The Mariners’ roster-building philosophy is maddening for fans — does that mean it’s less effective?
Dipoto: “It’s been a pretty quiet offseason, and I think that’s reflective of a team that didn’t have a whole lot of holes to fill. And you know we we feel great about our farm system, we feel great about the stability in our team, and we feel like our offense doesn’t get enough…
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) February 3, 2025
In 2023, Jerry Dipoto shared some of the most revealing words that a general manager has said in years, if not more. The infamous “54%” comment — even when you ignore the other phrase about “doing the fans a favor” — didn’t sit well with Mariners faithful, who took the words as direct admission that the team wasn’t interested in any significant payroll increases.
It’s true that Dipoto (and, in turn, ownership) has occasionally put real money into the team. Robbie Ray and his 5-year contract is by far the biggest splash, even if the Mariners decided it was a poor investment after only two years. You can add the Yusei Kikuchi acquisition back in 2019, or even the deadline trades for Luis Castillo and Randy Arozarena in 2022 and 2024, respectively. And as evidenced by Julio Rodríguez’s groundbreaking extension, the team is willing to shell out for “its guys” as necessary.
But perhaps my biggest frustration with the team is the insistence from ownership on running it like a business vs. a community commitment. Sure, the M’s have signed a few free agents here and there, but the biggest renovation of late was building out the Press Club and adding more luxury seats to increase revenue. They introduced dynamic pricing to better reflect demand, and profit, when big-name opponents come to town. They reveled in hosting the All-Star Game in 2023, yet failed to capitalize on that momentum before or after. And they’ve neglected the sentiment expressed when Dipoto & Co. were going through their “step back” in 2019, when he and John Stanton spoke of investing in the team when the time was right.
The graph below starts when Stanton took majority control of the team. You can see where the Mariners reduced payroll starting in 2019 and have remained below the median payroll every season since then, and well below the #10 team in the league You would think that Seattle is a wealthy market that should support more payroll: The Seattle/Tacoma metro area ranks #10 in the U.S. in GDP and #4 in GDP per capita. (Note that the 2025 numbers aren’t final, there are still some significant free agents on the market, and the Mariners have signaled they will not be spending much, if anything, on 40-man acquisitions.)
Of course, I don’t blame the team for considering profitability as part of its calculus. Sure, some owners will spend like a drunken sailor (see Cohen, Steve), but many teams — perhaps even most — are helmed by wildly successful business people who did so through cutting costs, chasing down major customers, and pursuing growth without sacrificing revenue. I get it! It’s hard for me to sit here and say I’d be willing to lose tens of millions of dollars with no guaranteed return. That’s an unfathomable amount of money.
If you look at other teams across major professional sports, however, you find multiple examples of teams being run as community jewels, fulcrums of their cities and even regions. Steve Ballmer’s trademark enthusiasm and privately-funded arena have elevated the Clippers from the sideshow in L.A. Cohen, mentioned above, is insistent on signing big-time free agents, confident that the return — both financial and competitive — will pay off in the long run. And John Middleton of the Phillies (who is worth “only” $4 billion) has been on the record about his commitment to winning
This all gets back to the quote leading off this article. The Stanton ownership group has not driven this franchise off a cliff, and there are far worse stewards across pro sports and even professional baseball. This team isn’t moving to Sacramento, for example, or slashing payroll with a Rookie of the Year on your squad (@ Pirates).
On the other hand, it’s reflective of how Stanton — and, consequently, Dipoto — view this team/business, especially with the ROOT Sports boondoggle complicating things. They aren’t looking to make a major splash now that might weigh on the M’s in 2029. They don’t want to take big swings (pun intended) at the Kyle Tuckers or Devin Williamses of the world, much less free agents like Corbin Burnes or Alex Bregman. They de-prioritize making major upgrades, and instead, they want to “fill holes” or “plug gaps.”
When Steve Cohen looked at the Mets this past offseason, he didn’t see a gap in the outfield, which ranked 17th in fWAR among all outfields last year. He saw a chance to sign one of the most transformational free agents in baseball history. When Ray Davis (whoever he is) looked at the Texas Rangers, and he saw an opportunity to go for it all, they signed Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, then traded for Max Scherzer. When the Minnesota Twins — the Minnesota Twins! — unexpectedly found themselves in contention to sign Carlos Correa, they jumped on it.
Instead, we’re left with 37-year-old Donovan Solano and the return of Jorge Polanco.
This could work! This could be a great bet on a bounce-back year from Polanco, or a breakout from Cole Young. There’s upside, certainly. But it’s a fine line to walk, and one that the Mariners have deliberately chosen in lieu of taking a big swing.
Perhaps we’ll look back in October and see that we filled those holes that Dipoto speaks of. But we also might rue those places to improve, and the missed opportunity they present.