Brady's Spin: The Seattle Mariners Need Ownership to Stop Ignoring the Middle Class
The Seattle Mariners are in a very precarious position, both for the rest of 2024 and moving forward.
On Thursday, it was reported that the Mariners figure to bring back President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto in 2025, and potentially beyond.
I have long said that I like Dipoto and would welcome him back for baseball reasons, but I recently switched up my tune and said I'd get rid of him because the vitriol toward him is so palpable that it seems toxic to bring him back.
It doesn't really matter anymore. What does matter is what happens next for the organization. They can continue to plod along, selling off assets and re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic, or they can make substantive changes to the ways they do business.
And look, I'm not asking them to spend $600 million on Juan Soto, and I'm not asking them to spend $250 on Pete Alonso. I'm asking them to not ignore the missing middle.
The Mariners seem to operate as if the only thing that exists is spending on huge names like Julio Rodriguez, Robbie Ray and Luis Castillo, or giving guys bargain-basement deals and rookie contracts (almost everyone else).
You absolutely need "diamonds in the rough" but you also need to be willing to bring in a veteran player that fits the middle ground. If they are going to decline the $12 million option on Jorge Polanco this offseason, then go and spend that money on Ha-Seong Kim, who doesn't strike out, runs well and is a good defender. You may be able to get him on a 2-year and $30 million deal. If you're going to trade Randy Arozarena to save money, maybe you can go and backfill his spot with Tyler O'Neill, who is a former M's farmhand. He might be had at $50-70 million.
If you are going to trade away a starting pitcher, are you willing to go spend the $25-35 million it might take to get Nathan Eovaldi?
The answer for the Mariners doesn't always need to be at the extremes. Are they willing to stop ignoring the middle?
This was a major point of discussion on the most recent "Refuse to Lose" podcast:
RELATED SEATTLE MARINERS CONTENT:
NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the "Refuse to Lose" podcast is out as Brady Farkas releases this episode a day early. He spoke about why the M's should let Jerry Dipoto go, only to have the M's bring him back right after the episode was recorded. Despite that, you should still listen as we got great perspective on what the M's are going through from Adnan Virk of the MLB Network and Tom Caron of NESN. Also, Brady discusses what kind of spending ownership should engage in moving forward. CLICK HERE:
M's to BRING BACK DIPOTO: The Mariners have made a big decision about their future. CLICK HERE:
THANKS, TY!: The Mariners picked up a game in the standings on Thursday thanks to a Ty France home run beating the Astros. CLICK HERE:
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