The Seattle Mariners are one of the best “retooling” teams right now. Now what I mean by that is that they are certainly not one of the best teams, in fact, they are far from that. But what I mean by best “retooling” teams is from an outsider’s point of view they are retooling their ball club really well, in order to compete in a matter of two or three years. Tanking is the new norm in baseball nowadays and it’s apparent. You’ve got teams left and right stripping down their team to the bare bone minimum all in order to lose as many games as possible with an abysmal team, all to secure that sweet, sweet number one overall first-round pick. And tanking is not a bad strategy. Stocking up on superstar prospects for a matter of years has effectively shown that it wins championships in the future. The Cubs and Astros were prime examples of these types of teams who won long-awaited championships by executing this painstaking strategy, (though the Astros championship may be looking suspect now) but many have also acknowledged that tanking is taking the fun out of baseball. An awful season after another awful season is treacherous for any fan to have to watch.
But the strategy of retooling is to me, much more fun and interesting. Think of it as an almost low-calorie rebuild. One where you sacrifice maybe 2 or 3 years of winning, but all while at the same time trading effective players for close to ready prospects and having a trove of almost ready minor leaguers. By doing this teams are able to form competitive teams capable of winning games, while not having to torture their fanbase and hurt the state of the game all at the same time.
And if you want to take a look at one of the finest examples of this today in baseball than look no further than the 2020 Seattle Mariners. In order to understand how the Mariners got to this retooling stage in their franchise history than we have to step back and look at the past many failed attempts at competing by the Seattle ball club. The Mariner’s most recent notable core that tried for the team’s first postseason birth since 2001, was one led by big signings such as Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz, Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez, and homegrown stars like Kyle Seager, James Paxton, and Edwin Diaz. But ever since the club was taken over in 2015 by trade crazy and savvy GM Jerry Dipoto, the club has been taken a new direction. Realizing the M’s were well past their chances of ever winning with this aging core aforementioned above, Dipoto cleverly shipped away stars for future pieces, building a stronger farm system, while also preparing for some competition, making 2020 possibly the first year where the fruits of that labor will be put on show.
Where we can start is the Seattle infield. This entire infield has names with “breakout” written all over it with lots of former top prospects who have all graduated full time to the major league level with guys like defensive-minded shortstop J.P. Crawford who was netted in the Jean Segura trade with the Phillies, full-time second baseman Shed Long who was acquired in a trade with the Yankees, and rising prospect Evan White who’ll man first base full time in 2020. All three of these studs with budding talent are all 25 or under and carry a promise of being able to develop into very productive major leaguers this year or others following. The catching situation enjoys a high upside to it, with breakout players Tom Murphy and Austin Nola expected to keep the job as a tandem. The outfield carries just as much talent as the infield, with names like top 100 prospect Kyle Lewis getting the reigns in left field full time for 2020, Mallex Smith, a proven speed demon on the bases and a formerly productive hitter, being given another shot in center field after a disappointing 2019, and also team star Mitch Haniger, who despite having to miss the start of the year with a core injury, will be coming back to hopefully try and deliver a campaign as successful as previous ones like his All-Star 2018.
The pitching has a bit more of a precarious look to it, as once you get past two solid inning eaters in Marco Gonzalez and Yusei Kikuchi, there are not many locks to pencil into the rotation full time. Gonzalez will very likely be Seattle’s best pitcher as he has now been the last two years in a row and was even given an extension as a reward for it. Kikuchi’s first year in the majors proved to be one that he’d like to forget but has a track record proven enough in Japan to give M’s fans hope that he can rediscover his groove. The guys following that are two exciting young arms with lots of prospect pedigree in Justin Dunn and Justus Sheffield. Both being Top 100 prospects ready to play full time, Dunn and Sheffield should be given extended periods and chances at the major league level this year and one or both of them might even break through to deliver something of a surprise year.
Now what I am not telling you to do, is to not expect this 2020 M’s team to go anywhere, because let’s face; this team will not win enough games to be competitive next year. But what this year holds instead is almost something like an audition year. Think about any middle school play you had to embarrass yourself in auditions for and then just think about that like this 2020 Mariners team. The prospects will all finally be given chances to get at-bats and innings to get their bearings at the big league level, and by the end of the year, I think GM Jerry Dipoto and Co. will have a greater idea of where this ballclub is positioned for in years to come.