Seattle Mariners one of MLB's 'fascinating' offseason teams

The Seattle Mariners are in some unfamiliar territory this offseason.

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The franchise is coming off one of its best seasons ever and its deepest run in the playoffs. On top of that, the Mariners have a trio of impact bats who just hit the free agent market.

All eyes in the Pacific Northwest will certainly be on the M’s as they attempt to construct a roster capable of making another deep postseason run. But it may not just be the region closely watching what they do. According to MLB Network insider Jon Morosi, Seattle is one of the most intriguing teams in the league this offseason.

“The Mariners are lucky that they have chances to address their needs with this free agent market, and very few other teams have the combination of controllable pitching – it’s less controllable than it used to be, but it’s relatively inexpensive – and then the prospect base allows them, if they want, to spend big for one player and then fill in other needs by trading prospects,” Morosi told Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob on Wednesday.

“They also have the wherewithal to do that. So I think the Mariners are one of the most fascinating teams to talk about anywhere in baseball because of their combination of appealing roster, clear-cut needs and the resources both in terms of cash and prospects that they have to go pursue those needs.”

Seattle’s clearest offseason needs are at first base, third base and the bullpen. Second base is also in the mix.

In the past, the Mariners have had difficulties signing bats off the free agent market. Some of that can be attributed to their extremely pitcher-friendly home ballpark, which ranks as the toughest place to hit in baseball by a wide margin. Some of that can also be attributed to the fact that the M’s went more than decades without a playoff appearance before ending their 21-year drought in 2022.

After winning their first division title in 24 years and coming within one win of reaching the World Series this season, the Mariners have become “a more appealing team to play for than they were a year ago, because more players who are free agents have seen what they can do,” Morosi said.

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As for the farm system that Morosi mentioned the Mariners being able to deal from, it has eight players ranked in MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects, including five in the top 50. It also has eight prospects ranked in Baseball America’s top 100.

Morosi shared a ringing endorsement he recently heard from an MLB executive.

“I actually spoke today with a different (general manager) from the National League. We were just talking baseball today, and he said to me, ‘I think Seattle’s got the best system in baseball,’” Morosi said. “… That’s pretty high praise, and that’s another form of currency and capital to where, alright, if your system is that good, you should be able to move up one of these players into an everyday role (in the majors), and then that allows you to free up the money to really go after a significant bat.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Seattle Mariners one of MLB’s ‘fascinating’ offseason teams

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