The Mariners missed qualifying for the postseason by only one sport — a heartbreaking end result for a membership that held a commanding 10-game lead within the American League West again in June. Seattle’s offense floundered all 12 months on the heels of a 2023-24 offseason punctuated by payroll restrictions and a sequence of salary-driven trades to assist stability the lineup whereas adhering to a funds that was tighter than most anticipated.
Ryan Divish and Adam Jude of the Seattle Instances have some comparatively excellent news for annoyed M’s followers on that entrance, reporting that possession expects payroll to extend in 2025. That’s a breath of recent air after it grew to become clear virtually instantly final offseason that payroll had minimal room to develop. Then again, the Instances duo provides {that a} main free agent splash just isn’t anticipated, thus suggesting that any uptick in payroll may very well be pretty modest in nature.
Seattle’s roster is overwhelmingly value managed, as the majority of its core is both signed long-term or within the early levels of arbitration. As is the case with all groups becoming that description, there are some pure payroll will increase that needs to be baked into the offseason.
Julio Rodriguez will see his wage soar from $10MM to $18MM beneath the phrases of his long-term extension, for instance. Victor Robles solely value the Mariners the prorated league minimal this 12 months after being launched by the Nationals, however he’ll earn $3.5MM subsequent 12 months on the two-year extension he signed in August. Dylan Moore, Andres Munoz and Mitch Garver will even see small wage will increase on their assured multi-year offers, all of that are barely backloaded. It’s not all will increase, nonetheless. Mitch Haniger’s deal is frontloaded, and he’ll truly see his wage drop from this 12 months’s $20MM mark to the $15.5MM stage on a participant possibility he’s certain to train.
The larger space for improve lies inside the Mariners’ arbitration class. First-time candidates embrace Cal Raleigh and George Kirby, each of whom ought to command vital raises and will go from costing the membership a mixed $1.5MM to someplace within the mixed $10MM vary. Randy Arozarena ($8.1MM in 2024), Logan Gilbert ($4.05MM) and Josh Rojas ($3.1MM) are in line for essentially the most notable raises among the many remainder of the group, although relievers like Trent Thornton ($1.2MM in ’24), Austin Voth ($1.25MM), JT Chargois ($1.285MM), Gabe Speier (pre-arb) and Tayler Saucedo (pre-arb) might all get boosts as properly. Luis Urias is all however a surefire non-tender candidate, and injured utilityman Sam Haggerty isn’t essentially assured to be tendered.
Assuming the Mariners decline Jorge Polanco’s $12MM possibility after a disappointing 2024 season — Divish and Jude unsurprisingly write that they’re seemingly to take action — and tender contracts to Raleigh, Kirby, Gilbert, Rojas, Thornton, and Saucedo, they’ll land someplace within the $140MM payroll vary earlier than making a single transfer this offseason (together with a slate of pre-arbitration gamers to spherical out the roster). This 12 months’s payroll was completed simply shy of $145MM, per RosterResource.
An elevated payroll, then, doesn’t essentially signify the looming addition of any massive salaries to be acquired through free company or commerce. That stated, phrase of an growing payroll additionally does lend some perception into the course the staff will take. As an example, we’ve already seen the Cardinals plainly state that subsequent 12 months’s payroll will lower. It grew to become clear virtually instantly within the Twins’ offseason final 12 months that payroll would decline from 2023 to 2024. We’re 5 years eliminated (to the day) from Rockies possession kicking off the winter by saying they lacked flexibility for additions of word. With Jerry Dipoto returning as president of baseball operations, there’s all the time a “by no means say by no means” caveat hooked up to nearly any participant’s commerce candidacy, as he’s among the many sport’s most energetic executives on that market. Nonetheless, there’s no motive to anticipate sweeping modifications among the many staff’s wonderful younger core.
Reasonably, the main focus as soon as once more appears prone to be on reinventing an offense that has been frequently stagnant regardless of repeated personnel modifications. The M’s would little doubt welcome the chance to get out from some or all of their commitments to Haniger and Garver, however that’ll be no small feat. They’ll once more be trying to improve at third and/or second base after final 12 months’s pickups of Polanco and Urias didn’t yield the supposed outcomes. First base is an open query, although the hope is that younger Tyler Locklear can solidify the place.
The outfield/designated hitter combine — Arozarena, Rodriguez, Robles and Luke Raley — is essentially set, and the Mariners don’t determine to be main gamers within the beginning pitching market. Gilbert and Kirby might be rejoined by Luis Castillo, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo, comprising a superb rotation. Different golf equipment will certainly attempt to pry a few of these younger, cost-controlled arms away from the Mariners whereas dangling promising younger hitters in return. Nonetheless, Dipoto and GM Justin Hollander opted to not deal from that rotation inventory final 12 months and would certainly be reluctant to take action this coming offseason, given the near-unmatched mix of wonderful outcomes and reasonably priced worth tags they’ve all through the beginning workers.
Divish and Jude write that Dipoto spoke of how to “tackle our holes that perhaps don’t embrace [trading away] the gamers which might be right here” — a possible nod to dealing from a deep farm relatively than subtracting from the massive league roster. Prospects like Locklear, catcher/outfielder Harry Ford, right-hander Logan Evans, outfielders Jonny Farmelo and Lazaro Montes, and infielders Colt Emerson, Cole Younger and Felnin Celesten have all garnered fanfare among the many sport’s top-100 prospects since midseason. Extra broadly, the Mariners rank eleventh or higher on the midseason farm system rankings from ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (eleventh), MLB.com (ninth) and Baseball America (seventh). Dipoto and Hollander could have no scarcity of coveted younger expertise to hawk available on the market if the objective is to reinforce the lineup with out closely subtracting from the present massive league roster.
