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Contreras trade impacts the Ms in a couple ways.
Red Sox are now out of the Marte sweepstakes. Dbacks lose a little leverage there on paper due to one less team.
Cardinals aquired a starting pitcher - it’s possible this slightly changes the package for Donovan now not needing SP as badly.
The Red Sox have put together a rather deep and imposing team on paper. They have 4 All Star caliber OFs (Abreu, Durran, Rafaela and Anthony) and solid IF options (Mayer, Story, Contreras). They still have Campbell and Casas as big trade chips.
Their rotation has a lot of options and Crochett + Gray is a strong duo. Their bullpen trio of Chapman, Whitlock and Slatten is very good.
If they bring back Bregman, I think they start as AL favorites.
What about the Contreras deal takes them out of Marte?
Been reported tonight from a few people Sox are now out of the Marte race now
The only one I’m seeing say that is nightengale. And it’s bob so can’t exact take it all too seriously. Don’t see any logical reason Contreras would stop marte talks. I mean great if that is the case but idk why it would be
Also just read Sox are close to the 2nd luxury tax threshold 2026 payroll is well over 200mil
I thought I saw a beat reporter also report it - agreed there is a chance that’s not 100% true by Boobs, it would mean financially they don’t see Marte’s contract as viable anymore? Might be bregman related
That still wouldn’t make a ton of sense imo. Marte’s contract for what he gives you at the plate is one of the most team friendly in baseball. Iirc he isn’t even making 20 million until the last few years of the contract. The only reason I can see them being out is if AZ’s asking for the moon and they just didn’t wanna wait any longer
I would argue it makes a lot of sense they’re now out on Marte if they’re intending to sign bregman. Good contract or bad contract even the Red Sox might have a cap on available salary. Not like Boob pulled that out of thin air
*now Marte is a guaranteed Boston acquisition
I guess yeah if they’d just prefer Bregman over trading for marte and a deal is imminent.
Hopefully that’s true and the Ms can make something happen
Would be amazing but we’ll see. If their asking price is so high it makes Boston pivot before a bregman deal being close to happening has even leaked then it must be insane. Not saying we shouldn’t pull the trigger even if it stings but still.
One less suitor for Marte (presumably) with the Contreras trade
Bring Geno back on a reasonable 1 or 2 year deal to play DH and backup 1B and 3B. We need a RH bat and DH and it doesn’t prevent any of our young guys from playing infield
I’m honestly curious as to why fans want this. Wasn’t his OPS+ like 92? He strikes out a ton and is a below league average hitter. He’s one year older and his defense is also below average.
Is there something I’m missing? And don’t say “vibes”
His OPS+ for the full year was 126. Just because he had a *94 in a limited sample size in Seattle doesn’t mean this will be repeated.
Mostly, we are very LH heavy in the lineup currently. We also need a DH. If folks have better suggestions for a RH hitter, especially at DH, I’m all ears
Do you really think his OPS will be closer to 126 or 94? I will be shocked if it’s above 100.
Probably closer to the larger full season sample size of 126. Again I’m open to other suggestions for a RH bat that is primarily DH and can play in the field a little if needed if you have other suggestions
Goldschmidt might be an option. He hit .336 against lefties last year with a 169 WRC+. He could make sense as a compliment to the potential addition of Donovan. He could DH and backup Naylor. Not a bad thought. I would prefer Okamoto, but Goldy is projected to earn 1 year $8-12m.
Bregman for 3b
That would be great but it’s not realistic
Don’t be so sure…I have high level sources that have indicated it is a very real possibility
😂
I'd rather we just have no third baseman than to have to watch Bregman as a Mariner.
Geno was not good for us after he returned. I love the Vibes, but we need a strong glove to complement the ground ball approach they want from the pitchers and to cover for JP’s declining range.
Also think he gets more than a one or two year deal after overall having a decent season. Unless his market absolutely craters and we’ve already gotten the primary bat we need I just don’t see him coming back.
Haha did you read my comment?? I said DH
You said as a backup 1st base and 3rd base in your comment.
Yeah backup. You really can’t live with his defense as a backup? We’re not talking about that many games here.
I said he should be DH and backup 3B and 1B and you say “Can’t do that because of his defense” as if that matters when I’m mostly suggesting he DH.
I'm working out every day until the mariners win a world series
Today is day 61
Proof on Strava https://strava.app.link/b9AVqd44FXb
Don't you think it's more in the spirit of Mariners baseball to workout randomly, whenever you feel like it, and even some days when all the pieces are in order for a good workout, to just fail to even consider working out at all?
I'm talking about when you have the time, energy, dogs are walked, kids are cared for, chickens are fed, garden is weeded... And you bike to the gym, walk in, sit down at a bench with some free weights at your side. But then you get up, grab a drink of the water, and walk out, bike home, crack open a beer, and marinate in your complacency.
I feel like the Mariners would respect that move. But not me... I'm proud of you -- keep it up!
You're going to win the centenarian Olympics for sure
My dude we're gonna win the ws right before I hit 364
...years old?
Maybe. Or maybe parsecs
Does adding Bo at 2B (not realistic hope) enough of a single move that we are ok with Ben at 3B and Canzone at DH? Given the budget I don't see how we add more than one player. So what's the best one add the team can make to make us the AL front runner?
The only guy that’s available that would be enough by himself is Marte. If we got him I think you can run Ben out there until Emerson is ready. But if it’s anyone else we really need a second bat.
We need two bats this off season if we want to be a AL front runner.
I'd be ok with it, but I don't think it improves us much more than filling the hole at DH would.
Bens bat isn’t good enough to be a starting third baseman- it’s more likely that job goes to Emerson. Also I don’t think Canzone would be DH. He would platoon with Robles and the DH would likely rotate.
A single move would have to be massive to make us the AL front runner, like Marte. If our “one bat” is Donovan , that’s not sufficient. We would need a Yondy level bat on top.
Williamson’s bat took a big step forward after he was demoted back to AAA. He won’t be a power bat, but a 90 wRC+ with gold glove defense is a 3-4 WAR player.
Everyone hits in AAA
His wRC+ was 130. He was hitting 30% better than the rest of the league which was a big step up for him.
In AAA…he was a terrible hitter in the mlb
76 wRC+ was poor, but he was still an above replacement level player due to his glove.
He sad 24 years old last year. He young enough to potentially improve a lot compared to his rookie year.
A guy going into his year 25 season who has never been a very good prospect is going to magically improve? No serious team would bet on that
A big step forward in AAA means very little unless he proves he can repeat that in MLB. If Williamson, Young and Canzone are in the opening day lineup something has gone severely wrong.
"Severely wrong." What a weird response to having a couple of young prospects in the lineup and a platoon guy in RF. The kids need to play in order to prove/disprove themselves. This sub is really weird about assuming a young player's entire future based solely on their first callup and 250 PA's and dead-set against platoons even when they make sense. Cole Young is 22 and was playing through a shoulder problem all year; Williamson just turned 25. There is no reason at all to think they can't or won't be decent players with time and experience that they have to get somehow.
Of the 3, Canzone is the one I'm least enthusiastic about and I don't think he's likely to repeat last year's production, or ever hit lefties without massively reworking his swing. Still, we could do a lot worse for a corner OF platoon.
Do you wanna let the kids play or win a World Series?
You act like that is something we can reasonably expect. The team isn’t going to spend much more and certainly won’t approach the luxury tax.
Would I prefer we sign Bichette and Bellinger over counting on Young and Canzone? Of course. That’s not happening though and so we need to pick the kids that we think can produce.
It’s not like option A is Bellinger and Bichette and option B is running out 2 rookies and Dom Canzone with no DH. That’s a false dichotomy.
We have more than enough trade capital to acquire a bat on top of Donovan- rentals like Yandy should be on the table.
My point is that if you’re relying on production from three young unproven players you’re not serious about competing for the division let alone a WS. If they come into spring and earn a starting spot that’s one thing. If the team doesn’t make anymore moves it’s a step back from last year and the same old ownership hoping to tread water hoping they can add at the deadline and get lucky. The team should be adding and not relying on 3 unproven players instead of pushing in the chips and trying to compete with the top of league.
Dodgers: Pages, Kim, Rushing, Freeland, Call. 1100 plate appearances.
Brewers: Frelick, Durbin, Collins, Perkins, Monasterio. 1800 plate appearances
Blue Jays: Barger, Lukes, Schneider et al. 1200 plate appearances.
This isn't even an exhaustive list. EVERY TEAM including WS contenders make room for unproven kids to play. Changes get made when/if they suck, not before.
Even so, Donovan is a perfect fit in large part because he takes some pressure off of all of them and can platoon perfectly with Williamson and Young. The kids still get to play but there's a quality alternative if it becomes necessary. And yes, I'm acknowledging that we don't currently have quality depth particularly at third base.
Dodgers and Blue Jays have a much higher offensive baseline than we do and the Brewers are an enigma.
All of the prospects you named had way more offensive upside than Williamson or Young.
Of course he has to prove it, but it’s not fair to hold his first big league taste against him when they made him effectively skip AAA.
It’s easy to forget, but he only has 250 PAs at AAA (and most of those came after he was sent down).
Canzone was very productive last year. Young was a top 50 prospect that they want to give another chance. As long as they are batting in the bottom four of the lineup, I’m willing to give them a chance to earn it.
I do expect a Brandon Donovan trade to happen to give cover for the less established players and of course would be thrilled if they went big and landed a Bichette or Marte.
I’m not saying Williamson can’t develop into a decent third basemen, what I am saying is we cannot bank on that and production from Canzone while saying we have World Series aspirations next year. 3B and right field are bat first positions. Ben Williamson isn’t even close to a top 100 prospect. We absolutely should not be banking on any offensive production from him next year. Could he become an adequate hitter? Absolutely. Is that likely? Not really.
Nobody is "banking on" offensive production from Williamson. We do need to let him play and see what kind of progress he makes, though.
IMO, it doesn't matter what positions are or aren't providing quality offense as long as the team has enough of it overall. M's biggest producers are C and CF - traditionally among the weakest offensive positions. So what if we have a weak-hitting 3b then? It's only a problem if 1) he doesn't improve at all, AND 2) we don't acquire a Donovan-type of player who can back him up or replace him everyday if necessary. That said, Emerson will be an option come midseason. So everybody needs to chill about 3B.
My dude if we are giving Williamson reps that is banking on offensive production from him. That means he is our primary third baseman.
You are right that we can make up for the production elsewhere, but plus offense from CF and C absolutely, in no way whatsoever, makes up for DH, 3B and RF. Not even in the realm of being close. We would need to make up for it at second as well- and that’s not going to come from Cole Young where a league average bat is a very good outcome.
Per your plan the bottom of our order would be:
Young, Williamson, Canzone, Robles/Raley , Crawford? That’s not a lineup a serious organization rolls out.
Well Murakami has signed with the White Sox. Now the INF market should start opening up.
2 years 34 million. Okamoto feels like a good play for the M’s here
Between him potentially being a DH already and how small his deal ended up being, I don’t think he is the one holding up the market. It might be waiting on Bregman and Bichette to move.
“Japanese outlet LiveDoor News is reporting that the Seattle Mariners are one of the teams trying to negotiate a deal with NPB slugger Munetaka Murakami.”
Seems as though we may have lost out on him too.
This really gives me hope that Okamoto is on the table soon
With Naylor resigned, Murakami wouldn’t have had a clear everyday role. He is not a 3rd baseman and DH is likely going to be a rotation position with the majority of games going to Canzone and Raleigh.
This is some very hopeful thinking. Canzone is not a guy I want to pencil in as the everyday DH.
While I'm glad Murakami isn't a Mariner, the team absolutely has a need for a DH with limited positional flexibility. Not saying Murakami will be any better or worse than Polo, but 2/34 is a very similar contract for someone that would have been a primary DH.
blessing in disguise imo. i think everyone is collectively happy to move on from geno, not sure why we would want younger japanese geno instead.
'Younger Geno' is an incredibly rosy projection for Murakami and if he does that everyone involved should be ecstatic.
I feel like this narrative is way overblown since he’s never had a major league AB. I think he’ll adjust fine and turn into a really solid hitter
Pope did some work to get it done on a Sunday.
Anyone else still thinking about the ALCS? I am starting to think I won't get over it. Not until we go all the way. I don't think.
I was at game 5 at T-Mobile and I just play Cal's homer followed by Geno's Grand Salami in my head over and over. Obviously wish the series turned out differently. But those are a core memory that may actually have been my favorite moment of the year, it was so electric (and that's saying a lot bc it means that tops graduating law school and passing the bar exam lol)
I've moved on to mourning our marble loss
Yeah I think about it, although to be honest I am pretty over it. It was a great series to cap off a great year. That being said if we take a step back this year I probably will go back to not being over it lol
Day 42 of saying Mariners Will Win
Day 2 of jumping on the train that Mariners will win.