Finally! Official Hot Stove League Thread

[bpj]

I asked Artificial Intelligence to write a short story in the style of Mark Twain explaining what it's like to be a Mariners fan...

[D-train]

I asked the Bible and it said follow Moses through the desert for 45 years. At the end of your faithful journey you will be given a serving of Sand and Camel piss to wash it down. After that you will be given an instruction manual to exclaim how smart Jerry Dipoto is.

[bpj]

I asked the Bible and it said follow Moses through the desert for 45 years. At the end of your faithful journey you will be given a serving of Sand and Camel piss to wash it down. After that you will be given an instruction manual to exclaim how smart Jerry Dipoto is.

Maybe we've almost reached the Promised Land...

[bpj]

The Rangers have put together a pretty good team. Their rotation ERA stacks up pretty well next to ours if they stay healthy.

They may even have a slight edge..

Seeing what free agents are getting paid now that covid is behind us doesn't make their signings of Seager and Semien seem "too early" anymore does it.

Funny how some teams don't think a rebuild takes 7 years.

Rangers now have $95.5M committed in 2026 compared to the Mariners at $44M. I wonder if they're worried about their "crest".

Dipoto's an idiot.

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx? ... &sort=17,a

[Donn Beach]

Okay, again I think all of it is worked out well in advance. If he doesn't have the money to spend then he doesn't have it. They don't have to call him and tell him that. I don't think there is any policy shift at all

So what is your explanation for the sudden narrative reversal in the past week that resulted in them going from being in on the FA SSs to Brocks article???

Dipoto runs his mouth but I don't believe that's how they run their business. You never believed it in the first place did you? They went into the winter happy to give a $200 mil contract and then changed their minds? I don't buy it.

[bhofferb]

I’m probably missing something but…
While other teams are making moves to greatly improve their teams, the Mariners have made a slight upgrade at 2b (Wong instead of Frazier) at one corner of the OF (Figuring Teo is an upgrade over a semi- healthy Haniger) They ditched Winker with no replacement (The idea of JK even being in the mix makes me nauseous) and still think they can draw names from a hat to DH.

So my question is, how can Jerry and Co. say they are trying to be competitive when everybody else gets better by signing stars and we pretty much replace one journeyman with another?

[Mesully11]

I asked Artificial Intelligence to write a short story in the style of Mark Twain explaining what it's like to be a Mariners fan...

Exactly my feelings!

[bpj]

I’m probably missing something but…
While other teams are making moves to greatly improve their teams, the Mariners have made a slight upgrade at 2b (Wong instead of Frazier) at one corner of the OF (Figuring Teo is an upgrade over a semi- healthy Haniger) They ditched Winker with no replacement (The idea of JK even being in the mix makes me nauseous) and still think they can draw names from a hat to DH.

So my question is, how can Jerry and Co. say they are trying to be competitive when everybody else gets better by signing stars and we pretty much replace one journeyman with another?

Apparently what sets the Mariners apart is how they have so much more committed in 2026 (which appears to be $44M) than other teams.

They can't possibly spend now, they're going to have to pay Cal, Logan and George here pretty soon......

Hard to say with a straight face. I can't believe Dipoto still has a job. Except that his values perfectly align with ownerships. Compete, but don't spend much to do it.

I still think Dipoto gets a bonus for payroll he doesn't spend.

"Your budget is $150 million, but we'll give you a 10% bonus of the money you don't spend."

Tell me you wouldn't try and put together the best team you can as cheaply as you can.

[HawkandMariner88]

If their not in on Ohtani next year.

[Sexymarinersfan]

If their not in on Ohtani next year.

10-year $750M!!! Who says no?!

Better yet, who's going to get the first $1B contract?! At this rate, I bet we'll see it before 2030.