3 targets on Mariners' holiday wish list

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 -- Spring Training isn’t for another two months, leaving the Mariners time to fill the multiple holes within their roster. But with the holidays approaching and Seattle sitting among eight clubs that have spent zero dollars in free agency this offseason, there’s more stress among a frustrated fanbase yearning for urgency over last-minute shopping.

“Sometimes, you can go in with an aggressive mentality, and the industry is telling you that it's going to require some patience,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said at the Winter Meetings. “That's where we are.”

It’s been two weeks since the industry convened in Nashville, Tenn., and a few potential fits have come off the board. Outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. returned to Arizona on a three-year, $42 million deal; outfielder Manuel Margot was included in Tampa Bay’s trade with the Dodgers centered on Tyler Glasnow, and Seattle also sat out the Juan Soto sweepstakes before the superstar was traded to the Yankees.

There’s still time, but dominoes are beginning to fall.

“Most of the players that we have on our radar in free agency or those that we've targeted in trade, we've touched base with those teams and/or agencies and we talked about parameters or more specific than parameters at what a deal might look like,” Dipoto said in Nashville. “You don't know. It's hard to make deals. It's hard to sign players, and they'll sign when they're ready.”

With all this in mind -- and with the spirit of the winter season -- here’s a look at the Mariners’ holiday wish list:

Corner outfielder(s) with power
Jarred Kelenic and Teoscar Hernández are gone, partly by-design to curb strikeouts and partly due to the unforeseen budget constraints this offseason. Either way, they covered the most innings in the corners last season and left sizable holes within the lineup.

“Those guys had thump,” manager Scott Servais said. “They hit the ball over the fence. There are a lot of different ways to score runs, win games, but we need to add bats, probably a couple bats.”

With the budget precluding them from spending at the top of the free-agent market on players like Cody Bellinger, a front office with a long trade track history should take that route again.

Minnesota is actively shopping Max Kepler, and while Tampa Bay has trepidation of dealing Randy Arozarena -- its most marketable player -- the Mariners have the pieces to get it done. Baltimore is said to be looking to get out from under the $12 million that Anthony Santander is projected to earn.

“We would like to add, at least I would call it, one and a half corner outfielders, and half would be somewhat at least capable of platooning -- with the idea that that Dominic Canzone could fill the other side of it, or a Cade Marlowe or Taylor Trammell, etc.,” Dipoto said.

Full-time DH
For the first time since Nelson Cruz occupied the position back in 2018, the Mariners are open to an everyday slugger at designated hitter. The need for bats is an obvious reason, but also that they’ve received among the worst production at the position over the past two seasons.

“We would like to find someone who is just a presence, more of a middle of the lineup bat-type,” Dipoto said. “And if that means primary DH, if it means some part of a corner and DH, that's a possibility. But we'd like to add bats that can make our offense better.”

J.D. Martinez is coming off a 33-homer season and needs a new home after Shohei Ohtani took his spot in the Dodgers’ lineup. Jorge Soler crushed 36 homers last season with the Marlins -- with new Mariners offensive coordinator Brant Brown overseeing Miami’s offense -- and is a free agent. He’ll probably cost more than Rhys Hoskins, who has 30-plus-homer power but is coming off a torn ACL in his left knee which he suffered last spring, and is an ideal candidate for a pillow deal to re-establish his value.

Starting pitching depth
With an army of young arms that each took a huge step forward in 2023 and an innings-eating ace, rotation reinforcements hardly look like a pressing need. Starting pitching is perhaps the Mariners’ greatest strength, and why many have speculated that they’ll deal from that group to acquire the bats they need.

“Our pitching is, I think what everybody around the league would identify is, 'This is what the Mariners do well,’” Dipoto said. “And there's a reason why people call.”

Yet, beyond the Nos. 1-5 of Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo, Seattle doesn’t have any insurance should one of those pitchers suffer a significant injury.

For all the criticism Marco Gonzales took before this month’s trade, he provided tremendous value via his workload capability when healthy. The Mariners recognize that they would benefit from acquiring an arm with quality innings capability before spring, even if it’s just a quad-A guy or two.