Mariners 2018/19 offseason thread...

[sutz]

Not a lot of info yet, but some commentary, at least.

Mariners again are stuck in the middle entering baseball’s offseason

The Mariners are too good to break apart, not good enough to go all-out for it, and the best-case scenario likely is claiming the AL's second wild-card. That’s a tenuous landscape upon which to enter the offseason.

Now that baseball’s postseason is over, it’s time to focus on a harsh truth: The gap between the Mariners and the champion Red Sox is vast. It was there for the world to see in October.

That goes for Seattle and the Astros and Yankees as well. Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto acknowledged as much when he met with the media shortly after their season ended. He was asked if the Mariners were considering a tear-it-down model, as so many organizations have done, and he explained that it didn’t make sense for a team with a solid young core that had just won 89 games – despite analytics and a three-month slump that indicate a much lower base.


“There’s no reason for us to start from scratch,” he said.

So I asked him if they would then address their deficiencies from the opposite direction, by going heavily into the free-agent market to fill holes that their barren farm system can’t. He said that didn’t make sense, either.

Like an 8-8 football team, not low enough in the draft to get stars, not good enough to attract FAs. :?

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mar ... offseason/

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

Span is gone and they aren't bringing back Cruz by the sounds of it.

I'd try and get rid of Felix to be honest and eat any salary.

I feel each year they delay the rebuild and we end up in that weird limbo place.

Restock the farm and try to compete in a few years.

 

[sutz]

Span is gone and they aren't bringing back Cruz by the sounds of it.

I'd try and get rid of Felix to be honest and eat any salary.

I feel each year they delay the rebuild and we end up in that weird limbo place.

Restock the farm and try to compete in a few years.

Can't say I disagree, but there's some tough choices in there. I wish they'd bring Cruz back if they could. The whole "King" thing should be killed, regardless if Felix is still on the roster. It's gone beyond pathetic. Move the Maple Grove down stairs.

Looks like Edgar is stepping back, too. He won't be the primary hitting coach going forward. I guess you could say that it didn't work as well as we hoped.

I agree about the farm system. We realy needs some work and patience there.

 

[2_0_6]

I might be in the minority here, but everyone and I mean everyone should be available for trade.

 

[DJrmb]

They either need to go full on into a complete rebuild (trade Haniger, Diaz, Segura, etc), or they need to really commit to putting together a super team to compete with the likes of Boston, Houston, and NY. They are very much stuck in the middle with a mediocre team, like an 8-8 football team. However, the major difference is that in baseball there is no salary cap! If they really wanted to they could buy there way into the playoffs. Go get Bryce Harper to pair with Haniger. Go get Corbin or Keuchel. If you're going to go for it then go for it like that, all in. I just hope they choose one way or the other though. No more of this mediocrity garbage.

...and no, it's not enough to just make the playoffs either in my opinion. If you aren't building a team that could actually win a WS then don't bother!

Boston had the highest payroll in baseball this year at 240M, hmm, I wonder why they won it all? The Mariners were 12th at 161M. If we're not able or willing to spend 200M+ this next year to win then just sell and rebuild.

 

[Chapow]

Now that baseball’s postseason is over, it’s time to focus on a harsh truth: The gap between the Mariners and the champion Red Sox is vast. It was there for the world to see in October.

This is true for every team in baseball other than maybe the Astros and the Yankees, and even for them it still looks like a clear gap to me, just not a vast one.

This is also true for the NL Champion Dodgers. It was not a very competitive World Series and it was crystal clear who the better team was.

Not really sure what anyone can do about it either. If you expect or hope that the Mariners (or any other team) can put a team together as good as the Red Sox in one off season, you're probably going to be disappointed. It's just not very likely that any team could pull that off. The Red Sox have a really, really good team.

 

[sutz]

Now that baseball’s postseason is over, it’s time to focus on a harsh truth: The gap between the Mariners and the champion Red Sox is vast. It was there for the world to see in October.

This is true for every team in baseball other than maybe the Astros and the Yankees, and even for them it still looks like a clear gap to me, just not a vast one.

This is also true for the NL Champion Dodgers. It was not a very competitive World Series and it was crystal clear who the better team was.

Not really sure what anyone can do about it either. If you expect or hope that the Mariners (or any other team) can put a team together as good as the Red Sox in one off season, you're probably going to be disappointed. It's just not very likely that any team could pull that off. The Red Sox have a really, really good team.

Point of order. That quote is from the article I linked. Not my words.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1 ... 2784926721

 

[DJrmb]

:34853_doh: this is exactly what I don't want to hear. Don't do a halfway rebuild. If you're going to do it, those are exactly the guys you need to trade.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1059855141879263234[/tweet]

I'm really hoping that statement is more just posturing to keep teams from undervaluing those guys. Don't want to give teams the fire sale impression, because when you go to a fire sale you expect to get things at a discount...

 

[sutz]

:34853_doh: this is exactly what I don't want to hear. Don't do a halfway rebuild. If you're going to do it, those are exactly the guys you need to trade.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1059855141879263234[/tweet]

I'm really hoping that statement is more just posturing to keep teams from undervaluing those guys. Don't want to give teams the fire sale impression, because when you go to a fire sale you expect to get things at a discount...

Well, I would offer that Haniger and Diaz are generational talents that you don't jettison. Gonzalez, not so much maybe, but our history is full of players that we let go and thrived elsewhere, and Haniger and Diaz look like that kind of guy.

 

[Thepeelsessions]

Honestly, the only guy I absolutely positively want to see back next year is Haniger. He's still really young and under club control for a long time. Seager, Zunino, Segura, Gordon, Cano, FELIX, Paxton, Diaz..... Get what you can for these guys and move on. If this team doesn't go all in for a full rebuild, it would be a major disappointment and a slap in the face to us fans. Dipoto better make it right. He's been a major factor in this teams ills the last few years. I still can't believe he received an extension mid season. Such a stupid decision.

 

[Bobblehead]

We have some good trade bait..lets go Astro and do a complete rebuild, can't be any worse than it has been since 01.

 

[West TX Hawk]

If this is the road they're going, you keep Segura-he's only 28 and under club control through '23 (yes he's paid $14 mil a year but he's worth it). You then keep Haniger, Paxton, Diaz. The Yankees and Red Sox never give up top arms so imitate them and Paxton and Diaz stay. Gonzales is not a top arm and can be dealt. Get rid of everyone else.

 

[IndyHawk]

If this is the road they're going, you keep Segura-he's only 28 and under club control through '23 (yes he's paid $14 mil a year but he's worth it). You then keep Haniger, Paxton, Diaz. The Yankees and Red Sox never give up top arms so imitate them and Paxton and Diaz stay. Gonzales is not a top arm and can be dealt. Get rid of everyone else.

I do agree with what you said but the Yankees and Sox never rebuild so that is
where we part.I say if we are in complete rebuild then sell all for max return.
I would keep Mitch as the one piece to stay if that's a choice.

 

[Bobblehead]

If this is the road they're going, you keep Segura-he's only 28 and under club control through '23 (yes he's paid $14 mil a year but he's worth it). You then keep Haniger, Paxton, Diaz. The Yankees and Red Sox never give up top arms so imitate them and Paxton and Diaz stay. Gonzales is not a top arm and can be dealt. Get rid of everyone else.

But.. those are really your only viable trade chips..

We were one of the oldest teams, with a huge payroll..(I think) and we need to get younger, with good young positional players that can shrink the payroll so that, we can aquire starters that seem are only available as expensive Free agents.

 

[DJrmb]

I get people wanting to keep Haniger or Diaz because they are really good (Generational talents is a bit of a stretch though I think). However, that's the exact thinking that has kept us in this mediocrity for all these years. Haniger will be 28 this season and if we're talking about a rebuild it's going to be, at minimum, 3-5 years before the talent from your rebuild makes it through the minors and is on your major league roster. Why would you keep Haniger for his 28-32 year old seasons on teams you already plan to have no chance at winning just because you have him under club control or cheap? You're completely wasting that and getting nothing out of it when you're in a rebuild and know ahead of time you aren't fielding teams that have any kind of shot to win. Plus Haniger is only under club control for one more season then he's in arbitration and you have to start paying him a lot more. Granted not as much as if he were a free agent but again, what's the point if you aren't planning to win until 2023 when Mitch will no longer be in arbitration and a free agent?

If you're selling, you sell it all and completely rebuild. If you're going for it then you have to commit to spending like the Redsox and put 250M into the team and not 160M. There is nothing in the middle of those two options that makes any sense no matter how attached any of us are to certain players.

 

[2_0_6]

Not a fan of this deal.....

 

[Thepeelsessions]

Not a fan of this deal.....

I kind of like it. Actually I really like it.

 

[Crizilla]

I like it too. You had to get rid of Zunino and Heredia. Zunino especially. He never figured it out with us. No point in holding onto him. He would have been toast long time ago if he was with BOS or NY.

Mallex Smith led the AL in triples, nice. Is a Dee Gordon trade about to happen? No way Dee gets the nod over Cano at 2nd.

 

[Bobblehead]

Heredia and Gamel were one in the same.. I don't think there was any room for both of them..
Heard Shannon quip on the radio,t hat this move suggested a 2 year rebuild,otherwise he would have been dealt for several prospects... I just don't want a half ass rebuild where we have to rebuild again.