As the holidays wind down and we return to the humdrum of normal life, it’s nice to be able to look forward to the start of spring training, only a short time away. While it is still the offseason and there are still plenty of talented players available, the market tends to cool down around […]
As the holidays wind down and we return to the humdrum of normal life, it’s nice to be able to look forward to the start of spring training, only a short time away. While it is still the offseason and there are still plenty of talented players available, the market tends to cool down around this period as major free agents begin to focus in on one or two teams who may be vying for their talents, and minor free agents look to join teams for spring training for a shot at the roster. Teams continue to operate, making the occasional trade, but in general, compared to November and December, I expect January and February to be pretty quiet.
Last we spoke was near the height of free agency, late November early December, just on the other side of the winter meetings or close to it, we asked you how the Mariners should address the holes in their team and unsurprisingly you all were convinced it had to be free agency.
I don’t find this result shocking at all. The reality is it just feels good when your team signs a big name free agent or makes a big trade to get better. It’s nice to see that the front office and ownership seem to be as committed as you are and are taking the steps to make a great team a reality. However, the Mariners offseason reality has been far from signing big names all season. The occasional action here and there, sure, and they did give out the first big contract of the off-season to Josh Naylor, but otherwise the Mariners have not been very active in the free agent market.
We also asked you who the Mariner should target for third base next year, and the concensous was clear but suprising:
I found it intriguing that despite clearly wanting more activity in free agency you all actually wanted to address the biggest home in the team via internal promotion, although maybe this poll reflected how poor of a fit many of you felt Bregman was to the Mariners. (And correctly, as he just signed a big deal with the Cubs.) I’m no Williamson hater but I have yet to see anything from the kid that warrants the confidence others seem to have that he will take a major jump next year. But I am willing to be proven wrong.
This week with spring training just a month-ish away, are the Mariners done for this offseason? There is certainly time to make a trade or signing but no one immediately comes to mind that has had Mariners rumors around the lately. Additionally we would like to hear from you on if the Mariners have a World Series level roster right now. I think with the pitching rotation fully healthy, some smart additions to the bullpen, the Mariners may only be a few patches away from getting to the big enchilada. Let us know what you think through the poll and comments below!
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Category: General Sports
