade that was necessitated by the apparent loss of Iwakuma. Now Seattle is missing their best reliever and has one starter too many. The M's can move Paxton to the pen but that seems like a huge waste of his potential.

But I guess not every GM can be perfect, and one bad panic induced trade aside, Dipoto has done enough to make the M's a legit darkhorse AL team in 2016. The Starting rotation is probably top 5 in baseball, the defense has a chance to be above average, and the lineup has just the right mix of OBP and power... that is if Nelson Cruz can keep hitting like an MVP-candidate for another year.

The bad news is that other than the two closers Seattle brought in, I think our bullpen is going to be pretty bad. Also, a huge part of the team is well over 30 or playing on 1 year deals. So even if Seattle is good this year, the good times may be short lived.

Jack failed as a GM but one thing I did like about him was that he was always keeping an eye on the future and relied on young players a great deal. Dipoto gives me more of a Pat Gillick vibe. Which in the short term is great. But in the long term, might lead to some lean years.

Respectfully disagree, Kip.

You can never have too much starting pitching - especially when guys like Iwakuma and Paxton have missed significant chunks of time due to injury. We've seen teams across baseball that have lost one or two starters, and all the sudden, their rotation is razor thin and they're scrambling to find someone to plug the gap. I see starting pitching like offensive line depth in football - you can never have too much, because of the injury risks.

The Miley trade wasn't my favorite, but it still makes sense. I think it's very wise to trade relievers at the height of their value. They are so volatile, and change so much from year to year. Farquhar was nails for us a couple seasons ago, but last year he got hit hard all season and bounced around between Tacoma and Seattle.

I like the idea of Jack relying on young players, but when your organization can't develop them, you're only spinning your wheels and eating away at a young player's confidence (Zunino) when you don't properly have the organizational pieces in place to properly develop them. Then, they get rushed to the Show and fail miserably. Zunino is a very clear cautionary tale on Jack's flaw with young players. With Dipoto in place and some new blood in the managing ranks throughout the system, I am hoping that we can actually see some progress with our prospects. Last year was just about as bad as you'll ever see when looking at the numbers our hitting prospects put up. Peterson and Jackson, two high picks, struggled badly.

The M's haven't produced an above average big league outfielder in 20+ years, and that's not an exaggeration. Aside from Kyle Seager and Brad Miller (somewhat), you'd be hard pressed to find another offensive prospect who has panned out for the M's. There's a laundry list of failed prospects, like Dustin Ackley, Mike Zunino (for now - I still have some hope), Jesus Montero, and plenty more. Hopefully Dipoto's regime can change that.

 

[CurryStopstheRuns]

Getting Iwakuma back is a nice stroke of luck, though it picks at the scab of the Elias / Smith trade, a bad trade that was necessitated by the apparent loss of Iwakuma. Now Seattle is missing their best reliever and has one starter too many. The M's can move Paxton to the pen but that seems like a huge waste of his potential.

But I guess not every GM can be perfect, and one bad panic induced trade aside, Dipoto has done enough to make the M's a legit darkhorse AL team in 2016. The Starting rotation is probably top 5 in baseball, the defense has a chance to be above average, and the lineup has just the right mix of OBP and power... that is if Nelson Cruz can keep hitting like an MVP-candidate for another year.

The bad news is that other than the two closers Seattle brought in, I think our bullpen is going to be pretty bad. Also, a huge part of the team is well over 30 or playing on 1 year deals. So even if Seattle is good this year, the good times may be short lived.

Jack failed as a GM but one thing I did like about him was that he was always keeping an eye on the future and relied on young players a great deal. Dipoto gives me more of a Pat Gillick vibe. Which in the short term is great. But in the long term, might lead to some lean years.

Respectfully disagree, Kip.

You can never have too much starting pitching - especially when guys like Iwakuma and Paxton have missed significant chunks of time due to injury. We've seen teams across baseball that have lost one or two starters, and all the sudden, their rotation is razor thin and they're scrambling to find someone to plug the gap. I see starting pitching like offensive line depth in football - you can never have too much, because of the injury risks.

The Miley trade wasn't my favorite, but it still makes sense. I think it's very wise to trade relievers at the height of their value. They are so volatile, and change so much from year to year. Farquhar was nails for us a couple seasons ago, but last year he got hit hard all season and bounced around between Tacoma and Seattle.

I like the idea of Jack relying on young players, but when your organization can't develop them, you're only spinning your wheels and eating away at a young player's confidence (Zunino) when you don't properly have the organizational pieces in place to properly develop them. Then, they get rushed to the Show and fail miserably. Zunino is a very clear cautionary tale on Jack's flaw with young players. With Dipoto in place and some new blood in the managing ranks throughout the system, I am hoping that we can actually see some progress with our prospects. Last year was just about as bad as you'll ever see when looking at the numbers our hitting prospects put up. Peterson and Jackson, two high picks, struggled badly.

The M's haven't produced an above average big league outfielder in 20+ years, and that's not an exaggeration. Aside from Kyle Seager and Brad Miller (somewhat), you'd be hard pressed to find another offensive prospect who has panned out for the M's. There's a laundry list of failed prospects, like Dustin Ackley, Mike Zunino (for now - I still have some hope), Jesus Montero, and plenty more. Hopefully Dipoto's regime can change that.

Adam Jones was a Mariner outfielder that is above average. Bavasi traded him away though.

 

[Rob12]

Adam Jones was a Mariner outfielder that is above average. Bavasi traded him away though.

True, though Jones was actually a shortstop when he was drafted, and didn't move to the outfield immediately.

And even then, the team finally produced a legitimate top prospect, and traded him away.

So, I guess it would be one outfielder in 20 years. And he got sent packing before he ever got the chance to make a legitimate impact for the Mariners.

This franchise is infuriating.

 

[massari]

So basically the M's got

Miley
Benoit
Aro

For

Carson Smith
Roenis Elias
Nelson Ward
Enyel De Los Santos
13.2M to spend on a free agent(s) from Miley+Benoits salary

 

[babyblues]

I'm glad we were able to get Kuma back and help stabilize the rotation. We had a few nice additions and shed some pieces such as Trumbo to help restructure the roster. I hope that by sending Zunion down he can improve his offense. He was great at the plate in college, but his pro career has been stunted due to be rushed through the minors.