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 -- Now that we’re past the Winter Meetings and have the quietude of the holidays looming, it seems like a perfect time for an inbox answering questions on the Mariners’ offseason. 

Some questions provided were paraphrased or grammatically edited:

What exactly is the Mariners’ strategy this offseason?

In short, it’s one that president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, general manager Justin Hollander or manager Scott Servais didn’t envision when they sat at the podium for that polarizing end-of-season press conference on Oct. 3.

According to sources, things changed shortly after when their budget became more constrained due to uncertainty surrounding their regional sports network and the price increase that ROOT Sports will be attached to this season from Xfinity, the largest cable distributor in the Pacific Northwest. 

It’s led to uncomfortable decisions (and trades) that were motivated by cost-cutting in order to reallocate that money towards what the Mariners believe will be personnel upgrades. They’re now in a position to refill those holes, but any swing-and-miss on their proverbial “big moves” left in play could be disastrous because of the pigeonhole they’ve put themselves in.

Is there a chance they will shed more salary?

Dipoto was asked this question at the Winter Meetings and said, “We did what we needed to do to create the framework from which to build the team that we envisioned,” which is far more ambiguous than a “yes” or “no.”

However, there’s only one remaining high-cost player that they could conceivably move, and he carries a no-trade clause through 2024. That’d be Luis Castillo, who will earn $24.15 million this year and has $96.6 million total left on what -- for his production and positional premium -- would be palatable for just about any mid-to-big-market team needing starting pitching. 

Does the financial concern with the RSN extend beyond next season? If so, anything could be on the table. But Servais and Dipoto both said last week that they are more wary of dealing from their rotation after trading Marco Gonzales, who represented quality depth. 

How will Seattle improve its lineup from last season with only $20 million to 25 million to spend?

The exact dollar amount that the Mariners can spend this offseason remains unclear, and Dipoto adamantly won’t discuss it, on or off the record. But assuming that his reiteration that payroll will increase from its roughly $140 million figure last year would mean they’d have at least a little more than that. 

Still, based on everything that’s played out in this confounding offseason, it’d be imprudent to assume it’s significantly higher than it was in 2023. So, again, all signs suggest that the Mariners are operating with a tight window, which puts all the more onus -- and pressure -- on hitting it out of the park with whatever bats they acquire. 

They need at least two middle-of-the-order run producers, and probably another lower-order everyday player. Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Baltimore -- all of which are also facing budget limitations this offseason -- possess many hitters that would fit Seattle’s roster, making those teams logical trade partners.

When/if will the team explore extensions for George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Cal Raleigh?

Dipoto and Hollander said at the end of the year that they’d be more than open to such discussions, though with so many other needs, it’s clearly not an immediate priority. The other consideration is that those three players would need to be amenable to such deals, which will become more challenging as they accrue service time, become more expensive through salary arbitration and inch closer to free agency. 

Moreover, they’d each possess immense value on the open market, with Kirby and Gilbert playing the most expensive position and Raleigh emerging as one of the game’s top power-hitting catchers who also switch-hits and is a superior defender. Raleigh is also represented by agent Scott Boras, who encourages his clients to test free agency. 

On top of that, to sign in Seattle long term, Kirby, Gilbert and Raleigh would each want to be motivated by the club’s long-term trajectory.