For the Seattle Mariners organization, last year left only a sour taste as they finished one game behind Oakland for the wild card spot in the post-season. The American League West Division title is moderately difficult to achieve, but the Mariners may have a clear path to the playoffs in the near future. The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers both are teams that will stay in the Division’s basement for the next few years, leaving the Athletics and Angels as the only immediate contenders for Seattle. Let’s also take into account the recent struggles of Oakland and Los Angeles’s ability to win as the year winds down and transitions into the post-season. This winter should be the time for the Mariners to take hold of a Division that has not produced a World Series championship team since the 2002 Anaheim Angels.
Seattle Mariners Off-season: Finding Pieces to the Puzzle
Let us take a look at what Seattle has done this off-season and what other possible moves are in play. So far they have solidified the hot corner by signing a seven-year, $100 million deal with Kyle Seager. The signing may have been a bit much considering Seager’s production last year, but Seattle has faith in its players, which is a good sign. With Seager and Cano as their offensive workhorses, the obvious move for Seattle is to now add depth to their lineup. But what kind of depth do they really need?
The baseball world is abuzz with talk surrounding the Mariner’s need of another powerful right-handed hitter, which is true. In reality, Seattle needs a lot more than just that. As a team the Mariners in 2014 were ranked 7th worst in average among the league and 3rd worst in on-base percentage, not to mention 18th in runs scored. It is very clear that the Mariners will not solve their problems with just one power hitter, but rather an influx of consistent offensive players. Seattle needs to even out the roster by attaining a broad spectrum of players who can get on base, hit for power and hit for average. In order for title contention, the biggest statistic that must see some improvement is OBP.
A free agent this off-season that can fill the role of getting on base is a guy by the name of Nick Markakis. Although not the highest valued on the market, Markakis can provide plenty of opportunities to manufacture runs. He boasted a solid average of .276 in 2014, and led the Baltimore Orioles in OBP while scoring 81 times. Markakis will not be incredibly cheap by any means nor super expensive, but the Mariners should really put some thought into this offense producing machine.
Another free agent who is a bit more scaled down price-wise is Mike Morse. He signed a one-year deal with San Francisco worth $6 million but produced at a much higher rate. Morse is coming off a tremendous year with the Giants and performed very well in the post season. He put up a strong .279/.336/.475 with 16 bombs in the 2014 campaign. Before his wrist injury in 2013, Morse put up monster numbers in Washington hitting 31 homers and a stat line of .303/.360/.550. With plenty of productive years to come and proven consistency, Mike Morse may be the right-handed power hitter the Mariners so desperately need for a fraction of the cost.
These two options will by far be outstanding pick-ups, but Seattle will need a bit more substance on the offensive side. The current hot-stove talk is that the Mariners are currently in pursuit of guys like Nelson Cruz, Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Upton. Any of the three would be solid fits and could potentially put Seattle right in the mix of playoff contention with the addition of smaller-market offense guys like the ones previously mentioned.
The Seattle Mariners’ front office has got to have a lot of thinking going on this winter. This is a team that has two options: Do some spending this off-season to acquire the right pieces or save money in hopes of rebuilding in the years to come. With recent success after the signing of Robinson Cano last year, I don’t see the Mariners doing anything less than going straight for the gold. Their pitching staff was ranked 2nd in ERA (3.17) last year, and 5th in saves due in large part to lights-out closer Fernando Rodney. Seattle also held opponents to only a .230 batting average which was a league best. Defensively, the Mariners ranked third in the league with an outstanding .986 field percentage.
The defense and pitching is there, but now the Seattle Mariners must look to acquire consistent offense pieces that will mend this scattered puzzle of a lineup. Moderately cheap variations of players who can manufacture runs are currently on the market, but now it is up to Seattle to make the right decision.
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