Oh look, the Mariners upgraded their weak offense with ... a 37-year-old third baseman
We’re about three weeks from the Mariners’ pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training on Feb. 13, the annual sign that winter is about to end and anguish about Seattle’s Major League Baseball team is about to heat up again.
Until then, it’s fair to withhold reaction to their thus-far lame offseason, figuring that surely, certainly, please God, they will do more than sign Donovan Solano before the season starts, won’t they?
As it stands now, Solano will be the starting third baseman, which excites no one aside from Solano himself. He has a .279 average and .716 OPS in his career, suggesting that he’s a pretty good player but not so good that any of his previous six teams wanted to keep him for very long. He’s also 37 years old, arriving as a short-term fix.
Team president Jerry Dipoto raved about him, saying: “His veteran presence, consistent performance and positional versatility bring a lot to our roster.”
Yet we also know that more often than not, a player with his credentials will suddenly slump in Seattle and make everyone wonder why they signed this guy in the first place.
Solano is said to have “decent pop for a diminutive infielder. Makes good contact and also displays a solid glove…Does not make up for his lack of power with enough speed. Generally lacks consistency in all areas.”
Another Internet opinion said of the Solano signing: “The move proves the Mariners have some sense of life and a minimal desire to improve.”
By the way, Solano might be diminutive in height at 5-8, but in girth? Not so much. He’s listed at 210 pounds, which means he won’t be in anyone’s report that he’s in the best shape of his life at spring training.
And one more thing, I’m looking forward to the day when the Mariners sign a player who is damn good AT ONE POSITION! Enough with the versatility and players who are decent at best at two or more spots.
To this point, the 2024-25 offseason ranks as the most frustrating in franchise history, barely surpassing the 2023-24 offseason that featured other lukewarm moves, low-lighted by the acquisition of Mitch Garver.
If this were a subpar team, we might view the Mariners’ lack of activity differently. But it’s not, it’s a top-tier team with their rotation, and I don’t even think it’s debatable, 1 to 5, it’s MLB’s best.
For them to not capitalize on this asset by adding some legitimate offensive punch is laughable, really. There’s no good excuse. While the Dodgers and other teams are freely spending to enhance their World Series chances, the tight-fisted Mariners watch from the sidelines just like always.
This offseason we were told they had $15 million to spend in the free-agent market, which gets you next to nothing in baseball these days. Their payroll is projected to be $145 million this year, ranking 17th out of 30 teams.
They’re like an NFL team with star players on smallish rookie contracts, in perfect position to turn a good team into a great one. Baseball’s system is baffling in so many ways to me, specifically this business of low-balling players in their prime.
In recent arbitration cases, we found out that 27-year-old Logan Gilbert will make $7.6 million this year, 28-year-old Cal Raleigh $5.6 million and soon-to-be 27-year-old George Kirby $4.3 million. Come on, based on their performances last year, they should all be making $20 million or more this season. You could even argue that Gilbert and Kirby should be earning $30 million or more.
When they reach the time of making what they should, the Mariners won’t want to pay them that much so why not make the most of it while they’re here?
And the thing I’ve never understood about rich owners - how much money is enough? If I were one of the Mariners’ owners, I’d talk to the other owners and say: “Look guys, if we spend more on our team, we’ll make more money with more fans coming to the ballpark during the regular season with the bonus of more revenue from the playoffs.
“Plus let’s face it, whenever we sell the team, we’re gonna make a fortune. We’re said to be worth $2.2 billion. Why don’t we capitalize on this opportunity and go down in history as the first ownership group to bring a World Series to Seattle?”
None of it make sense. They could have shored up potential issues at third base by signing Alex Bregman and first base by signing Pete Alonso. Would they have overpaid to get them? Yep. Would Bregman and Alonso really be overpaid five years from now when they’re at the tail end of their careers? Another yep.
But for 2025, those would have been difference-making moves that would have carried a lot of weight in the clubhouse too, galvanizing moves with players appreciating that the Mariners really mean business now, ending any thoughts that they’d like play somewhere else. It would also encourage future free-agent stars to come to Seattle to be a part of the suddenly sustainable success.
Instead, we’ll all be sucked in for another year, hoping they can turn a bunch of 2-1 and 3-2 wins into a postseason we’ll never forget, knowing we’re forever fools when it comes to the Mariners.
Jim Moore has covered Washington’s sports scene from every angle for multiple news outlets. He appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. on Jason Puckett’s podcast at PuckSports.com. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) @cougsgo.
This story was originally published January 21, 2025 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Oh look, the Mariners upgraded their weak offense with ... a 37-year-old third baseman."