State of the Mariners

The Seattle Mariners have had their ups and downs since their addition to the AL in the 1970's.  They are currently one of the more financially successful franchises but are currently in a rebuilding phase of baseball operations.

Ownership:  The Mariners are owned by an investment group led by John Stanton who made his stash in the cellular phone industry.  The ownership group seems content to let baseball management make roster decisions and seems willing to spend money when/if necessary to field a winning team.

Grade B+

Management:  "Trader" Jerry DiPoto is the GM since 2015.  For years, he could be counted on to lead the league in trades but with mixed results.  After all those trades, the team did not seem to be any closer to competing than when he started.  Last year, DiPoto cooled off the trading and announced a more traditional rebuild with trying to build up the farm system.

Grade C.

Current Roster:

Starting Nine:  Tom Murphy C, Evan White 1B, Shed Long Jr 2B, Kyle Seager 3B, J.P. Crawford SS, Kyle Lewis LF, Mallex Smith CF, Jake Fraley RF, Daniel Vogelbach DH.

Bench:  Austin Nola C, Dee Gordon IF/OF, Dylan Moore IF, Carlos Gonzalez OF, Mitch Haniger OF(could be starting OF if healthy).

Starting Rotation:  Marco Gonzalez LHP, Yusei Kikuchi LHP, Justus Sheffield LHP, Kendall Gravemen RHP, Taijuan Walker RHP.

Bullpen:  Matt Magill RHP, Yoshihisa Hirano RHP, Erik Swanson RHP, Carl Edwards Jr RHP, Brandon Brennan RHP, Taylor Guilbeau LHP, Nestor Cortes LHP, Austin Adams RHP.

It's a decent enough starting nine but the entire pitching staff appears to be subpar and not ready to compete for a postseason berth.

Grade C-

Farm System:

The Mets handed Jerry DiPoto a huge gift to jumpstart his rebuild when they gave him top prospect Jarred Kelenic in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz trade.  The Mariners have another elite prospect in Julio Rodriguez a physical monster of an outfielder.  Former first round draft picks Evan White and. Kyle Lewis are still prospects who should start on Opening Day for the Mariners.  Logan Gilbert and George Kirby are the top pitching prospects.  It's a very solid farm system with elite talent at the top and impressive depth.

Grade B+.