An off-season plan based on Dipoto and Hollander's comments.

[D-train]

I'd love to get Seiya Suzuki for Left, trade Kirby or Hancock plus for Otto Lopez or CJ Abrams, and then add 2 relievers thru trade. With the budget going to 175-180, we would be able to pull that off. We add enough thump, defense, and shore up our weakness in relief. I would think this is pretty realistic actually.

That would be a damn good off season and yes is realistic because we are at only $145M right now and will like land at about $170M

But Jerry says we just need to change the Culture and add a dash of Accountability so we shall see.

[D-train]

Personally, I do not understand how in today's era... OF ALL ERAS... that organizations believe player's managers are the answer.

There has never been less focus and accountability in sports than displayed by the coming generation of athletes, particularly in baseball.

I was listening to Puck who I believe was on with Bill Krueger... Krueger mentioned that Dan's blind spot lied in the fact that he was a very focused, self-motivated, self-preparing player himself. Bill said he believed Dan thought all players are like that and didn't know how to manage players who weren't.

News flash... there's a lot of guys in this era who need guidance. It's not 1995... the mindset has changed.

Its so funny, If 100 people read this post and this was the first post of yours they ever read and were asked what they thought your age and politics were I bet that at least 95 would say you are a middle aged Conservative. And that goes for everyone of your philosophical Mariner/Julio posts.

Couldn't be.

I actually believe in holding millionaires accountable

Ha! Touche!

[D-train]

What are they going to get with a larger payroll?

I think George Springer is needed. He is a clutch player when playing and could help them as a RH bat vs.Lefties.

I hope that's sarcasm.

[gil]

Personally, I do not understand how in today's era... OF ALL ERAS... that organizations believe player's managers are the answer.

There has never been less focus and accountability in sports than displayed by the coming generation of athletes, particularly in baseball.

I was listening to Puck who I believe was on with Bill Krueger... Krueger mentioned that Dan's blind spot lied in the fact that he was a very focused, self-motivated, self-preparing player himself. Bill said he believed Dan thought all players are like that and didn't know how to manage players who weren't.

News flash... there's a lot of guys in this era who need guidance. It's not 1995... the mindset has changed.

Its so funny, If 100 people read this post and this was the first post of yours they ever read and were asked what they thought your age and politics were I bet that at least 95 would say you are a middle aged Conservative. And that goes for everyone of your philosophical Mariner/Julio posts.

Yes, I think (obviously this is IMO) that many people assume that an individual is all in on every "liberal" position or every "conservative" position. I laugh when some people here call me a leftist, and I laugh when some (really life) friends call me right wing. (But no one has called me MGA, thank God )

[Pharmabro]

Signings:

M's sign OF Randy Arozarena to a 4-year, $100M deal

In Hollander's interview today, he spoke specifically to hoping that Randy is a Mariner next year. He said they are very much impressed with his ability to hit from the right side. Bottom line is the M's cannot afford to lose his bat. He was the third best hitter via wRC+ in 2026. Now, having Randy back flies in the face a bit of by Dipoto and Hollander's pitch that the defense must improve. But it sounds like they're going to focus on having players get a bit dirtier in practice, do drills, etc... vs trust that players will just turn it around. Hollander mentioned effort and he believes the team will play with more cohesive effort next season. I do not believe Randy is the clubhouse cancer people have made him out to be. It seems like he's well liked... he's not out there pouting or whatever... the WBC thing is in the past and the players should have moved on. He is the bat they need to bring back next year. I do not think the money will be prohibitive given that they got rid of a lot of Castillo's cash.

M's sign IF Isaiah Kiner-Falefa to a 1-year, $5M deal

As mentioned, there was a significant focus in both interviews from Dipoto and Hollander in improving the defense. You can do so by simply adding a really, really good defender. Kiner-Falefa isn't a great hitter and he's really struggled with the bat in the second half. But he's usually good for being slightly below league average with the bat but well above average with the glove. In 66 games for the Red Sox he's put up 1.6 bWAR while hitting for just an 81 OPS+. That says a lot about the defensive value he brings. He plays SS and 3B at a very high level and can serve as insurance if Emerson continues to struggle.

M's sign RHP Carlos Estevez to a 1-year, $5M deal

The M's won't be in the market for a David Bednar or Adrian Morejon... but they could look at adding a guy who spend all of '26 injured to catch lightning in a bottle. Estevez pitched 0.1 innings this year after a foot injury and then shoulder injury kept him sidelined. I'd be shocked if the Royals were to pick up his club option given the injuries. When healthy, he's been dominant... posting a sub 2.45 ERA in both '24 and '25.

Trades:

M's trade SS Felnin Celesten, OF Michael Arroyo, RHP George Kirby to the Marlins for SS Otto Lopez and RHP Sandy Alcantara

This one is a doozy. But again, in the interviews... Dipoto and Hollander highlighted the lack of range and ability to turn a double play multiple times over. It is clear they were not happy with what they had at SS defensively. Lopez's bat fell off in the second half but he still churned a 122 OPS+ year... hitting .305 from the right side with elite contact metrics. The M's need to get more righties and less swing and miss in the lineup and Lopez helps there. But where Lopez really shines is with the glove. He was a 95th % defender in baseball last year and featured the best range in baseball defensively. The M's swap Kirby for Alcantara who had a rebound year in '26... Kirby gives the Marlins a pitcher with 2x years of control and frees up some cash as Alcantara is on a $21M club option. Alcantara also gives the M's 1 year to mix Ryan Sloan into the rotation before he's a free agent. The Marlins have SS prospect Aiva Arquette right on the horizon to replace Lopez and add to their growing youth movement with Arroyo/Celesten.

M's trade Util Brock Rodden to the Twins for OF Austin Martin

Martin hasn't lived up to his former billing as a top prospect. He's a good defender and hits lefties well. He'd serve as a nice late-inning defensive replacement and platoon hitter that only has to play 60-70 games to have an impact. Lopez, Falefa, and Martin all have top swing and miss/K numbers... which should help drastically improve contact for a team that again struggled there.

Lineup:

1. Brendan Donovan (LHH) DH/3B/OF
2. Otto Lopez SS (RHH)
3. Randy Arozarena LF (RHH)
4. Dom Canzone RF (LHH)
5. Julio Rodriguez CF (RHH)
6. Cal Raleigh C (Switch)
7. Josh Naylor 1B (LHH)
8. Cole Young 2B (LHH)
9. Colt Emerson 3B (LHH)

Bench: Isaiah Kiner-Falefa Util IF (RHH), Austin Martin OF (RHH), Lazaro Montes OF/DH (LHH), Jhonny Pereda C (RHH)

Rotation:
1. Logan Gilbert
2. Bryan Woo
3. Emerson Hancock
4. Sandy Alcantara
5. Bryce Miller
6. Kade Anderson

Bullpen:

CL: Andres Munoz
HL: Matt Brash, Gabe Speier, Carlos Estevez
ML: Jose Ferrer, Eduard Bazardo, Seranthony Dominguez, Cooper Criswell

Great plan! Good work . Make it so #1