Mariners have plenty to do to improve their reputation

It’s tough being a Mariners fan right now, thanks to recent trades and the team’s apparent financial issues, but can the situation be saved?

Just over one year ago, the Mariners and their fans were in the ascendancy, as they made the playoffs for the first time in 21 seasons. They swept the Blue Jays in the first round and gave the eventual World Series champion Astros all they could handle over three games.

With an elite rotation in the making and a young roster led by a generational talent, the Mariners were primed to make a lot of noise for years to come. And then it all started to go wrong.

The hints should really have been there that something wasn’t right, after the Mariners signed the likes of A.J. Pollock, Tommy La Stella and Kolten Wong during last year’s offseason. Where were the major signings the Mariners had previously promised to pursue, now that the team was ready to genuinely compete for the World Series?

Unsurprisingly, the trio of Pollock, La Stella and Wong failed to contribute much, and all were eventually moved on. However, the damage was already being done, as they contributed to a team which couldn’t escape the shadow of a .500 record for the first half of the 2023 season.

The loss of a team favourite

When the Mariners did make moves at the trade deadline it came at a cost, specifically getting rid of Paul Sewald, who was their best closer. Cal Raleigh was chief among those who criticised the front office, which hinted at a disconnect between the players and those running the organisation.

The Mariners did manage to put a run together and at one point seemed all but certain to once more make the playoffs. Ultimately though, they missed the postseason by just one game, and more questions started to be asked.

It didn’t help that while the Mariners still seemed to be too conservative with money, the Rangers spent big. The proof was in the pudding, as they went on to win their first World Series in franchise history.

Mariners offseason begins on a negative note

Next, there was Jerry Dipoto’s disastrous end of season press conference, when he enraged fans with a series of comments which didn’t come across as particularly well thought out. This included saying that focusing on winning the World Series could have left the Mariners stuck in the mud, and that they were doing the fan base a favour by asking for their patience.

Considering the Mariners had just undergone an extensive (although to be fair successful) long-term, full rebuild, asking for patience was the last thing Dipoto should have done. Not to forget, they are the only club in the Majors to never even go to a World Series.

Even though Dipoto did subsequently go on Seattle Sports with Brock Huard and Mike Salk to better-explain himself, the damage was done. However, even this wasn’t as bad as it was going to get.

The Mariners subsequently didn’t make Teoscar Hernandez a qualifying offer, then surprised some with the decision to trade Eugenio Suarez. Yes the duo were more guilty than most of striking out way too much, but their productivity and power was also there, for a lineup which was the weakest link on a team with outstanding pitching and quality defense.

Then came the trade which really let people know something wasn’t right. A trade which even hardcore Mariners defenders such as Salk and Shannon Drayer couldn’t justify.

In a deal with the Braves, the Mariners gave them Marco Gonzales, Evan White and — worst of all — Jarred Kelenic. No matter what picture they tried to paint, this was essentially a salary dump.

Fans were (even more) furious. Dipoto and manager Scott Servais made comments which hinted at their own unhappiness and frustration, with what looked like effectively having the goal posts moved far too many times for even their liking.

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Money talks for Mariners

Now, it has come out that the recent moves were influenced by uncertainty surrounding the regional sports network, ROOT Sports NW. This uncertainty has had a direct impact on how much the owners can (or want to) put into the team’s payroll.

As per the earlier comments about the Mariners’ less than positive player additions during last year’s offseason, it now seems these payroll limitations may have been in place longer than previously thought. That concern over the future viability and profitability of the regional sports network, has been an issue for quite a while.

Now — fair or not — there is a strong belief among a large contingent of the Mariners fan base, that ownership is more concerned about making money than competing for a World Series. Ticket prices have been raised from between 25 percent to 50 percent for next season which, while it was announced prior to the Mariners missing out on the playoffs, is still a bad look.

Let’s also not forget that when Forbes last released their annual MLB team valuations, the Mariners had the highest operating income. Although we should note that Salk said earlier this week he has been told by people he trusts, that this is incorrect.

So where does all this leave the Mariners? We know the fans are extremely unhappy, and the ownership group is now enemy number one, with John Stanton getting the majority of the criticism.

Still a need for SOME patience

As tough as it is to preach patience, that’s all you can do at this stage. Although to be clear, we’re only talking about between now and the start of the 2024 regular season.

What we mean by this, is to see how the rest of the offseason plays out. The majority of the league is in a holding pattern right now, waiting for Shohei Ohtani to announce who he’s going to sign with. (Which, by the way, we feel 99.9999999 percent certain in saying it won’t be the Mariners, regardless of there apparently being a mystery team still involved in negotiations.)

Once this is out of the way, it will be a case of business as normal and this is when it will be up to the Mariners to give fans a reason for genuine hope again. If nothing else, at least they do now have more money to spend due to the aforementioned trades, but they now also have more holes to fill in the lineup.

It can only be hoped the ownership group is aware of the anger they’ve caused, and will do something about it. It’s not as if they don’t have money, no matter what is being put out there.

Ultimately, this is a crucial time for the Mariners organisation, because if they’re not careful they’re going to have even more financial uncertainty, with (more) fans deciding to no longer spend their hard-earned money on the team. This situation can still be saved if the ownership group is smart, but they sure have a lot to do, to repair their reputation.

What is your take on this whole situation? How do you see things playing out between now and the start of the regular season? Let us know in the comments section below.