The Slow Death of Fandoms

 

A monument to Mariner fans' hope.

By Stevil, 23 Dezembro, 2024.

Though there are two months of offseason left, Seattle has yet to address any active-roster needs. The needs are the same as they were in October: a third baseman, a second baseman, a DH, a platoon partner for first base, a leverage reliever, a mid-innings reliever with options, and preferably a new backup catcher and utility fielder. Says me. 

The movement of first baseman shouldn't alarm anyone. But the lack of anything is concerning. Seattle needed to clear salary and bad contract swaps typically come early. Regardless of how you feel about the Mitches, their contracts represent a monkey wrench in the cheap machine that is maintained by ownership. That very well may be a big reason we haven't seen any key acquisitions yet. This front office may be scared to death of adding before subtracting. 

The value of each roster spot can't be stressed enough. Seattle cannot afford to carry so many  players lacking recent success or promise. There is little to build off of from 2024. 

The rotation isn't likely going to offer as many innings as they did last season, so the bullpen and pitching depth must be deeper. There are currently just three solid relievers that don't have health or performance concerns. Yes, three: Muñoz, Snider, and Taylor. 

The bench currently features exactly one solid player, Dylan Moore, and that's not because Ryan Bliss is currently slotted for a regular role. He was used selectively last season, only had a handful of productive games despite that selective use, and was below Rivas on the depth chart. Neither player should be on a Mariner team that intends to contend. They should be the reserve depth, and that shouldn't sound offensive, it's a valuable need. 

And about the elephant in the room that nobody seems to notice...

Everyone talks about how the Astros got worse, because they're losing Bregman and traded Tucker. I would remind people that Bregman struggled the first two months of the season and Tucker missed nearly all of June, plus all of July and August. Houston still easily won the division, and they've added two players without health questions, and they'll probably add another outfielder. 

But that's not the elephant. The elephant is the AL West improvements collectively. The Angels, A's, and Rangers have all gotten better. They raised the bar. It's fair to believe that Seattle might finish fourth in the division with the roster they have right now. 

At some point you have to wonder if they best course of action is to blow it up. That's not happening this offseason, it's too late for that. But at the deadline, or next offseason?

That would include the front office. Too much is being made of Seattle's ability to draft and develop. They have just two self-produced hitters and none of the top hitting prospects are that close.

What we're seeing is the slow death of what was a promising core. They were so close in 2022 and we've been watching the team drift further away from a World Series ever since. 

So, how do they reverse that with what the resources they have now, and after half the offseason in the books?

They probably can't. That's the grim reality, and it's hard to fault fans for feeling like all hope is lost.