Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - How Arbitration Projections Impact Mariners' Payroll Outlook + Who Will Get Tendered/Non-Tendered

Episode Date: October 2, 2024

MLBTradeRumors.com has released their annual arbitration projections. Ty and Colby assess what they have projected for the Mariners' 12 arb-eligible players, how that impacts Seattle's payroll outlook... for 2025, and which players could get tendered and non-tendered.Ask us questions!Follow the show on Twitter: @LO_Mariners | @TyDaneGonzalez | @CPat11For your next listen, check out the Locked On MLB podcast. Prepare for the Fall Classic with Sully, who has it all covered every single day. Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Arena ClubWhether you’re buying, selling, trading, or displaying—Arena Club is the card-collecting platform you have to check out. Right now, you can get 10% off your first Slab Pack or card purchase by going to ArenaClub.com/lockedonmlb and use code lockedonmlb. RobinhoodRobinhood Gold provides the privileges of a high net worth for any net worth. These generous benefits are now available for only $5/month. The new gold standard is here with Robinhood Gold.Sign up at robinhood.com/gold   Terms apply, for product specific disclosures visit robinhood.com/gold. Investing involves risk. Rate may change. Gold membership is offered by Robinhood Gold, LLC.   PrizePicksGo to prizpicks.com/lockedonmlb and use code lockedonmlb to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game. IbottaIbotta is a free app that lets you earn cash back every time you shop. Right now, Ibotta is offering our listeners $5 just for trying Ibotta by using the code LOCKEDONMLB when you register. Just go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE app to start earning cash back when you use code LOCKEDONMLB. 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. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuelNow through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 MLB Trade Rumors.com has released their arbitration projections, given us a better idea of what the Mariners payroll situation will look like in 2025. We'll tell you where things stand and who can be tendered and non-tendered coming up here on the Locked-on Marriss 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 Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024. This is Tiding Azales and Colby Patnode for the Lockdown Marries Podcast.
Starting point is 00:00:38 Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Well, it's that time of the offseason where MLB Trade Rumors.com releases their arbitration projections. We're going to go over their projections for the Mariners. Tell you a little bit about what Seattle's payroll situation looks like as a whole and tell you who we think could get tendered and non-tendered. But before we do that, shout out to our title sponsor today. Booking.com. booking dot yeah the right say can make you a fan of any city even your baseball rivals book today on
Starting point is 00:01:12 booking dot com the official accommodation partner of major league baseball and get the booking dot com app today and if you 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 because uh this isn't a very straightforward process i mean it is but it's it's not one that but maybe a lot of casual fans are aware of. Like is the case with a lot of things in Major League Baseball, unfortunately. We're going to start here like we do every year when talking about arbitration. Colby, can you tell us a little bit about what arbitration is?
Starting point is 00:01:54 Essentially, what it is is that you are contractually owned, essentially by your team for the first six years of your career. Now, the team can DFA you, they could trade you, whatever. So basically, until you have six years of Major League Service time, you are with the team that currently holds your contract no matter what. The first three years of those six years, you are making league minimum, which last year was, or this year was I think about 740. Next year, I think jumps to 780, 100,000.
Starting point is 00:02:29 So, yeah, but that's essentially what you're going to make for the first three years of your career. There are some guys to get some performance bumps and they get an adjusted salary, but very rarely does anybody make more than $3 million or more than a million dollars in their first three years in any one of those seasons. After that, after the completion of your third season in the winter, you are now arbitration eligible and you are arbitration eligible. Most players are arbitration eligible three times before they become a free agent. essentially what the arbitration process is is that it is a tiered system the closer you are to free agency the higher your number is the higher you can ask for is so if you are what we call
Starting point is 00:03:10 ARB 1 you are in your first year of arbitration if you are ARP 2 you are in your second year and if you are ARB 3 you are in your final year of arbitration which another word for that would be you are a rental essentially ARB 1 guys make significantly less than ARP 2 guys are 2 guys significantly less than ARP 3. Basically, it's a scale. It's a scale pay. So the way that arbitration works is it's heavily based on comps. This is what similar players got last year.
Starting point is 00:03:38 That's what I want. And then it's adjusted for inflation. And obviously there's not always perfect comps for every player. So it's a bit of a sliding scale. But essentially, the agent and the player will go to the team and say, we want this much for this year. This is what we think we're worth. We're worth. The team will present their number.
Starting point is 00:03:54 And usually what happens is the two sides will find some middle ground and they will pick a number. So for example, if player A wants $5 million, but the team wants to pay them $4 million, then typically what happens is they meet somewhere in the middle. For simplicity, we'll call it $4.5 million. And you will play on what is essentially a one year $4.5 million option. a $4.5 million deal with a team option for the following season, that the price will be negotiated at that point. That's typically how it works. That's a pretty cut and dry version of it. There are certain players called Super 2s, and those are for players who have two plus years of major league service time where they just missed the third year by a couple of days at the big league level.
Starting point is 00:04:53 and in those cases, I think it's the top 20% of those players are what is called Super 2 eligible, which means they get a fourth year of arbitration. So if you ever see somebody say they're Arb 4, that just means that they were a Super 2.
Starting point is 00:05:07 And Super 2s get paid the same as Arb 1 guys. It's the same type of scale. They just get one more crack at. For example, George Kirby is a Super 2 because he debuted in May of his rookie.
Starting point is 00:05:23 year. And so he didn't have quite enough days to qualify for a full year of service time, but he had enough days to garner Super 2 status. There's 180 days in a major league season. And typically the Super 2 status is reserved for players with about 130-ish to 130-ish days in the majors. Part of it is supposed to be to kind of prevent the service timing thing a little bit. But it doesn't really work. Teams just pay Super 2s. But yeah, that's basically it. Essentially, it is an arbitration is what it is. It's you trying to, you and your, you and your agent versus the team trying to decide how much money you're going to get paid for the upcoming season in the event that the two sides cannot come to an agreement, which is pretty rare for most teams. There are some teams that purposely do that, which is stupid.
Starting point is 00:06:15 But in the record. The Brewers and Corman Burns are a prime example recently. Right. But anyways. So if the two sides don't agree, then they go to arbitration. They will sit in front of a judge and the two sides will, it's supposed to be the two sides try and convince the judge that they're worth their number. But essentially what happens is that the player will, the player's agent will make his case for his player to be paid X.
Starting point is 00:06:43 And then the team's lawyer or whatever will basically try and tear down the player to explain why he's not worth that much. and then the judge or the arbiter gets to pick he picks one of the two numbers there is no middle ground at that point he is either picking the team's number or the player's number and whatever he decides that is the number that the players will get so yeah unfortunately it's a very nasty process where feelings get hurt a lot and it's typically over maybe a couple hundred thousand dollars yes uh most teams most teams greatly prefer to come to some kind of understanding because again you avoid the whole nastiness thing and things are
Starting point is 00:07:21 said that, you know, players could hold grudges on that might prevent you from resigning them in the future. So, most teams will do everything in their power to avoid arbitration. Now, there are some, the Mariners have gone to arbitration fairly recently with a player. They went to arbitration with Teoscar Hernandez. That was over $2 million. And the Mariners won that case. They paid to Oscar their number. So sometimes players do come in at a price that is frankly ridiculous. It's very rare. And at that point, the team pretty much has no choice. But a lot of times, you'll see teams threaten to go to arbitration over like $50,000. And so when we talk about, you know, should they tender this guy, blah, blah, blah. It's like essentially is,
Starting point is 00:08:08 is the number that they're requesting isn't worth it? Because that's probably what you want to pay them. You probably want to pay them as close to their number as you can because the, the chump change, essentially that you save by going to arbitration. almost always comes back to bite you down the line. So just come to an agreement. It behooves both player and the club to come to an agreement on a number. And again, these things are structured in a way that it's still greatly beneficial to the team.
Starting point is 00:08:36 They're still getting a heck of a deal if you're in arbitration. And so, yeah, you don't want to go to arbitration, but the process, the whole process of exchanging numbers, finding a number that the whole process is called arbitration. actually technically it's not arbitration unless you go right right to the to the trial so long story short you can either offer an arbitration eligible player arbitration tender them a contract or you non-tender to them and they become a free agent uh if you offer them a contract you're going to have that player the following year the only thing that's in question is how much money they're going to make so either
Starting point is 00:09:16 they're going to make what you what both parties agree upon or what what a judge determines in an arbitration hearing sometime in January or February. So let's get into all the arbitration eligible players for the Mariners and what MLB trade rumors.com is projecting them at. Awesome vote. $2.2.2 million. J.T. Chagua, $1.7 million. Luisira Riaz, $5 million.
Starting point is 00:09:42 Trent Thornton, $2.1 million. Randy Rose Rana, $11.7 million. Josh Rojas, $4.3 million. Sam Harrierty, $900,000. Logan Gilbert, $8.1 million, Taylor Saucato, $1 million. Cal Raleigh, $5.6 million, Gabe Spire, $900,000,
Starting point is 00:10:01 and George Kirby, $5,500 million. So we're going to talk about where that puts the Mariners payroll-wise in just a moment. But first, a reminder, this episode of the Lockdown Maras podcast is brought to you by Fandul and Price Picks. NFL fan fans. can start the season with a big return on Fandul, America's number one sportsbook. So when you get a hunch in the middle of the game, you can check out the latest stats of
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Starting point is 00:11:39 It's guaranteed. Price picks run your game. And you're listening to the Locked on Mariners podcast. So we are talking about the Mariners arbitration projections from MLB. trade rumors.com. We just laid out what those projections are. So now let's let's kind of do some math here real quick, Colby. So if you account for Mitch Hanigar's option, which he is going to accept, that's $17.5 million,
Starting point is 00:12:10 the mayor has $96.4 million guaranteed on the roster. So that includes Julio and Luis Castillo and even guys like Andreas Munoz and Victor Robles, et cetera. That number goes up to 108.4.4. million if Jorge Polanco's option is picked up or 97.1 million dollars if it's declined, factoring in his $750,000 buyout. So all those projections that I listed at the end of the previous segment adds up to $49 million. So if you if you tendered every single player at those numbers projected by MLB trade rumors,
Starting point is 00:12:48 you would be adding $49 million in payroll. if you declined everyone not named randy a rosalorana Logan Gilbert Cal Raleigh and George Kirby because those are like the four absolute locks obviously they're going to tender all four of those guys but if you non-tendered everyone else the other eight guys that would put you at about roughly 128 million assuming that you decline Polanco's option so Colby what are your thoughts on some of the projections and where this all leaves the Mariners.
Starting point is 00:13:25 Yeah. It's also worth noting that the 128 number, if they only offered arbitration to the big four, doesn't include the rest of the, you know, four or five pre-arb league minimum guys. Yeah. Those guys are going to make about, we'll just call it 800 grand.
Starting point is 00:13:42 So that's going to add about $3 million-ish dollars to the 26-man payroll. And then the 40-man payroll is a whole other thing. So the 26-man, probably starts at 130. Again, assuming they just tender these four guys, which we know is going to happen.
Starting point is 00:14:00 Right off the jump, there's some really easy calls here. You're not giving Louis Urius $5 million. Like, he might get a minor league deal this winter. That might be what he has to settle for. But, you know, that's really kind of it in terms of like the obvious non-tenders. You know, because Josh Rojas came in at 4.3,
Starting point is 00:14:20 which is interesting because Rojas was not good this year and I definitely don't want him back next year as the third baseman but if he is more of a utility guy or he is a stopgap second base type until maybe Cole Young is ready at $4 million, that's pretty palatable because he's probably giving you that value just on defense alone is probably worth $4 million.
Starting point is 00:14:42 You know, Trent Thornton's an interesting one here at $2.1 million. He is a perfectly adequate middle reliever, but he really struggled at times this year. And the Mariners seem to have, you know, really good luck finding middle relief types out of nowhere. So can you shave that and save a million and a half dollars? You might be able to.
Starting point is 00:15:03 So, yeah, it's an interesting list. The four guys that you mentioned are obviously getting tendered. Louis Urius, obviously not. Sam Haggurie, my assumption would be at 900,000 if they did it, that's just barely over league minimum. That's really not a huge deal. But my assumption would be is that he's not tendered and they just bring him back. on a minor league deal as he works through his Achilles tear.
Starting point is 00:15:23 So looking at all this, again, depending on what you want to do with Rojas, he's kind of the X factor here. I feel like the Mariners could, in theory, reasonably be expected to, well, here we go again, what's reasonable. They should be spending close to $200 million minimum on the club, blah, blah, blah. They're not going to, yada, yada. So overall payroll, I think based on what we see right now, should have more than enough flexibility to go out there and acquire meaningful upgrades,
Starting point is 00:15:58 meaningful talent without having to do what they did last year, which you guys remember, Trey Gino to clear up some space, trade, Kelnick, to free up Gonzalez and Evan White. They shouldn't have to do that. And Jerry DePoto has hinted as much in his postseason press conference. Now, the big X factor here is what is the actual budget end up being? because as we know, what it's been in the past on days like today isn't what it is
Starting point is 00:16:25 when it's time to go out and get play. Yesterday's price now might be today's price, etc, etc., etc., yeah. Well, I mean, just for yesterday's budget might not be today's budget, right? So obviously all the stand caveats apply, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, yeah. But again, if they're going into this offseason
Starting point is 00:16:42 with $100 and let's say $130 million, give or take, committed to the 20,000. 26-man roster, I would assume they finished the year at 148. So to beat that, they already have $20 million-ish dollars in free agency. I think they should almost certainly be willing to go to 160, 165. So based on what I'm kind of projecting, they might be willing to spend. And again, I'm guessing. I'm trying to give a conservative estimate here.
Starting point is 00:17:12 If it's at 160, then in theory they should have about $30 million. Now, that drives up pretty quick when you're talking about science. significant bats or trading for significant bats and, you know, we'll see if John Stanton even allows them to spend that money on free agency. So, you know, I still think they're going to have to get creative. They don't have endless amounts of money in the budget by them being, I mean, Jerry DePoto and Hollander to build this team. But they should have enough to avoid the, you know, hey, we have to get Mitch Garber off of our books by any cause necessary. So let's attach, you know, this top 100 is, let's, let's attach Tai Pete to get rid of seven million.
Starting point is 00:17:49 million dollars of that so we can go get this middle relief type so we can go get Ryan Stanning you know I mean they should be able to avoid stuff like that which I mean I guess is at least a step in the right direction if you want to be positive about it but overall I feel pretty I feel pretty you know as reasonably as I can pretty okay about where they're at monetarily this year and what that means they are likely able to bring in the type of player they are likely able to bring in this winter I feel like they can still, if it's at about 160, 165, I feel like at that point, they could actually accomplish their goals.
Starting point is 00:18:27 If it's 150, I don't know if they can get it done. Because that's just a very tight window to go from 130 to 150. That's really tight. And that's again, the 130 is assuming that they only tender those four guys. And we know they're going to tender more. So my gut feel is that the Mariners are going to have about, when you consider all the tenders and all that stuff, Mike Gutt feels that the mayors are going to have about $20 million to spend this winter, the front office, pending the tenders, right?
Starting point is 00:19:00 Yeah. That's a big X factor. Because like you said, the tenders add up to, what's $48 million, $49 million. 49. And we know that at least 30 of that, 35 of that is the big four. So you can shave another $14 million, but then that's, you know, eight more. roster spots you have to fill up. So it's definitely kind of a pick and choose type of thing here. And, you know, there's going to be some, like I said, a lot of these are judgment calls and you can,
Starting point is 00:19:32 like, hey, if you want a tender, if they want a tender, Saucato a million dollar contract, am I going to be upset by that? No. Do I think they could spend that million dollars better? Possibly, yeah. But we'll see. So yeah, so let's let's dive into that a little bit more. Let's talk about who could get tendered and non-tendered, who should get tendered and non-tendered, all that in just a moment. But first, a reminder of this episode of the Locktime Marys podcast is once again brought to you by booking.com. Explore those U.S. cities you always secretly wanted to learn more about. With hotels, bed and breakfast, vacation rentals, resorts, and so much more on booking.com, you might just find your perfect stay even in your baseball rival city during the postseason. Even an Orioles fan or a Guardians fan can have a good.
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Starting point is 00:20:44 And you're listening to the Locked-on Mariners podcast. we're dissecting the Mariners arbitration projections from MLB trade rumors.com. Now we are going to talk about who could get tendered, who could get non-tendered, and who should as well. Like what's our opinion on the matter, which obviously could differ from what actually winds up happening, of course. So obviously they're going to tender the big four of Rosarena, Gilbert, Kirby, Cal Raleigh. that equals $30.9 million.
Starting point is 00:21:20 It's worth noting. Just throw it out there. You don't have to exchange numbers if you work out an extension with somebody. Of course. Yeah, you can buy out the R beers. You can lower the cost this year and push the money down the line.
Starting point is 00:21:35 There's a lot of creative things you can do if you want to extend Randy, Rosarana or Logan Gilbert this year to kind of lower their costs for this season and just kind of agree to pay them what they're losing this year down the line. line, which players do all the time because the contracts are guaranteed. Just throwing that out there.
Starting point is 00:21:51 For sure. For sure. Absolutely. So that leaves eight guys, though, that are arbitration eligible. Awesome both. J.T. Chagua, Luis Arias, Trent Thornton, Josh Rojas, Sam Haredy, Taylor Sossato, and Gabe Spire. So here's where I'm at.
Starting point is 00:22:11 Arias, absolutely, a $5 million going to get non-tethered. Yep. I mean, that's a guarantee. Take that to the bank. Sam Hararty, even though it's $900,000, he's coming off of a significant injury, and he's out of minor league options. So pretty sure he's getting non-tendered as well. I think that's a safe bet.
Starting point is 00:22:31 Watch him coming back on a minor league deal, though. Yep, yeah, absolutely. Definitely not out of the question. For sure. So after that, though, I wouldn't be surprised if any of these guys got tendered or non-tendered, to be honest with you. I do think
Starting point is 00:22:48 one of Awesome Voth or Trent Thornton gets non-tendered Because I think the mayor is look at both of those guys And think we can get someone who does Something similar for the league minimum You know, maybe we have one of those guys in the org, whatever, right? I mean, they got Austin Voth for $1.2 million Yeah
Starting point is 00:23:08 Last year and only 780 that was guaranteed Yeah So yeah, they literally just did it yeah so i think one of those guys gets non-tendered i don't know who maybe both but might be whichever one makes is willing to take the best deal um you wouldn't think there'd be a huge difference between two hundred thousand dollars between you know but to the mariners unfortunately that might end up mattering so if one of them is willing to take two million bucks instead of the 2.2 or 2.1 that might be the deciding factor unfortunately yeah yeah we'll get to rojas in a second but the
Starting point is 00:23:45 two guys that I'm really hung up on here right now is Saucato and Spire. Because the numbers aren't egregious. And we know that the Marriers are going to want to have some lefty options for the bullpen. And they know both of these guys and Spire. I know they really like and he's coming off of a couple of injuries this year. It was nails the year before. Yeah. And Saucato, obviously, they really like.
Starting point is 00:24:14 And he's become a fan favorite. and all that stuff. Yeah. A couple different roles. But both are also coming off of down years. And Spire is going to be out of minor league options. Sosato, I think he didn't get option this year, right? So he gets to keep his minor league option.
Starting point is 00:24:35 I feel like he did, but I don't. Maybe it was I.L. Yeah, he rehab. Remember, he had that scary looking injury in Minnesota. That's right. So that doesn't count as an option. So I believe he gets to keep his minor league option going into 2025. But Spire did get optioned this year.
Starting point is 00:24:54 So he will lose his last minor league option. So I guess maybe for that reason, Spire gets non-tendered. But again, both of these numbers, not egregious whatsoever. And even if you want to keep Spire and he ends up not making the team or he doesn't make sense for your roster, whatever. So again, like I said, We'll get to Rojas in a second because he's kind of the big one here out of the eight remaining guys. I think J.T. Chagua is going to get non-tendered, by the way, $1.7 million. I think they look at him as another one of those guys where it's like, we can probably do basically the same for about a million dollars loss.
Starting point is 00:25:36 I look at the list and I'm non-tendering Charkwa. I'm non-tendering Rojas. I'm non-tendering Thornton, I think, is how I would look at it. And then I would tender both I would tender Saucato and Spire. Just because, again, if I carry Spire into the spring training, he doesn't look good or he still hurt. I DFAM. I call up somebody else.
Starting point is 00:26:03 I'm not out really any money. Or maybe I can even trade Spire in a small deal, you know, like they did with Tyson Miller, which again, nope. Yeah, wasn't a great decision, but whatever. We're not rehashing that again. Yeah. Going from Texas Miller to Mike Baumann wasn't great. Did not work.
Starting point is 00:26:20 But yeah. So I'll say to inspire. I think they're both middle guys and they're making a million bucks and you're a middle guy. I just don't see that big of a, you know, bonus in saving $220,000 to hope that, you know. Yeah. I don't know. Pick the, who's the guy who's been in the organization forever. The reliever.
Starting point is 00:26:40 Travis Cun. Yeah. Like, okay. Instead of banking on him being anything. like how about we just pay an extra $200,000 and see if Gabe Spire is what he is. And if he's not, then we could just DFA spire at the end of the year, put him on waivers and call up Travis Coon. Yeah. Not a big deal.
Starting point is 00:26:56 So Josh Rojas, $4.3 million. It's a little bit less than I think both you and I were expecting. I think we're both expecting somewhere around five. Yeah. Yeah. So does that $700-ish thousand dollars change your mind? because you seem fairly firm within the boat of non-tendering him? At 4.3, it's an interesting conversation.
Starting point is 00:27:25 At 5 plus, it's probably a no, because what I look at Josh Rojas is, I can't have him be my starting third basement next year. There's just no way. At $4.3 million, in theory, Rojas can be my utility guy. he's got some pop he can steal a few bags we know he's a really good defender at third base and second base yeah he's even played a little bit in the outfield this year uh you know he gives you
Starting point is 00:27:54 a decent at bat like it's not like he's you know we're like not close and he's ridiculously bad i mean he's shown twice that he can get on a run for about a month where he's like really good right which but if you're the mariners didn't everything i just describe isn't that just dylan more who you're already paying $3 million to. Like, doesn't make sense to have Rojas and more on the bench at the same time. What else are you going to have on your bench? Right, right.
Starting point is 00:28:22 So, yeah, Rojas is an interesting one at that price. If they tendered him at that price, I wouldn't be upset. I feel like I could probably do a little bit better for less. Like, would I rather have Rojas at that money or Amad Rosario at that money? I'd rather have Rosario at that money. Sure. Yeah. But can I get Rosario at that money?
Starting point is 00:28:47 Like a player like Rojas, the mayor has brought him in from outside and they paid him $4 million. I don't think anybody's upset. I don't think anybody's throwing a fit. And obviously they know Rojas pretty well. So they must have a good idea of they think he can rebound and how he fits in the clubhouse and all that stuff. So at 4.3, it certainly is more of like an option, like an actual option for me.
Starting point is 00:29:10 But I think ultimately, say no because I need a new third baseman and if I want to like like if I want just kind of that like bench role player like another one of those type of guys I feel like I have Ryan Bliss and the miners for free well let's just look at it like this 4.3 million dollars for a slightly below average bat with a really good glove at third base can also play second base in some outfield that's worth 4.3 million dollars absolutely but for the Mariners who are working within a budget well below what they should be operating under yeah uh yeah specifically the mayor's front office working within a budget
Starting point is 00:29:54 uh does that make the most sense for them to pay him that as a utility player because look they cannot like you said they cannot roll with josh ross and try to sell us on like yeah he's the starter at second base or third base and into 2025 after what we saw after essentially the midway point of May. I think the only way they fell off. Can't remember. Yeah. It was about the first six weeks.
Starting point is 00:30:19 He was one of the best hitters in baseball. And then for the last, you know, four and a half months he was one of the worst. Yeah. I think the only way you sell that is if it's like, hey, we're going to platoon more and Rojas at second base until
Starting point is 00:30:33 Cole Young is ready. And then Cole Young will be the everyday second baseman. But even then it's like, okay, well, what if Cole Young takes a huge step back? what if he's not ready? And is it $7 million of your limited budget on second base instead of just giving Cole Young the shot right away for free?
Starting point is 00:30:49 You know what I mean? It just I don't think by the way, they could tender Rojas and then trade him later in the winter because I do think some team would be interesting. They can do that. They can also they can also trade Dillamore. Right. I mean, you could tender Rojas at like four million bucks, go into the spring and then you could trade him and eat like $2 million.
Starting point is 00:31:09 And maybe you trade Rojas for a reliever. or something. Like if you see, you look at Cole Young, you go, hey, I think Cole Young's ready for the challenge.
Starting point is 00:31:15 We don't need Rojas. Let's save two million bucks by trading Rojas and $2 million. And let's go get a, you know, I don't know, maybe another, Roy Taylor like,
Starting point is 00:31:29 who might be a half year away from the big leagues. You're like, hey, this guy's got a shot to be something for us in the pen. Like, you might be able to do that.
Starting point is 00:31:35 So just because they tender him, if they do tender him, doesn't mean that he's a lock to be on the opening day roster by any stretch. Because at that price, you can absolutely trade them. So maybe they just do that just to have that option. But again, it seems kind of like a luxury when you're working with the budget that the Mariners are, that we assume they are.
Starting point is 00:31:56 Yeah. So again, do I think Ross is worth that? Yes, absolutely. 100%. He's worth more than that, frankly, given the tool set that he brings, despite all the offensive struggles that we saw this year. but you know things don't work in a vacuum here so for for the mariners specifically is $4.3 million for a second utility player make a ton of sense for them given that they also have Ryan Bliss given that they also have Ben Williamson who might be a factor at some point
Starting point is 00:32:32 in 2025 Leo Rivas leo Rivas and then obviously Dylan more yeah probably not but we'll see we'll see i'd be curious to know what the people think uh if you had to choose one to be your utility player next year dylan more or josh rojas more going to make about a million two less than rojas yeah give or take uh just called a million would you rather have dillan more be the utility guy or rohoss i feel like i know how people are going to vote um for the record my vote would be Dylan Moore. My vote would be Dylan Moore as well, because there's more power upside. He'll steal more bags.
Starting point is 00:33:16 He can play more positions. Yep. And he's cheaper. And he's cheaper. I feel like we know who Dylan Moore is at this point as a player. And while it's a significantly flawed one, it is undoubtedly a valuable one as well. Yeah. So let us know.
Starting point is 00:33:34 What do you guys think? Yeah, let us know. So definitely is something to think about there. but again, wouldn't be surprised if all of these guys got tendered except for, you know, Arias and, and, um, Haggurty and also wouldn't be surprised if all of them got non-tendered. So we'll see how they, how they go about it. But, but at the very least, you are adding $30.9 million, uh, between a Rosarena, Gilbert, Raleigh and Kirby.
Starting point is 00:34:03 So at the very least, if you decline Polanco's option, you are going to be at a hundred $128 million. And again, that's not counting all the new roster spots that would need to be filled by League middle guys. Yeah, that's not including, you know, pre-RB guys like Brian Wu, Bryce Miller, etc. And those guys are making, you know, 770K. Right. So, yeah, so keep that in mind.
Starting point is 00:34:29 So obviously it's not just 128 million. It's more like 135. But 128, that's the number that you need to know as of revenue. now. All right. So that is going to do it for our show. Before we get out of here, a reminder that Locked On 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 by Locked On Sports Today, now available on the free Fire TV channels app. Thank you so much for joining us here on the Lockdown Marrers podcast for Colby Patnode. I'm Tiding Gizalas. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter at L0 underscore Marrers. You can follow me at Tiding Gonzalez and Colby at
Starting point is 00:35:16 C-Pat 11 that's C-PAT-11. You can also find all that stuff in the description of this episode. Have yourself a beautiful baseball day and we'll see you next time. Peace.

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