Deprecating a Disquisition : The 2025 HVH Seattle Mariners Offseason Plan Is Alive!
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| Having failed to lure free agents, and draft & develop hitters, Jerry Dipoto is attempting to 'create' the perfect hitter for T-Mobile Park. Photo by Fritz. |
By The HVH staff and Mary Shelley, *18 October, 2024.
We've composed a plan that involves stitching together parts of plans from the past to form a formidable Mariner roster. Some may call this a 'Frankenstein' plan, bringing back names from dead ideas that never were, or were never meant to be. Call it supplication, we'll call it ingenious. We believe we actually got inside the mad mind of Justin Hollander and now have the responsibility to bring his ideas to life.
The most obvious course, or incessant habit we've come to expect, is through trade, which would commence promptly after declining the option on Jorge Polanco. We'll discuss our reasoning for each suggestion in the comments after Samhain.
1. Mitch Haniger, OF/DH, Mitch Garver, C, Nick Castellanos, OF/DH, and Tyler Locklear, 1B/3B, to St. Louis; Nolan Arenado, 3B, Willson Contreras, C, Tai Peete, SS/OF, and 20 million (from Seattle) to Philladelphia; Alec Bohm, 3B/1B, and Rafael Marchán, C, to Seattle.
We kick things off with a morbid ménage à trois that would give the Cards' enormous salary relief and a fresh specimen for first, upgrades for the Phillies at the hot corner and a much needed backup catcher (and DH), while Seattle would get a new backup backstop themselves in the form of an out-of-options martian...Marchán. The bigger prize would be a beguiled Bohm, who we believe could revivify Seattle's sense of plate discipline—and at an expense that's palpable. This hair-raising hypothetical would make Justin and Jerry look like an alchemists, transforming lead into gold.
2. Dominic Canzone, OF, and Eduard Bazardo, RHRP, to Colorado; Sean Bouchard, OF/1B, and Angel Chivilli, RHRP, to Seattle.
The second suggestion would bury Bouchard's bones in Seattle's backyard as a potential platoon partner for Luke Raley at first and he would further serve as a corner outfielder as needed, facing RHPs and LHPs alike. The expense should upset no one. The potential reward could help revive Seattle's depth.
Chivilli is a talented pitcher who can make batters miss, though he didn't have a lot of success last season. A change of scenery could do him wonders. So could a strength and conditioning program with another 10-15 kilos. We like him as an experiment.
Colorado would be receiving an out-of-options reliever that may be able to handle a late-innings role and an outfielder with options whom they could stash or put to immediate use.
3. J.T. Chargois, RHRP, and Gabe Speier, LHRP, to Boston; Chase Meidroth, INF, to Seattle.
Third, we have a pair of relivers heading to Fenway. Perhaps a prospect would be necessary as well. Seattle would land better insurance for the keystone, or wherever else Chase may be needed. He may very well procure a significant role in Seattle's lineup.
4. Ryan Bliss, INF, to Chicago; Nick Madrigal, 2B/3B, to Seattle.
Next we have a still-young, top talent with excellent plate discipline who's been banished to an Iowa corn field. Few players have been more overlooked than Madrigal, but it's easy to see him ascend in Seattle with the help of Edgar, Perry, Ichiro, and perhaps a science experiment.
Bliss has been a fan-fiend. His departure would surely unsettle the undead that reside in & around the Emerald underworld. But those souls are lost and Bliss isn't quite ready for a regular bench role. This suggestion is for those of us Mariner fans who still have hope for help at second base, and for Chicago fans who have lost faith in Madrigal.
5. Jimmy Joyce, LHRP, and Carlos Vargas, RHRP, to Milwaukee; Bryan Hudson, LHRP, to Seattle.
One look at Hudson's ERA and you might be impressed. One look at his FIP and you might think he's just another semi-interesting, soft-tossing southpaw. But he's had a knack for missing bats and stranding runners. Though he tossed 6.2 scoreless innings to close out the season, he took things too far and tossed a little girl into a lake. As a result, he was left off Milwaukee's postseason roster and chased by an angry mob. But that's behind him now. His fastball is highly effective and he has a solid slider to boot. Easy to see Seattle introducing a cutter to give him a third option.
In the return, Milwaukee would be getting a top-ranked pitching prospect with back-end starter potential, plus a still-promising Vargas who spent 2024 in the Tacoma lab.
Non-player acquisitions could be huge for Seattle as well and there are three names that stand out: Matt Blood (and any staff he wishes to take with him), to oversee player development, plus Ryan Fuller as hitting coach in the event that Edgar should depart or prefer a more limited role. Hitting has to be a priority, but the pitching had a notable flaw in 2024 as well: holding runners. That must be addressed. We're hopeful that can be handled internally.
With that out of the way, let's get to free agency.
Seattle isn't a desirable place for free agent sluggers. Everyone knows that. It isn't a desirable place for most types of hitters. So, that has to change, and one way to facilitate the necessary change is to change the physiognomy of the chimera that is T-Mobile Park.
We believe they can do that by bringing in the outfield corners, adjusting the power-alleys and straightening out center field for a clear, uniformed background for hitters, and making the entire outfield symmetrical with these suggested distances from home plate...
- Left Field: 325ft.
- Left-Center: 380ft.
- Center Field: 400ft.
- Right-Center: 380ft.
- Right-Field: 325ft.
Then overpay for that one, big bat.
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| A Designated Hitter is out there, lurking. |
1. Joc Pederson, DH; 3 years, 48 million (17m/16m/15m).
The apparition of this plan, Pederson has been a consistently great hitter for a long time. He doesn't offer much defensively, but his mien as a hitter is exactly what Seattle needs: left-handed, middle-order power. He would play a vital role in resuscitating Seattle's offense.
If he isn't an option, regardless of reason, we would seek a reunion with Justin Turner.
It's not just active-roster bats they need, though.
2. Michael Soroka, RHSP/RHRP; minor-league deal +incentives.
We're assuming a major-league deal isn't likely, in which case Seattle should make every effort to lure him in with promises of new life.
3. Nick Solak, OF; minor-league deal.
Nick quietly had an excellent season with Tacoma. The need for depth is unremitting, so why not bring him back if he's willing?
4. Yoán Moncada, 3B/2B; minor-league deal +incentives +club option.
Moncada ended the season in the charnel house that was the Chicago White Sox after spending most of the season on the IL. In the few games he played before the injury, he was solid, but he had long been deprecated by the White Sox organization and fans alike. That might be an exaggeration, but it if it manipulates readers into accepting & supporting our suggestion, well, you'll see more of the same in the future.
The base salary for making the opening-day roster should be, say, 2 million, but the bonuses for games played and PAs should exceed 10 million.
Many more minor-league contracts will be necessary, but trying to identify multiple players, especially pitchers, who could fill the AAA ranks would be a waste of time. It's the equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack.
Question marks
1. Sam Haggerty, INF.
Sam missed most of 2024 due to injury. Seattle isn't likely going to tender him a contract as an arbitration-eligible player, but we're hopeful they can keep him around, tormenting opposition pitching in Tacoma on a minor-league deal.
2. Tayler Saucedo, LHRP.
Sauce' is set for arbitration and should get a raise. He's worth it, we just don't expect it. For the record, we'd like to see an agreement that has him competing for a spot in the bullpen.
3. Josh Rojas, INF.
The unremitting churning of infielders must continue and Rojas would be one of them. If he has trade value, this would be the time to move him. He'll simply earn too much for what he offers, so he's more likely to be non-tendered and that's what we're assuming will happen.
The effect on the roster
Lineup
1. Victor Robles, RF
2. Julio Rodríguez, CF
3. Joc Pederson, DH L
4. Randy Arozarena, LF
5. Cal Raleigh, C S
6. Luke Raley, 1B L
7. Alec Bohm, 3B
8. Yoán Moncada, 2B S
9. JP Crawford, SS L
Bench: Rafael Marchán, Dylan Moore, Nick Madrigal, Sean Bouchard.
Rotation
1. Logan Gilbert
2. Luis Castillo
3. George Kirby
4. Bryce Miller
5. Brandon Woo
Bullpen
1. Andres Muñoz C
2. Matt Brash
3. Gregory Santos
4. Collin Snider
5. Trent Thornton
6. Troy Taylor
7. Bryan Hudson L
8. Angel Chivilli
The Effect on Payroll
All things considered (subtractions, additions, raises, buyouts and pre-arb salaries), we estimate an opening day payroll between 156-158 million. That exceeds the limit we tried to initially impose upon ourselves, but to hell with it. This is about entertainment and it's not like what we're proposing is outrageous.
For those who might worry about the 2026 payroll, you could probably tack on another 16 million in arbitration raises, though anything short of clear contention would likely result in some of the larger contracts getting moved (Castillo and Pederson), and possibly even those with dwindling control (Raleigh, Gilbert. Arozarena, and Bohm).
Moving good players making good money isn't terribly difficult. They shouldn't have any bad players making good money.
Conclusion
This plan is about as realistic as bringing back the dead to life. Seriously, we proposed a nine-player, three-team swap! But these suggestions shouldn't be abstruse, and if you dare to dream, or at least appreciate the attempted entertainment (complete with Mary Shelley's vocabulary), this plan should make plenty of sense. The dollars involved don't reflect future commitment, but it should go without saying that moving dead contracts would come at a price...a monster price. Yeah, we're guilty of pedantry puns.
Many of these players have been on our lists and in previous plans, as well as informal suggestions, for good reasons. Unlike Seattle's course, those reasons haven't changed. Hopefully Seattle isn't headed to an early grave.
The End
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