Will Mariners make splash at Winter Meetings?

This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer's Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE -- The dominos to an otherwise quiet Mariners offseason began to fall in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, when the club acquired its new third baseman and, five days later, traded away the position’s popular incumbent.

Luis Urías is in, picked up from Boston ahead of the non-tender deadline, and Eugenio Suárez is out, sent to Arizona ahead of his age-32 season and a contract year. Yet while these moves might give the club clarity at the hot corner -- sources have suggested that the club intends for Urías to be the everyday player there, unless it makes another move -- they won’t be standalones with how Seattle shapes the rest of its lineup.

And what better time to aggressively address the rest of those needs than the Winter Meetings, which begin on Monday in Nashville?

The Mariners have been quiet at the Meetings in recent years, in large part because they’d made their boldest offseason moves beforehand. But with notable needs to upgrade their lineup, a budget that likely limits them from spending at the premium free-agent levels and a front office prone to making its moves via trades, this year’s Meetings could be the platform where the Mariners’ Hot Stove season heats up.

Key events
• Sunday, Dec. 3: HOF Contemporary Era ballot results released (Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson, Jim Leyland, Ed Montague, Hank Peters, Lou Piniella, Joe West and Bill White)
• Tuesday, Dec. 5: Draft Lottery
• Wednesday, Dec. 6: Rule 5 Draft

Club needs
Seattle’s intention to swap strikeout-prone players for those who are more contact-oriented has led to the departure of Suárez and Teoscar Hernández -- the club's Nos. 2 and 3 in RBIs last season. Urías is coming off a down year marred by injuries, but he hit a combined 39 homers with a .766 OPS in the two seasons prior with Milwaukee. The club is banking on him replicating that production, which in itself is a risk.

Third base has long been a premium run-producing position, but Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto indicated last month that the club doesn’t necessarily affix run-scoring value to each position, specifically when asked about first base and Ty France. They’ve always operated this way.

If that’s the case, with catcher, shortstop and center field as the most solidified, and with an influx of infielders on the roster well before Urías arrived, the corner outfield spots are the clearest places where Seattle could seek reinforcements.

Potential trade candidates
They already dealt the offensive player who seemed most likely to depart, but offense was never the most obvious roster component that the club could deal from. The Mariners will arrive at the Meetings with all its pitching personnel from 2023 still intact. With arms representing the most coveted commodity in this year’s free-agent and trade markets -- and with the Mariners possessing arguably the deepest tradeable group -- it’s hard to envision that they don’t deal from this well, particularly given how badly they need bats.

Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander have been publicly asked about Logan Gilbert multiple times since last year’s Trade Deadline, and they've consistently reiterated that they don’t intend to deal him. Yet in all reality, George Kirby is probably the only “untradeable” piece within the Mariners’ rotation. But to be clear, if they trade any of these premium commodities, the return would need to be significant.

Prospect to know
Corner infielder Tyler Locklear (the Mariners' No. 11 prospect, per MLB Pipeline) and second baseman Ryan Bliss (No. 14) drew much attention as standouts in the Arizona Fall League and could contribute as soon as the 2024 season -- especially given that they’re at positions the Mariners have lacked production.

Yet the name to watch come Spring Training might be outfielder Zach DeLoach (No. 25), at least for the fact that he was added to the 40-man roster this month to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. It’s likely a make-or-break year for the 25-year-old.

Rule 5 Draft
The Mariners didn’t leave any notable players exposed this year, and they’ve typically always been active in the Rule 5. The only conundrum this winter could be that they’re operating with a full 40-man roster.

Burning question
It sure seems like they’ll add -- they must if they intend to upgrade the lineup -- but how remains the grand intrigue. Unless they get back into the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, which itself could be decided at the Meetings, next week could be a key window for Dipoto and Hollander to connect with trade partners.