Mariners Going Into New Year

We haven’t heard much until yesterday after the holiday season from the Mariners. If you listen to Dipoto the Mariners are finished when it comes to getting a starting pitcher however I think he could surprise us. I am sure no one was expecting them to acquire Dee Gordon from the Marlins. He told us that he would go after an outfielder but I didn’t think anyone who was all-star though he had been playing second base. I expect he will be a good centerfielder for the Mariners. The rest of the outfield should be set with Ben Gamel in left and Mitch Haniger in right with Guillermo Heredia as the fourth outfielder. The question will be whether Heredia be ready to go after having off-season surgery to his shoulder. Good thing to is Gordon can go back to playing either second or short if either Segura or Cano are out for a significant period of time. I am sure we are not expecting that however it is good to have depth that way.

I have been mentioning it on several occasions that I believe the Mariners need to go out and get another veteran starter. I thought someone that is a number two or three however now I will take a solid fourth starter as well who can move into the third spot if something happens to the top three. What concerns me is that James Paxton hasn’t ever pitched a full season for the Mariners and we aren’t sure how Felix will perform this coming season. At least on the positive side though is that Felix has a lot of pride and he will make every effort to get back to where he was three years ago. The reality though it may not happen as well. This is the reason be nice to have someone else to help out as well.

As far as the young guys like Marco Gonzales or Andrew Moore it would be good if they can make the next step as the fifth starter or even the fourth. Right now you would think that Erasmo Ramirez would be the fourth starter unless the Mariners do pick up another veteran. Ramirez does have the versatility of coming out of the bullpen as well. The Mariners have moved Max Povse back into being a starter as well. He likely will start the season in Tacoma but could battle for the fifth spot as well along with Ariel Miranda. This is another pitcher we could see maturing this season in Miranda. If he can cut down on giving up home runs and a bad inning he could be valuable to the rotation as well. The main reason I would like a veteran starter to come in because there is too many ifs when it comes to these other guys.

So Dipoto go out and sign or trade for another pitcher. Though I like the depth to the starters most of the guys are at least another year away to really help the Mariners out. I hope in the next couple weeks you make a good surprise acquisition for the Mariners. Go M’s.