Let's see... We dumped another albatross of a contract: Robbie "Super Tight Pants" Ray who, Cy Young winner or not, is not even expected to pitch this year, recovering from TJ (no pun intended). Maybe by august, but who knows what form he'll be in. We got a solid #5 starter and Mitch Hanniger comes back home, a much needed corner OF who can hit...and we even got 3 million extra in cash considerations. So...yay. I like it. The payroll remains the same for '24 but we opened 25 million for '25 and '26 from Ray's contract. We can use that to extend one of our young starters or go after one more bat with a backloaded deal. Right after that, it was announced that we're getting Luke Raley from the Rays in exchange for José Caballero. Deal still not finalized but imminent. We had an excess of middle infielders and Raley can play OF and 1B, and has way better numbers. So in summary...we get a fan favorite back, dump another huge contract, and we didn't even touch the farm? It's a win. It has to...as long as Hanniger stays healthy, of course. BTW...I was like 50 feet away from Haniger last April in the Mexico City series. I sat on the left field bleachers and yelled HEY, MITCH!!! GO BACK TO SEATTLE!!! I was wearing my Griffey jersey...I drew his attention and he waved at me. So in my headcanon, this move happened because of me
Yeah, I was sent on a mission from Jerry DiPoto Anyway...maybe one more hitter and we're set. It's said we still have 15-20 million to play with this offseason, so a third baseman or another OF would be nice. Not sure how I feel about Urias being the every day 3B...mexican or not.
Mariners traded for Jorge Polanco and didn't really give up too much: Our third best reliever from last year, a starter we had just acquired and had no intention of playing, and a mid-level prospect. Not bad, we could finally have some stability at second base (the position seems cursed since Canó left). But why do I get the feeling that we got him too late? He hasn't played a full season in years and has been declining for a while... The 2023 Mariners were strikeout prone (led MLB in K rate). The 2024 Mariners look injury prone. I don't know which one is worse.
Not Mariners related but have you seen this crazy Ohtani story? I keep expecting him to announce his retirement and go play G League Basketball for 18 months xD. Pete Rose must be kicking himself for not having a fall guy xD
I heard something briefly about it. It doesn’t appear good for him. I’m still hoping that he’s innocent because he seems like a decent dude.
Me too but it just doesn't make sense. If the interpreter did it, why did he have access to Ohtani's money? Why was it first reported that Ohtani gave him the money (out of the kindness of his heart, apparently), and then accused him of stealing it? Why use illegal bookies under investigation by the FBI when gambling is legal in most of the USA now, and he would be allowed to take part on it AS LONG AS HE DIDN'T BET ON BASEBALL? I don't know, man...it smells fishy. People are calling to either suspend him for life, or bring Pete Rose back and I kind of agree with them.
