Mariners evaluating and not spending

Mariners’ general manager, Jerry Dipoto, was asked several questions about the upcoming 2021 season in a recent interview via Zoom. When asked about whether or not the team’s finances this offseason would be affected by COVID-19, he responded, “Economically no….it had nothing to do for us with the revenues or economic issues that clubs may have experienced in 2020.”

“We can set the goal of competing for a playoff spot,” Dipoto said about the goals for the upcoming season.

He did note that he didn’t expect the team to be at the top of the American League West division. Concerning upcoming prospects, he said, “We feel there are another handful that are not far off.”

When pressed to name which players he thought would make their major league debuts in 2021, he mentioned Logan Gilbert, Jarred Kelenic, Cal Raleigh, and possibly Taylor Trammell. He also confirmed that the Mariners are planning to have a six-man rotation this season and want to limit starting pitching innings between 160 and 170.

“We are open to adding another starting pitcher and increasing the depth to the rotation if that’s possible,” Dipoto also said during the interview.

The reason given was not spending during free agency: The organization needs more time to evaluate what they have before making any changes.

Understandably, the general manager would put a positive spin on the upcoming season. All team general managers do this; however, a more in-depth look at the team’s spending over the past several years tells a different story.

The Mariners’ payroll has been on a steady decline compared to the rest of the league, and it is unclear why. Seattle is not a small market team, so why is it spending like one?

The Mariners have the sixth-lowest payroll in the major leagues at $57 million, behind only the Indians, Pirates, Orioles, Marlins, and Rays. The league’s average payroll is $114 million, and the first level of the “soft” salary cap starts at $210 million. This team isn’t just a few players away from playoff contention. The starting rotation and bullpen need an overhaul, and they can’t expect all of it to come from their minor league players. This is likely Kyle Seager’s last year on the Mariners, as I don’t expect the team to pick up his option next year, so third base will also be a position that needs to be filled. The Mariners could start to fill several future needs via free agency.

The ‘wait till next year’ mantra has gotten old. How much longer before it starts to cut into the team’s attendance? Over the last twenty years, when the Mariners finished in third place or better in their division, they drew over 2.1 million fans. In seasons where they finished in fourth or fifth place, that number drops to 1.8 million fans, and fans’ competition is only increasing.

The Major League Baseball (MLB) commissioner is again talking about expansion, and two of the top sites mentioned on the West Coast are Portland and Vancouver. Either location would cut into Seattle’s fanbase. A new National Hockey League (NHL) team, the Seattle Kraken, will start up this fall. It’s also possible we may not have baseball next year since the collective bargaining agreement or “CBA” is set to expire at the end of this season. There has already been disagreement between the players and owners over how last season was handled. This season the players refused the owners’ attempt to shorten the season to 154 games, and all signs indicate that both sides are far apart on the terms of the next agreement. At the very least, either a lockout or strike of some length seems likely for 2022.

Seattle’s other professional sports teams in the National Football League (NFL), Major League Soccer (MLS), and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) seem to make the playoffs almost every year and have won championships in recent years. The Seattle SuperSonics made the playoffs in their 2004-2005 season, more recently than the Mariners, and they’ve been gone for over a decade. The Mariners haven’t made the playoffs since 2001. How much longer can fans wait?