The Mariners are heading into a tight winter, and the clock on a few intriguing international targets is already working against them.
MLB will not push back the posting deadline for players coming out of Japan, which leaves Seattle with a narrow window to get deals done. That matters because the club’s first order of business is still finding a manager, a process that has reportedly been in the final stages for more than a week. The Mariners are expected to have that hire in place by the time MLB general manager meetings begin Nov. 9-12 in Las Vegas.
Once that’s settled, the front office will have only three weeks to add to the major league roster before the Collective Bargaining Agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association expires at 8:59 p.m. PT on Dec. 1.
That short runway is especially relevant with several international players now available. Pitchers Kaima Taira and Hiromi Itoh, along with third baseman/corner outfielder Teruaki Sato, were posted by their clubs in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball earlier this week. Seattle has been linked to Sato, and the Mariners have also been confirmed to have scouted Taira.
There’s another name in the mix, too: corner infielder/corner outfielder Roh Si-hwan, who was posted by the Hanwha Eagles in the Korean Baseball Organization. He fits two obvious Seattle needs, giving the Mariners a possible answer at third base and a right-handed bat.
But the opportunity comes with a hard deadline. NPB players have 45 days to reach agreement with a major league team before returning to Japan, while KBO players get 30 days.
And according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic, Itoh, Sato, Si-hwan and Taira will not get the same pause that players received in 2021, when MLB allowed negotiating windows to stop at the expiration of the CBA and resume after a new one was reached. Once the expected lockout arrives, those clocks are done.
Seattle’s roster still has obvious holes in left field, third base, shortstop and the bullpen, and the club has only $30-35 million to address them. The Mariners do have internal options at shortstop with Colt Emerson, in left field with Michael Arroyo and Brendan Donovan, and at third base with Donovan as well. Still, because Donovan can cover multiple spots, Seattle would benefit from finding an outside answer for at least one of those positions.
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