Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - BREAKING: MARINERS SIGN VICTOR ROBLES TO TWO-YEAR EXTENSION

Episode Date: August 13, 2024

After weeks of speculation and sustained hot hitting by Victor Robles, the Mariners have agreed to a two-year extension with the electric outfielder. Ty and Colby break down the deal, why extending Robles was the right call, and how his presence on the roster could impact the team's approach to the outfield this offseason.Ask us questions!Follow the show on Twitter: @LO_Mariners | @TyDaneGonzalez | @CPat11Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Stitch Fix With Stitch Fix, you get a Stylist who understands your style, size and budget—they do all the shopping for you! Now’s the best time to get started at StitchFix.com/MLB and get $20 off your first fix! Must redeem within 7 days of sign up. Offer does not include Kids Fixes. Liquid IVNo more thirsty summers when you indulge in hydration with Liquid I.V. Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to LIQUIDIV.COM and use code MLB at checkout.   SupplyHouseSupplyHouse.com is the reliable way to get parts fast. Shop for your next plumbing, h-vac, or electrical job and get fast shipping from coast to coast. Booking.comThe right stay can make you a fan of any US city - even your rival’s. Book today on Booking.com on the site or in the Booking.com app! Booking.com, Booking dot YEAH! PrizePicksGo to https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONMLB and use code lockedonmlb for a first deposit match up to $100! eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY! That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list! FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Well, we've been talking about it for weeks. Could Victor Robles sign an extension? Would the Mariners have any interest in doing that off of a relatively small sample size of success? Well, the answer is yes. Let's talk about it here on the Lockdown Marries podcast. Colby, hit it. You are Locked on Mariners. Your daily Seattle Mariners podcast.

Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Ahoy, Sailors. It is Monday, August 12, 2024. This is Tedding, Gisleson. and Colby Patnode for a very special emergency episode of the Lockdown Marries podcast, which is of course part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Victor Robles has agreed to a two-year extension with your Seattle Mariners. We're going to break it all down.

But before we do, shout out to our title sponsor today. Supplyhouse. Supplyhouse.com is the reliable way to get parts fast. Shop for your next plumbing, HVAC, or electrical job, and get fast shipping from coast to coast at Supplyhouse.com. want to hear from me and colby even more and help support the show check out our patreon the link is in the description and you can sign up for a free seven day trial so it was about nine or so weeks ago that the mariners signed former top prospect world series champion victor robles and i was the one that of course broke that news and i remember very vividly the replies to that

tweet were predominantly who cares why should we bother he's a failed top prospect of course the mariners would go after a flame out like this etc etc etc and in those nine or so weeks since

that day Robles who had essentially hit rock bottom in his career having been released by the organization that he grew up in has become the heart and soul essentially of the 2024 for Seattle Mariners and has earned himself a long-term extension in the Emerald City.

It is a two-year extension for Robles and the Mariners. There is a path to making it a three-year extension, essentially. And Colby's got the details. Yeah, so it's a two-year deal worth $9.75 million guaranteed. That is total, not per year. and also includes a $2 million performance incentives. Those are tied to plate appearances. So if Robles gets 500 plate appearances in 25 or 26,

then he will make an additional $500,000. If he gets 600 plate appearances in either of those seasons or both, he'll make half a million dollars as well. So, you know, he has to basically be an everyday player to get the $2 million bonuses. and they are broken down $500,000 each for the plate appearances. So, you know, pretty safe addition for the Mariners on that side. Robles, if he's a fourth outfielder, he's not going to get 500 plate appearances.

And if he's an everyday player worthy of getting 500, 600 plate appearances, you're totally fine paying him the extra million dollars because that means he's having a great year. So, yeah, there's also a $9 million club option for 2027. So as far as we know, that is a pure club option. So the Mariners will essentially own the rights to Victor Robles for the next three seasons. Robles is just 27 years old. So you're buying out his age 28, 29, 30 season. And you have the option to throw him back.

If he's not, you know, if he's just a fourth outfielder and he's not anything special after the first two years, you could just toss him back into free agency. no reported buyout as of yet. So I don't think it's going to cost you anything to decline that option. And there's also a million in a quarter in a signing bonus. So that'll be paid out right away or at the end of the season. So, yeah, nice little payday for Robles. For the Mariners, they get a guy who's probably at worst,

a fourth outfielder can play all three outfield spots. It's got some pop, you know, bring some speed. some energy off the bench. At worst, they get that guy for, you know, about, about $5 million a year. It's a pretty good bargain for a fourth outfielder. And obviously, if Robles is close to what he's been, you know, so far with the Mariners, it's a steel. Even if he's only like 70% of what he's been, since joining the Mariners, it is an absolute steel. So, yeah, good, you know, good for Robles. He said last week he wanted to be here. The deal will. was apparently done yesterday.

So, yeah, if you wanted to be here, and the Mariners clearly thought that they found something here and think that they have a guy who fits well with their clubhouse culture, fits well in the field, and then their roster, and they get him done to a very team-friendly deal. And, like, if he hits those options, if the Mariners pick up that option, and if he gets those incentives,

the Mariners are going to be more than thrilled with that because those are everyday player type of numbers that he has to reach. And if he doesn't, then like I said, it's about $5 million a year for a fourth outfielder. Yeah. So congratulations to Victor Robles and, of course, his family, which includes his pet monkeys. Congratulations to his agent, Rafa Nieves,

who, of course, is also the agent of Luis Castillo. So this is now the second pretty noteworthy extension. Nevis and the Mariners have hammered out. obviously castile a lot larger than this but still uh and congratulations to the mayor's front office because this is i don't really see a downside to the steel for the mirrors whatsoever um this was more long term than i than i thought an extension would be um it's more team friendly than i thought it might wind up i wasn't sure if they were going to be able to get just a straight up team option at the end of this extension i felt like it was probably going to be a mutual

option or something like that. And I'm also a little surprised that that option doesn't exceed $10 million. Because I thought at that point, like, all right, you prove it. If you can prove like you're an everyday player, like we'll give you $12 to $15 million. Like, we'll give you everyday player money. So I'm pretty surprised that the max he can earn in a single season over the course of this contract is only $9 million. Yeah, I think it speaks to the short track record here of Robles and the fact that, you know, probably the feel that he had or his agent had was that he was probably looking at a one-year deal this winter type of prove-it deal. And it was probably going to be roughly in the neighborhood of five, six million bucks. So why not take a little bit less to get that second year and then bet on yourself a little bit?

So, yeah, I do think that this is, you know, Robles, you know, reading the market this winter and also looking at it and saying, like, look, I mean, I've been really. really good for the last two months, but that's only two months. And I was, you know, hurt all of last year. I wasn't good the year before that. So, you know, there is certainly something to be said for a guy who's had injuries in his career and had bad seasons in his career to get some guaranteed money right now in your back pocket and not leave it up to chance. And, you know, he gets two guaranteed years. So he's going to have about $5 million coming in for the next two years minimum and then, you know, see what he can do. And if he does. does, you know, if he does, you know, cash all the way out on this, three years, about $20 million,

give or take, not terrible. And then you'll be 30 years old. You can go out and try and get another big deal before. So I think it, I think it's certainly a win-win, but Seattle did quite well here. Yeah, absolutely. So like we mentioned, he's obviously been at least part of the heart and soul of this team, if not the heart and soul. of this team over the last couple of months. He's been one of the hottest hitters in baseball, even though he's cooled off over the last few games. Let's talk a little bit more about why Victor Robles was the right guy to extend here in just a moment.

But first, a reminder of this episode of the Lockdown Airs podcast is once again brought to you by Supplyhouse. Get supplies from the site that's made for the skilled trade. Supplyhouse.com. Supplyhouse.com is the reliable way to order plumbing, HVAC, and electrical products online. Their easy-to-use website is packed with helpful resources and the latest product info to help you get the job done right. Shop a complete inventory of over 200,000 parts from over 400 top brands and get your order delivered right to your door with fast shipping from coast to coast. Need help with an order, get expert support and industry-leading service from the friendliest folks in the business and talk to a real person every time. Pros in the skilled trades can get a competitive edge by joining Supplyhouse.com's free.

Trademaster program. Every trademaster gets access to a dedicated phone line, free shipping, and discounts on every order. Join the thousands of trade pros already benefiting from their free membership at Supplyhouse.com slash TM in order plumbing, HVAC, and electrical supplies from anywhere with just a few clicks at supplyhouse.com. And you're listening to the Locked-on Mariners podcast. Tomorrow you can catch all the action between the Mariners and the Tigers on the Marriss hometown broadcast. XM via the SXM app. All you have to do to find that is search the word Mariners.

And of course, we re-recorded an episode earlier today, which is now on YouTube and all of your podcast platforms. You can check that out. We talked all about the Mariners Met series over the course of the weekend, which was awesome. And now the vibes are even greater now that Victor Robles has been extended. I was chatting with our buddies, TJ and Lyle, from the Marine Layer podcast. podcast. They made a great point that this is kind of the,

uh, the anti Kindle Graveman, right? Back in 2021, you know, they had that amazing comeback against the Astros and then traded a clubhouse favorite and Kendall Graveman. This time they have their best weekend of the season, sweep the Mets, uh, in prime time. And they extend Victor Robles. So, you know, we heard last night, Cal Raleigh talk about how the trade deadline really energized the clubhouse and kind of restored the vibe. in the clubhouse, bringing in Randy or Rosalana, bringing in Justin Turner.

And he also talked about Robles as a big part of that as well, even though Robles, you know, came over in June. And, you know, leading up to the Robles acquisition and even beyond the Robles acquisition, when we didn't really know that he was this guy, we had talked about, you know, this team could really use it's Carlos Santana. It's Dinard Span, how those guys, you know, impacted those clubs when they were required by the Mariners. in their respective years.

And it turns out, yeah, Victor Robles was that guy after all. So, Colby, what made Robles the right guy to extend? What made this the right time to extend him? Yeah. You know, August is pretty typically a month. The Mariners try to get in-house stuff done. Obviously, you know, in June and July, it's draft.

It's trade deadline. September, October, you're looking, you know, more towards. towards the future and what you're doing that winter. So August really is kind of a good month to get extensions done. Why Robles? Probably because he was most willing and he was open to it and he was the easiest to work with. I mean, it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Mariners get another deal done in August, another extension. But for Robles, certainly the relative ease of getting an extension done with him versus somebody like Logan Gilbert or Cowell.

Raleigh. Obviously, he's going to play a role in this, but, you know, also, yeah, I do think that, you know, the team is looking ahead a little bit to what they have to do this offseason, and we know that they're going to have to revamp the offense a little bit here. So anything that they can do now to have one less thing to do in the winter is going to carry extra appeal to them. They went out and they got Randy a Rosarena. He's a multi-year option. Now Victor Robles is a multi-year option. Those are two fewer paths. They have to go get this winter. than they, we thought they were going to have to go get a month ago. So I do think that most of this is just like, hey, he wants to be here.

We think that we can negotiate this contract out really quick. It's not going to be a drag out conversation. And, you know, he's available for it. He's open to it. And it's going to be relatively cheap. Let's get this locked down. And then we can go look at, you know, bigger issues. And we can kind of go and look at maybe now, do we go and we approach Cal?

Do we go and we approach Logan or George or Wu or whoever? so I do think most of this is just like hey he's open to it he's expressed interest already he is here like he is he wants to do this so let's get it done now but yeah obviously it felt like a matter of time right when you heard his comments what was it last weekend after the fillies series and then you know his his agent raffa nevus again he goes out and he tweets about rubless his turnaround and you know shouts out jerry and Justin for for essentially believing in Victor. It just seemed like there was there was a little bit of smoke there.

Right. And then, you know, obviously, you know, the Mariners make this change or they, they suggest this change to Robles. And then he, you know, kind of saves his career a little bit immediately after. And so there's some goodwill built in there as well. So I just think Robles is the right guy at the right time to get this done. But obviously the fact that, again, we're talking. talking about $10 million at most is something that's going to factor in pretty heavily.

Like if you can get Logan Gilbert done for six years and $45 million, you've already done that. So yeah, I do think a lot of this is just about like, hey, Victor's open to it. It makes sense. He's a free agent. So we have less time with him than we do with say Cal or Logan, who are under club control for a few more years. So let's focus on this one. This is the one we can get done right now. And again, I wouldn't be too surprised if we hear about them, you know,

approaching Logan or approaching Cal, Cal would be a little surprising. But, you know, Logan or Wu or something like that, this is the month to get that stuff done for the most part is August. So I do think that they're open to it. And they're always looking to lock down guys on cost control deals like they did with Munoz, like they did with Dylan Moore, and not like they've done with Victor Robles. There's nothing wrong with getting these smaller. Not every extension has to be $150 million, you know, for it to be impactful. So get the stuff done now and you don't have to worry about it this winter.

And now you've added two outfielders that weren't going to be on your, they weren't projected to be on your opening day roster a month ago. Now you've got two of them. That's a lot less work you have to do this winter. Victor brings energy, obviously. I mean, it's hard not to see that, right? when you see his miced-up segment last night on Sunday night baseball, when you've just seen how he interacts with the players,

all that. He brings creativity, right? Like stealing third on Saturday while Alvarez is throwing the ball back to Mania. That's something that Cal Raleigh talked about last night in his press conference after the game. Like that's something that Robles brings that really wasn't present on this roster. And again, this is just another kind of vibes builder, right?

it makes the vibes in that clubhouse a little bit better. It shows like, hey, you put the work in, we're going to reward you. It's nice to see. It's nice for other players to see that. And it's nice for other players to see the front office go, we believe in this group. And not only do we believe in this group for this year, we believe in this group down the road as well. So all around is just a plus for everyone involved in this. Now let's talk about how this could.

impact the way the Marrers approach outfield this upcoming off season and how they approach roster building because Robles is now locked in long term. In just a moment but first a reminder, this episode of the Lockdown Marrers podcast is brought to you by

Ibada and Fandul. Are you taking that dream vacation this summer but dreading the cost? With I bought it, you get cash back on all of your purchases so you can spend more time making memories this summer and less time dreaming about them. I bought it is a free app that lets you earn cash back every time you shop.

Earn on hundreds of items from groceries to beauty supplies, even toys, so you can make sure you're beating inflation no matter what you're purchasing. You can save on over 2,400 brands and shop at over 1,000 retailers, including your favorite grocery stores, Lowe's, Macy's, Sephora, Best Buy, and a whole lot more. Right now, I Bata is offering our listeners $5 just for trying I Bata by using the promo code locked on MLB when you register. Just go to the App Store or Google Play Store and download the free I-Bata app to start earning cashback by using the promo code Locked-on MLB. That's IB-O-T-T-A in the Google Play or App Store and the promo code, L-O-C-E-D-O-N-M-LB.

I know I'm saying the obvious here, but I love sports. I love them so much. I never want them to stop. But as the playoffs wind down, unfortunately, we get fewer games. and the sports aren't sporting like I want them to. But FanDuel lets me keep the sports going whenever I want. All I have to do is open the app and dream up bets anytime I'm in the mood. And this summer, FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily.

That's right. There's something for everyone every day all summer long. So head on over to FanDuel.com slash Lockdown, that's LOCKD-O-N, and start making the most out of your summer. FanDuel, official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball. And you're listening to the locked on mirrors podcast. Once again, tomorrow you can catch all the action between the Marrers and the Tigers on the Marriss hometown broadcast with SiriusXM via the SXM app. All you have to do to find that is search the word Mariners.

So the Marreras have Victor Robles locked in long term. They have Randy or Rosa Rana for a couple more years after this season. Obviously, Julio's locked in for forever. Right. So the Mariner's right now have a complete outfield. if you really want to look at it that way. There's obviously the possibility that Robles regresses and he's more of a fourth outfield type.

Do you think the Marys will actually treat it that way? Or do you think they actually look at Robles as they're starting right fielder next year? Yeah, a lot of that will have to do how he finishes this year. He's been in a little bit of a funk over the last week or so. He's been chasing, pitches off the plate kind of a lot. So, you know, how he finishes this year will, you know, go a long way and determining that whether or not he's a starter or he starts next year as a fourth outfielder.

My guess is that they would like him ideally to be the fourth outfielder because, again, there's just not a lot of track record here that says he's an everyday player. Plus, you know, they do have Luke Rayleigh with four more years of club control. He could be the first baseman. So it's not like he has to play the outfield. but Rayleigh's still here. Mitch Hanigar is almost certainly going to opt in to a $17 million player option. So the Mariners have a lot of outfielders, you know, in name. We know they really like Tom Canzone.

Right. He's still around. And, you know, it's, you don't, you kind of can't trust Marlowe right now. You kind of, obviously, you traded Claise. So like these cheaper internal fourth outfield options, neither one of them. really grabbed the job when they had an opportunity to. And so, you know, you just go out and you get the fourth outfielder now. And again, $4,5 million for a fourth outfielder.

You can play center field and has upside is a really good deal. So I don't think that this deal necessarily locks him into the starting lineup. It probably almost certainly locks him into the opening day roster. Oh, yeah. But, yeah, as for whether or not he's going to play, you know, 130 games in right field for Seattle, I would say right now, no. based on who's on the roster, he's got a shot because I do think when you kind of look around here, it's like, okay, well, what do you do with Luke Rayleigh?

Rayleigh's shown some nice things this year. He's got four years of club control after this year. Like, he's not making any money. They could trade him, sure. But they also do have an opening at first base because Tyler Locklear has not exactly, you know, taken hold of that job. And they might trade Tyler Locklear this winter. So Rayleigh's going to factor in.

Hanager, what do they do with Hanager in his $17 million? you know, he's been much better lately, but obviously we know how limited Mitch Hanigar is. And, you know, you factor in the DH where you have Garver, Garber's got another year on that deal. So what do they want to do with Garver? What do they want to do with Hanager to possibly open up DH at bats for, you know, either Hanigar or Garver or Robles or Rayleigh.

So, yeah, I think right now the way things stand, the starting outfield next year on opening day, assuming health for everybody is going to be Randy, Julio, probably Rayleigh. But Robles is certainly out there. And if, you know, and if they want to use Rayleigh at first base, which is certainly possible, then all of a sudden it's probably Canzone and Robles and right to start. But at that point, I think they go out and they get another decent corner outfielder. So, yeah, I think ideally they would like Robles to be their fourth outfielder starting next year.

So that's going to do it for our show, a little bit of a quicker show. We just wanted to hop on here and get you something about the rubless extension. Obviously, we've already done an episode for today. So if you haven't listened to that or watch that yet, go ahead. Go watch that now that we're done here. And we still got an episode of CTZ that Colby and I are about to record for the Patreon. We'll have the mailbag coming your way tomorrow. We'll put the tweet out here in a little bit so you guys can submit your questions.

but that's it for us for today. Before we get out of here, a reminder that Lockdown has launched the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube, and now it's also available on Amazon Fire TV and the free Fire TV channels app. Locked-on Sports Today is here for you 24-7

covering the top sports stories of the day with the local experts of Locked-on, plus our national shows covering every league. Find Locked-on Sports Today, and now available on the free Fire TV channels app. Thank you so much for joining us here on an emergency app. episode of the Lockdown Marries podcast.

For Colby Paddode, I'm Tiding Gazzalas. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter at L0 underscore Marrers. You can follow me at Tidgis and Coles at C-Pad 11. That's C-PAT-1-1. You can also find all that stuff in the description of this episode. Now head on over to Lockdown C-Hawks to get all the latest out of training camp from Corby Smith and the gang. Tell them Ty and Colby's sent you.

Have yourself a beautiful baseball day and we'll see you next time. Peace.