by John Stewart

Mariners fans entered Game 162 of the 2014 campaign with as much excitement as we’ve had in a long time. Felix on the mound, a beautiful fall day, and the Ms in striking distance of their first playoff appearance in… well, a while. [Editor’s note: Please forgive John’s lack of specificity on this one. He resides in a country where they still use quarts, miles, pounds and Republican Senator Thad Cochran.]

Sadly, despite beating the Angels of Anaheim/California/etc., 4-1, the Mariners were eliminated when the Oakland Athletics won their game that same day. And so another Mariners season ended without a trip to the postseason. The Mariners finished 87-75, one lousy win short of that that bloody Wild Card spot.

Yet for the first time in… a while [ahem]… there was a real sense of optimism at Safeco Field. With a league-low ERA of 3.17, Mariners pitching was generally outstanding, both in the rotation and out of the bullpen. The offense, again, was the weakest link, with later-season moves for Austin Jackson and Kendrys Morales proving to be insufficient to move the needle quite far enough. Still, being relevant on the last day of the season was a welcome change from the previous several years.

With attendance up, and some excitement building about beisbol (to be put on hold by many during NFL season, as the Seahawks mount an amazing run toward a second Super Bowl appearance in as many years), it was on to the Hot Stove League, aka the off-season. What did Mariners General Manager Jack Zduriencik have up his sleeve?

Well, for starters, a number of players we watched last year aren’t on the current 40-man roster. Corey Hart, Justin Smoak, Endy Chavez, Kendrys Morales, Chris Denorfia, John Buck, and Chris Young are all gone. Hart went to the Pirates, Smoak to the Blue Jays, Morales to the Royals, Denorfia to the Cubs, and the rest are free agents as of this writing.

Meanwhile, the Mariners cut outfielder Michael Saunders loose, sending him to the Blue Jays in return for pitcher JA Happ. The team needed a starter to fill the slot Chris Young had last season, and apparently did not believe Young could repeat last year’s numbers (12-9 with a 3.65 ERA).

Outside of Saunders and Austin Jackson, some would argue the Mariners did not have much of a Major League outfield last season. And the team has long been looking for a power right-handed bat to slot in behind Robinson Cano. Enter Nelson Cruz. A 4-year, $58 million deal for Cruz gives the Ms that middle-of-the-order talent they’ve been looking for, and by signing a free agent, Zduriencik kept his trade chips available for other uses.

The thing about Cruz, though, is that he’s not really a full-time outfielder. [Ed: Buddy is going to make $14.5 million at his part-time job. Nice work, if you can get it.] This is not a bad thing, as last year’s Mariners “Designated Hitter spot” had the worst production in the American League, with a .190/.266/.301 line and just 15 home runs and 50 RBIs. Putting Cruz, coming off the best season in his career, into the DH spot at least some of the time (and taking advantage of his 40 home run/108 RBI pace from last year) should be a big help for the Mariners.

But hey, you ask, there’s still that pesky outfield that needs to have three guys playing it, right? You’re correct — enter the Chicago Cubs. In return for minor league pitcher Matt Brazis, the Mariners acquired from Chitown outfielder Justin Ruggiano. Ruggiano’s numbers project as a platoon player — he hits lefties better than righties. But now you need an outfielder who hits righties better than lefties, right? Correct again — and so the San Diego Padres, fresh off a series of moves of their own, parted ways with Seth Smith, in return for relief pitcher Brandon Maurer. And Smith, in his career, tends to hit righties better than lefties.

One important additional note concerns a current Mariner starter, third baseman Kyle Seager. This offseason, rewarding Seager’s general All-Star-level awesomeness, the Mariners signed him to a 7-year, $100 million deal. This is a good thing.

So with these various moves, departures, trades and signings, a potential Mariners roster, before Spring Training starts and things change again, could look something like this:

Austin Jackson
Seth Smith/Justin Ruggiano
Robinson Cano
Nelson Cruz
Kyle Seager
Logan MOrrison
Mike Zunino
Dustin Ackley
Brad Miller

This assumes Miller beats out Chris Taylor for the shortstop spot, Ackley hangs on to a starting outfield position, neither James Jones nor Stefen Romero provide any serious Spring Training challenge for an outfield role, and no more significant moves are made between now and next month. As always in baseball, it ain’t really over until Opening Day. [Ed: I don’t think that’s what Yogi said. Then again, I understand he really didn’t say everything he said.]

Let’s be honest — this is one of the better lineups the Mariners have been able to put on the field for the opener in quite a while. Crucially, the team held on to tons of young talent, so as the trade deadline draws near, Zduriencik will be able to deal if this team is as good as I hope it will be. Barring injuries, and with some hoped-for first-half improvement from Ackley, this is a noticeably better offense than the 2014 Mariners.

And the pitching! Minus Chris Young and Brandon Maurer, but with King Felix, Iwakuma, and Happ providing the veteran anchors for the rotation, and Paxton, Walker, Elias and Hultzen fighting it out for the other two slots (and providing depth in case of injury), starting pitching looks solid. In the bullpen, Fernando Rodney will bring his roller coaster act back to the 9th (and if he can come anywhere near 48 saves out of 51 chances, I’ll watch that roller coaster anytime). The rest of the bullpen arms return from last season, and given their performance, that has to be a good thing.

In the aggregate, the Mariners did not give up any significant pieces other than Saunders and Maurer, and filled some obvious holes from 2014. The AL West is looking to be a very competitive division again, with the As, Rangers, Angels and even the Astros looking reasonably tough. On February 20th, pitchers and catchers report to Peoria for Spring Training.