Seattle Mariners Insider Delivers Grim Outlook on State of Team's Offseason
The Seattle Mariners saw their offseason take another tortuous turn on Friday when it was announced that they had missed out on Korean infielder Hye-seong Kim.
Kim, who was thought to be a solid target for Seattle's second base problems, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers instead. And now the Mariners are left holding the bag, wondering how they can fill needs at second, third and first on a limited budget.
The Mariners have not signed one player in free agency to this point and Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times painted a grim picture on Friday afternoon.
With a limited payroll and roughly $15 million in payroll budget available, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander understood that filling two of the three spots might be the best scenario. Just upgrading one of those spots might be the new goal in a frustratingly quiet offseason.
The Mariners' offseason of inaction continued as Seattle was unable to sign Korean free agent Hyeseong Kim, who instead signed with the Dodgers.
— Seattle Times Sports (@SeaTimesSports) January 3, 2025
News via @RyanDivish: https://t.co/Yah2w7lX5s
The M's have been connected to veteran first baseman Justin Turner all offseason but haven't landed him, and they've been loosely connected to former White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada. Outside of that, it's been mostly trade speculation, none of which has come to fruition.
The Mariners finished 85-77 this past season, missing the playoffs by one game. They have made the playoffs only once (2022) since the 2001 season, and haven't advanced to the ALCS since that 2001 year.
The American League West appears to be wide open, but the question is, can the Mariners do anything to take it? Time is certainly running out.
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