The Mariners may have a little more room to maneuver this winter than first believed, and that matters with the front office trying to do a lot in a very short offseason.
Seattle wrapped up its time at the MLB general manager meetings Thursday in Las Vegas, where the club’s plans started to come into focus. The Mariners are reportedly aiming at one of the biggest bats on the market, former Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki, and they want to bring him to Seattle for an in-person visit before the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires Dec. 1 and the lockout begins.
That pursuit is only one piece of the picture. Seattle is also looking to trade for a hitter who can handle the left side of the infield, while adding multiple high-leverage relievers to the bullpen.
The bigger development, though, is financial. Earlier reporting had Seattle’s 2027 payroll landing around $170 million, which would have left roughly $30-35 million to spend once projected arbitration numbers were factored in. But Seattle Times reporter Ryan Divish said on the Marine Layer podcast that the Mariners’ 2027 payroll “should be” in the range of $175-$180 million.
That doesn’t sound like a massive shift, but it changes the math. Instead of $30-35 million, Seattle could be looking at $40-45 million in available payroll. In a one-month offseason, that extra $10-15 million could make a real difference.
Suzuki’s market value is listed by Spotrac at $27.5 million per year on a four-year deal. If the Mariners signed him at that number, they’d still have $12.5-17.5 million left to work with. That would be enough, at least in theory, to add one high-end reliever.
If Seattle also moved one of its higher projected arbitration earners from the starting rotation, such as Logan Gilbert or George Kirby, in a trade for an infielder, that could open up enough space to chase a second reliever. The Mariners could also try to fold that second bullpen arm into a deal that includes the infielder.
Suzuki is one of the best bats available, so Seattle is not going to have a clear path to him. Even with a little more money than expected, a bidding war would likely leave the Mariners on the outside unless they choose to operate differently than they have in past free-agent pursuits.
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