FAQ: What to know about Mariners’ offseason

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SEATTLE -- The World Series is still underway, meaning that the Mariners and the rest of the league can’t yet get going on their major offseason transactions, as those are on hold until five days after the Fall Classic between the Yankees and Dodgers concludes.

But given that it’s right around the corner, here’s a primer on where things stand in Seattle as president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander take center stage.

Which players are set to become free agents? Are any of them likely to receive qualifying offers? How about players with contract options?
RHP Yimi García
1B/DH Justin Turner
2B Jorge Polanco ($12 million club option; $750,000 buyout)
RF Mitch Haniger ($15.5 million player option)

The Mariners have a relatively light load of free agents this year, and it’s essentially only going to be two players, given that they are unlikely to exercise the expensive option on Polanco, and that Haniger, eyeing his age-34 season on the heels of a disappointing 2024, will almost certainly exercise his pricey option.

García will hit the open market on the heels of sustaining a season-ending right elbow injury that limited him to just 10 outings after he was acquired from Toronto at the Trade Deadline. Same for Turner, who has both expressed and drawn interest from teammates in a potential reunion as he enters his age-40 season.

None among this group will be considered for the $21.05 million qualifying offer, which is a one-year deal calculated by averaging MLB’s 125 highest salaries.

Who might be a non-tender candidate, and when does the club have to make that decision?
Teams have until Nov. 19 to decide whether to tender contracts to each of their arbitration-eligible players. Those not tendered a contract become free agents.

Among those criteria, third baseman Luis Urías is the clearest such candidate, given that he earned $5 million last year, and after struggling for two months, was sent to Triple-A Tacoma for the next three.

Josh Rojas presents perhaps the most interesting case, given that he’ll see an increase from the $3.1 million salary he earned last year and went through a few drastically streaky stretches. Yet his production during his good runs -- and his huge defensive strides -- would make him a strong candidate to return.

Who needs to be added to the 40-man roster this winter to avoid the Rule 5 Draft?
Among their Top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline, the Mariners have three players who must be added by Nov. 14 to be protected from being selected by other teams: RHP Taylor Dollard (Seattle’s No. 21 prospect), RHP Jimmy Joyce (No. 23) and OF Carlos Jimenez (No. 28).

Their unranked prospects include RHP Travis Kuhn and RHP Jordan Jackson, the latter of whom is currently playing in the Arizona Fall League. The other semi-interesting names who are impending Minors free agents and who the club would need to re-sign before then are RHPs Juan Mercedes, Jason Ruffcorn and Blas Castano.

What kind of help do the Mariners need, and will they be active in the free agent or trade markets?
Dipoto made it clear that the outfield contingent of Randy Arozarena, Julio Rodríguez, Victor Robles and Luke Raley is here to stay, while also offering conviction in a bounceback from shortstop J.P. Crawford. That’d essentially leave the other three infield positions as areas where Seattle will seek upgrades.

Mariners chairman and managing general partner John Stanton told MLB.com last month that payroll will increase from roughly $145 million in 2024, but sources have said that it won’t be a substantial rise. Seattle sits, unofficially, in the $125-130 million range, leaving some wiggle room for notable additions but none at the top of the free-agent market.

That said, in that same interview, Stanton reiterated his belief in Dipoto’s “draft, develop and trade” blueprint, indicating that’s how the club will mostly build its roster this winter.

Who might they be willing to trade?
With this front office, anything could be on the table. The only players with a no-trade clause are Rodríguez and Luis Castillo, who could potentially be coaxed into waiving it for the right team, but with his $24.15 million salary wouldn’t net nearly as big of a return as Seattle’s other young starters: Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo.

Asked specifically about this on the penultimate day of the season, Dipoto said: “On the continuum of A to Z, that would be Plan Z times some denominator. We could shoot ourselves in the foot by trying to get too crafty in what we do. Our pitching is how we’re built. I love our rotation.”

But he also didn’t completely close the door on the notion.

“That wouldn’t be Plan A,” he added, “but we’ll go into every offseason open to whatever ideas might make us better.”