The Mariners front office operated under tight payroll restrictions from ownership in light of uncertainty regarding the teams television contract this offseason. That didnt stop Trader Jerry Dipoto, the teams president of baseball operations, from aggre sively overhauling the roster with a series of trades colored by monetary implications. (This years Mariners Review might include the lengthiest trades and waiver claims section Ive ever written in a decade of doing these reviews.) Major League Signings , DH/C: , RHP: , RHP: 2024 spend: $17.3MM Total spend: $29.3MM Option Decisions None Trades and Waiver Claims OF , RHP and cash from Giants in exchange for LHP 2B from Twins in exchange for DeSclafani, RHP , OF and RHP RHP from White Sox in exchange for OF , RHP and Competitive Balance Round B draft pick (No. 69 overall) OF from Rays in exchange for 2B/SS RHP and C from Diamondbacks in exchange for 3B 3B from Red Sox in exchange for RHP RHP and RHP from Braves in exchange for OF , LHP and 1B C from Rays in exchange for C 2B/OF from Royals in exchange for PTBNL (later to be RHP ) RHP from Pirates in exchange for cash RHP to Cardinals in exchange for cash RHP to Marlins in exchange for cash RHP off waivers from Red Sox (later outrighted to Triple-A) RHP off waivers from Diamondbacks RHP off waivers from Reds RHP off waivers from Red Sox (later lost via waivers to Marlins) OF off waivers from Pirates (later lost back to Pirates via waivers) Minor League Signings , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Notable Lo ses , Robbie Ray, Eugenio Suarez, , Jarred Kelenic, , Marco Gonzales, Justin Topa, Jose Caballero, Isaiah Campbell, Prelander Berroa, Evan White, (claimed by Braves), (claimed by Mets), (claimed by Marlins), , , , It became clear fairly early in the offseason that despite the Mariners recent succe s, including the end of their two-decade playoff drought in 2022, payroll wouldnt be rising much in 2024. Like so many clubs around the league, their offseason dealings were colored by uncertainty surrounding the teams television rights. While Seattle wasnt planning to cut payroll like many other clubs around the game, the Seattle Times reported in early December that president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, general manager Justin Hollander and the rest of the front office received a smaller budget than anticipated from ownership. That didnt stop plenty of speculation regarding Seattle-area native , but a big free agent splash like that never seemed likely given the front offices apparent budgetary restrictions. Instead, Dipoto went with a familiar approach: operating primarily on the trade market. Even by his own standards, this was an offseason for the ages in terms of wheeling and dealing. The Mariners made a staggering 12 trades over the course of their offseason. Perhaps most remarkable about that progre sion of trades isnt the sheer volume but rather the fact that Seattle held onto its entire crop of vaunted young pitchers. Entering the offseason, it seemed quite likely that one of , or could be dealt as the team looked to bolster other areas of the roster. Controllable starting pitching is always in demand, and there was le s of it available this season than in years past. The Mariners, facing needs at designated hitter, second base, third base and in the outfield, could very likely have moved a young starter and filled multiple holes in one fell swoop. That wasnt meant to be, however. Dipoto would reveal that he unsurprisingly received considerable interest in his young pitchers but before adding that holding onto the entire group as always Plan A. Even if the plan was to hold onto that group, changes were clearly needed. Dipoto hinted at a po sible retooling early in the winter suggesting that he hoped add some more contact-oriented bats to the roster in the wake of last years prodigious strikeout totals. While the Mariners achieved this to some extent, that desire certainly didnt inform all of their offseason moves, as many of the teams new acquisitions still strike out at alarming rates. Eugenio Suarez was the first domino to fall in this regard. Hed been a solid contributor for the Mariners in each of the two prior seasons but struck out in 31% of his plate appearances along the way and saw his power output dip in 2023. Suarez led the American League in strikeouts in both 2022 and 2023. A substantial dip in his defensive grades could well cause his value to plummet, as he was effectively a league-average bat in 23 (102 wRC+). His contact rate on pitches in the zone sat more than five percentage points shy of league-average, and on pitches off the plate, it was nearly 13 percentage points shy of the mean. Suarez is making just enough contact and playing just sharp enough defense to remain an above-average Joey Wendle Jersey regular, but his margin for error is thinning. In return for Suarez, the Mariners got one of the games hardest-throwing young relievers, Carlos Vargas, and a backup catcher who strikes out at a staggering 35% clip: Seby Zavala. While Zavala was acquired for his glove, not his bat, it was a bit curious to see the team cite a desire to improve contact skills and then acquire such a whiff-heavy backstop. will work a larger workload than most starting catchers, but Zavalas whiffs are still prodigious. For a Mariners club that is as good as any in the game maybe better than any other at maximizing bullpen performance, getting a power arm like Vargas is particularly intriguing. Still, the $12MM in cost savings in this deal was surely a motivating factor. Replacing Suarez at the hot corner will be fellow trade pickup Luis Urias and holdover , whom the Ms acquired last summer in exchange for (a move that, in retrospect, perhaps foreshadowed the current offseasons payroll restrictions, when considering Sewalds arbitration salary). Urias was a buy-low grab who posted a solid .244/.320/.446 slash in 2021-22 with the Brewers before an injury-ruined 23 season. In hindsight, the Mariners might regret committing $5MM to him so early, as veteran infielders like and signed for a year and $1.5MM apiece late in spring training, but their price tags falling to such extreme levels was generally unforeseeable. The Suarez trade irked Mariners fans, as it seemed clearly financially motivated to at least some extent, but the trade of Jarred Kelenic, Evan White and Marco Gonzales smacked even more heavily of a salary dump. The Ms acquired a former second-rounder, Cole Phillips, whod yet to pitch profe sionally due to injury and a change-of-scenery former prospect in Jackson Kowar. Both have since undergone Tommy John surgery. Kelenic was a symbol of hope during the Mariners last rebuild touted as a potential outfield cornerstone alongside current face of the franchise . Things simply havent panned out that way, however. Kelenic has looked flummoxed by MLB pitching on a repeated basis, particularly fellow lefties. He had a hot start in 2023 but faded immensely before breaking his foot when he kicked a water cooler following a strikeout in a key situation. The Mariners shed $24.25MM of payroll in that deal and received little in return. But dealing Kelenic and his 31.7% strikeout rate did mesh with Dipotos goal of improving the teams contact. Between the departures of Suarez, Kelenic and free agent Teoscar Hernandez (who signed with the Dodgers on a one-year deal), the Ms bid adieu to a trio who combined for 1788 plate appearances and each struck out in 31% of their plate appearances (or more). In trading Suarez, Kelenic, Gonzales and White, the Mariners also trimmed nearly $37MM off the long-term payroll. Those werent the only cost-driven deals of the winter, however. Dipoto shipped the final three seasons of Robbie Rays $115MM contract to the Giants in a trade bringing back old friend Mitch Haniger and right-hander Anthony DeSclafani. The Mariners know just how productive Haniger can be when at his best but are also plenty familiar with his susceptibility to injuries and strikeouts. As with Garver, hes not a panacea for the teams contact woes, but Haniger has never punched out at a clip higher than 2019s 28.6%. He was at 28.4% in 2023 while battling through an oblique strain, a back strain and another fluky injury: a broken arm sustained when he was hit by a pitch. Outside of last year, Haniger has been an above-average offensive player in every full season of his career. Hell probably never return to his peak 2017-18 form, but even 2022s .246/.308/.429 slash was 13% better than average, per wRC+. The Mariners would likely be fine with that level of output, and anything extra would be a bonus. The Haniger/DeSclafani/Ray trade also set the stage for one of the Mariners biggest acquisitions of the offseason. It took several months to come together, but the Ms and Twins finally made good on what was a clear on-paper match from a trade partner standpoint. Seattle acquired switch-hitting second baseman Jorge Polanco from the Twins, sending back DeSclafani to provide some pitching depth, righty Justin Topa to beef up the Minnesota bullpen, and a pair of prospects: Gabriel Gonzalez and Darren Bowen. Gonzalez is particularly well-regarded, landing on a handful of top-100 lists this winter. Bowen joined the back end of the Twins top 30 prospects. The Mariners included the $6MM of salary relief the Giants provided for DeSclafani and kicked in another $2MM, leaving the Twins on the hook for $4MM of DeSclafanis $12MM salary. The Mariners weakened their bullpen, thinned out their rotation depth a bit and traded one of their best outfield prospects to get the trade done. From a roster construction standpoint, however, it worked for both parties. Seattles pitching is a strength, while second base was a glaring need. Mariners second basemen hit .205/.294/.313 last season. Only four teams (Giants, Brewers, Rockies, White Sox) saw their second basemen turn in a worse wRC+ mark than Seattles collective 75. Going from that dearth of production to Polanco, whos slashed .267/.337/.458 over his past 2362 plate appearances in the majors (117 wRC+) is a ma sive upgrade. Like Haniger, hes had some recent injury i sues, but Polanco is a balanced switch-hitter whos signed for just $10.5MM in 2024 with a $12MM club option for the 2025 season. Knee and hamstring injuries limited him to 80 games last year, but hes a clearly above-average hitter and capable defender at second base. His 18.2% career strikeout rate should help the Mariners contact goals, though its worth noting he did whiff in a career-high 25.7% of his plate appearances last year. Sending Topa to Minnesota in that trade on the heels of his 2023 breakout 69 innings, 23 holds, 2.61 ERA, 21.9% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate, 56.7% grounder rate may also have served as a catalyst for one of the Mariners most uncharacteristic moves in recent memory. Seattle has thrived at turning minor league signees, waiver pickups and other little-noticed acquisitions into impact relievers. Topa himself is an example of it. Theyve become so prominent at doing so that the team has even coined the Steckenrider Bucket term a nod to them signing to a minor league pact a few years back and enjoying a dominant season of setup work from the journeyman righty. Their February acquisition of White Sox closer Gregory Santos, however, marked the rare instance in which the Mariners paid a steep price in a trade for a reliever. Its easy enough to see why Santos appealed to them. He pitched 66 1/3 innings of 3.39 ERA ball in front of a terrible defense, striking out 22.8% of his opponents against a 5.9% walk rate. Santos kept the ball on the ground at a 52.5% clip, averaged a blistering 98.8 mph on his heater, induced swinging strikes (13.4%) and chases off the plate (34.9%) at high clips, and regularly avoided dangerous contact (34.9% hard-hit rate, 1% barrel rate). Beyond that, hes controllable for five more years and not arbitration-eligible until after the 2025 season. Still, sending not only prospects Zach DeLoach and Prelander Berroa, but also a Competitive Balance draft pick thatll slot in at 69th overall this summer, marked a divergence from the Mariners typical methods. Perhaps the Ms grew weary of mining for hidden gems on an annual basis. Perhaps they simply (and quite understandably) loved Santos arm and were enamored of the idea of pairing him with and in the long term. Whatever the rationale, it gives the Mariners a potential three-headed bullpen monster for the ages. Both Brash and Santos are banged up and will begin the season on the injured list, but neither is believed to be facing a monthslong absence. At some point in the not-too-distant future, that trio will be locking down leads for manager Scott Servais. Its a fun group on which to dream. Polancos acquisition also helped replenish some of the depth the Mariners lost when trading Jose Caballero to the Rays in exchange for slugger Luke Raley. The 27-year-old Caballero debuted and usurped as the starting second baseman, though he faded quite a bit after a hot start. Flipping him for Raley adds a considerable influx of left-handed power to the Seattle lineup Raley homered 19 times in just 406 plate appearances and posted a stout .241 ISO but does also set the club back in terms of contact skills. Raley fanned at a 31.5% rate in 2023. He hasnt hit lefties at all in his brief MLB career (.206/.257/.324), so hell likely be platooned with or serve as a bench bat, if the club prefers to give hot-hitting the first crack at the larger portion of the left field job. Either way, Raleys out of options, so hell be on the roster. Were deep into this look back at the Seattle offseason but havent even yet touched on the teams free agent dealings. Thats both a testament to the astonishing volume of trades and also a reflection of a fairly modest offseason in terms of free agent activity. However, the Mariners did shed a good chunk of money in the trades of Suarez, Kelenic/White/Gonzales, and Ray as much as $43MM overall. That money has since been largely reinvested into the roster. To replace Hernandez, Seattle signed Mitch Garver to a two-year, $24MM deal. Garver comes with his own strikeout concerns, but not to the extent of the players hell effectively be replacing. Hes fanned in 25.6% of his career plate appearances (24.2% over the past two seasons in Texas) and, more importantly, has quietly been one of the best-hitting catchers in the game when healthy. Seattle will use Garver as the primary DH, though he could potentially suit up for a few games behind the plate depending on the health of Raleigh and Zavala. This was a bat-driven move, however. Over the past three seasons, Garver has hit .249/.347/.479 (128 wRC+) with 42 homers in 802 plate appearances. Hes a career .272/.377/.509 hitter against lefties. Hes been injured often, doesnt run well and fans more than the average hitter, so there are some concerns. But the Mariners will hope regular DH at-bats keep him in the lineup more frequently and if theyre right, he has more than enough bat to fill that role. The aforementioned injuries to Santos, Brash and Kowar in camp proved too much even for a deep Seattle bullpen to withstand without making any noise. As those three relievers were banged up, the Mariners turned back to the free agent market and signed Ryne Stanek one of the best remaining relievers to a one-year, $4MM deal. Hes coming off a down season in terms of ERA and strikeout rate, but Stanek posted the first sub-10% walk rate of his career in 2023 and is yet another power-armed reliever with a fastball that sits north of 98 mph. Each of Munoz, Brash and Santos top 98 mph on average, as well. Seattles only other free agent pickup, Austin Voth, is more in line with their traditional bullpen acquisitions. He inked a $1.3MM deal and will open the season as a swingman. The 31-year-old once looked like a potential long-term rotation option with the Nationals but never found consistency in D.C. He was designated for a signment in 2022, thrived down the stretch after landing in Baltimore (3.04 ERA in 22 appearances, including 17 starts), but couldnt replicate that succe s in 2023 (5.19 ERA in 34 2/3 innings). The Mariners will be his third club, and if they can get Voth right, hell be controllable through the 2025 season via arbitration. The Mariners overhauled their lineup, e sentially swapping out Hernandez, Suarez, Kelenic, Caballero, Wong, Mike Ford, Tom Murphy and for a group including Polanco, Haniger, Garver, Raley, Urias and Zavala. Its not a perfect lineup still, the core of Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh, and wholl ideally have a bounceback season was always going to be the engine driving a contending Mariners club. The new group might not represent as dramatic a reduction in strikeouts as the front office hoped, but this collection of hitters should indeed put the ball in play more frequently. And for all that turnover, the Mariners made it work without parting with any of their vaunted young starting pitchers or radically increasing payroll. Trading Miller or Woo for a bat, then signing Snell and might have been a more straightforward means of operating, but those types of expenditures were never in the cards, given ownerships budget. The Mariners kept their core in tact, replaced a good bit of any lost production from the departures of Suarez and Hernandez, and did so while operating within a pretty tight set of financial restrictions. They may not be AL West favorites, but this group should be competitive again and the lineup looks solid, even if its a wildly different group than they trotted out a year ago. The biggest acquisitions Polanco, Garver, Santos are all signed/controlled through at least 2025 as well, making this whirlwind offseason one thatll impact them beyond the current campaign. How would you grade the Mariners' offseason? B 47.67% (1,650votes) C 28.49% (986votes) A 12.14% (420votes) D 7.95% (275votes) F 3.76% (130votes) Total Votes: 3,461 Omar Narvaez Jersey