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Seattle Mariners: Top Five Offseason Priorities

By Bobby Mueller

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The Seattle Mariners entered the final weekend with a chance to claim a wild card spot, but fell short. What do they need to do to get to the postseason in 2017?

Fans of the Seattle Mariners who might be frustrated with 15 consecutive seasons without a spot in the postseason should at least be confident that ownership is making an effort to win. They brought in a more statistically-minded GM with the hiring of Jerry Dipoto, along with a manager who is on the same page as the front office, Scott Servais. The Opening Day payroll last year was $142 million, the highest in team history and an increase of more than $50 million from just two years ago.

With their current payroll and commitments to core players, the Mariners are very much built to win now. There will be no rebuilding of this team while they have four players due to make at least $11 million in 2017. The core of this team consists of starting pitcher Felix Hernandez, second baseman Robinson Cano, designated hitter Nelson Cruz, and third baseman Kyle Seager. These are the veteran players the Mariners must build around.

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    • The team also has young players they hope to be part of their future. Despite his struggles at the plate, Mike Zunino is still considered the catcher of the future. Dan Vogelbach was acquired from the Cubs last season to play first base. Leonys Martin is their center fielder going forward. On the mound, the Mariners are hoping Taijuan Walker and James Paxton can achieve their high potential.

    The Mariners increased their win total from 76 wins in 2015 to 86 in 2016. The main driver of their success was an improved offense, which went from 17th to 9th in wOBA. Also, the bullpen improved from 24th in relief pitcher WAR (Fangraphs) in 2015 to 15th in 2016. The teams’ defense and starting pitching remained steady and figure to be areas where the team could improve in 2017.

    With that in mind, here are the Mariners’ top five offseason priorities.

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