Seattle Mariners Apparently Have a Shockingly Low Amount of Money to Spend This Winter

The Mariners have needs all over the roster, but apparently they don't have the means to fix them as they should be fixed.

Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto answers questions during the MLB GM Meetings at The Conrad Las Vegas in 2022. / Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

On Friday night, the Seattle Mariners non-tendered Josh Rojas, Austin Voth, JT Chargois and Sam Haggerty. There was absolutely a case for keeping Rojas, who played Gold Glove caliber defense, and for keeping Voth, who served as a valuable depth option in the bullpen.

However, the decision to jettison both players was likely built around money, as the M's are looking to save payroll wherever they can.

According to Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, the M's have a shockingly low amount of money to spend for the rest of the offseason, even despite these moves.

The Mariners are non-tendering Josh Rojas, Sam Haggerty, Austin Voth and JT Chargois, club announces.

Moves this week have freed up about $8M in the payroll budget, roughly doubling what the Mariners are projected to have available this offseason.

The Mariners are non-tendering Josh Rojas, Sam Haggerty, Austin Voth and JT Chargois, club announces.

Moves this week have freed up about $8M in the payroll budget, roughly doubling what the Mariners are projected to have available this offseason.

— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) November 23, 2024

The Mariners only have $16 million or so to spend this offseason, which doesn't seem like enough to get done all they need to get done. The M's have needs at second base and third base, and they also could stand another option at first base/designated hitter. Furthermore, after getting rid of Voth and Chargois, the team needs multiple bullpen arms.

Earlier this week, it was reported "likely" that the Mariners bring back either Carlos Santana or Justin Turner, so if they do, that will greatly cut into that $16 million, giving them even less room to play with.

This essentially takes the M's out of the running for both Ha-Seong Kim or Hye-Seong Kim, names that they'd been linked to this offseason in the infield.

The Mariners went 85-77 this past season, missing the playoffs for the 22nd time in 23 years. A little money could go a long way toward helping this roster, but the M's apparently don't have it.

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