Striving for Mediocrity

A look into the desperate moves made by Jack Zduriencik and Jerry Dipoto to appease a desperate fan base.

In 2001, the Seattle Mariners put together one of the greatest seasons in the history of baseball, winning a major league record 116 games fresh off losing co-faces of the franchise Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. Such a feat showed the baseball world that the Mariners were resilient, and could continue their success of the mid 90’s in the new millennium.

However, as we all know, 16 years later the Seattle Mariners are still searching for their first postseason appearance since that storybook season. In that span the Mariners have cycled through four general managers and currently employ Jerry Dipoto, who has been with the team since the 2015 season. Under Dipoto’s guidance, the Mariners appear to be on the cusp of relevance, having played meaningful baseball all the way to the end of September (!!!) in each of the last two seasons as they chased a wild card berth. Although they fell short each year, things seem to be looking up for this franchise that has toiled in futility for far too long. With a solid middle of the order and a budding star closer, the playoffs appear to be within reach, and this fan base will have something to cheer about come October!

At least, that’s what Jerry Dipoto wants you to think.

While having a legitimately competitive baseball team is much better compared to a string of losing seasons while the franchise was in “rebuilding mode”, the cost at which we have built our hopefully maybe wild card bound team will prove to be crippling down the road, and will leave the Mariners rebuilding once again in just a few seasons.

To have a successful baseball franchise, the name of the game has always been player development through the farm system. Most world series winning teams in recent memory have constructed their roster through patient player development that produced quality MLB talent down the road. (See: The Royals, the Cubs, the Red Sox, and the Giants). Their ability to churn out quality starters from their farm system coupled with a few key veteran free agent signings propelled them into the MLB’s elite. The Seattle Mariners, much like most teams around the league have attempted to copy this blueprint, except they left out one key aspect: the player development part.

Whether it be bad luck, poor coaching/scouting, or ill-advised trades, the Seattle Mariners have been painfully unable to produce solid Major League talent. This is not due to a lack of draft picks or a dearth of prospects either. The Mariners are just not producing quality ballplayers.

Let’s take a look back at some big name prospects that have not panned out over the years.

Forewarning, this list WILL make you cry.

Danny Hultzen- selected second overall in 2011 behind future ace Gerrit Cole, ahead of Trevor Bauer, the late Jose Fernandez, Trevor Story, and a depressing boatload of MLB stars. A few injury plagued seasons later and Hultzen is now out of the league.

Justin Smoak- The main return in the Cliff Lee trade, teased us with spurts of power for four crappy seasons and now plays crappy baseball for the Blue Jays.

Dustin Ackley- taken second overall in 2009 behind Stephen Strasburg, ahead of future MLB stars AJ Pollock, Shelby Miller, and MIKE TROUT among others. Flamed out in Seattle and now plays a utility man role for the Yankees.

Jesus Montero- Traded for the oft-injured yet effective Michael Pineda. Couldn’t get his head screwed on, or keep his weight down. Never produced in the Majors.

Jeff Clement- Former third overall pick and supposed heir to Dan Wilson. Flamed out in the Majors.

Nick Franklin- First round pick in 2009 who never realized his potential. Now disappoints in Tampa Bay.

Brad Miller- Traded for Logan Morrison who was also terrible for Seattle. Realized his power and began producing last season…for the Rays.

Tiajuan Walker- Maddeningly inconsistent and struggled with control and pitch selection in the Majors after being a highly touted prospect for years. Recently traded for star shortstop Jean Segura and platoon outfielder Mitch Haniger. Fingers crossed that this trade will pay dividends but man how depressing was seeing Walker never tap into his potential.

George Sherill, Adam Jones and Chris Tillman- All current/former Orioles stars due to the fact that we traded them all for ERIK BEDARD.

Who, as you remember, practically lived on the disabled list and contributed basically nothing to a bunch of terrible Mariner teams.

Now, these are not all of the Mariners’ failed prospects, but they are enough to convey my point. Too many of our prospects have not panned out. Sure we’ve had some success stories (see: Seager, Kyle) but they are few and far between, sprinkled in amidst a sea of failure.

Since the whole player development thing didn’t work out, General Managers Jack Zduriencik and Jerry Dipoto needed some way to save face with the fan base. So, in order to field a team of competent players, they had no choice but to go out and sign big money free agent veterans.

This desperation tactic brought us Robinson Cano at the rate of 24 million dollars for the next SEVEN seasons, Nelson Cruz fresh off a steroid bust and cheaper stop-gap options like Steve Cishek, Adam Lind and Seth Smith.

Admittedly, these players have, for the most part, performed well and have helped bring this ball club back to playoff contention. However, playoff contention is as far as they will be able to take us.

Despite the Mariners’ efforts to develop a young core of players to build around, they have instead become a team full of fading veterans who will only be able to carry this team for a little bit longer.

Robinson Cano is entering his age 34 season, while Nelson Cruz will turn 37 next year. Furthermore, the inevitable has happened, and all the innings Felix Hernandez logged for terrible teams over the past decade plus have taken their toll. It is sad to say, but Felix Hernandez can no longer be depended on as a dominant ace. Perhaps the saddest part of the Mariners’ saga through baseball mediocrity is the squandering of the prime years of all-world pitcher Felix Hernandez. One of the best right handed pitchers of the last decade has never pitched in the playoffs. Not only could a trade have brought a much needed face lift to our farm system, but it would have also sent Felix to a team that deserved him.

Alas, hindsight is always 20/20.

The starting pitching woes don’t end there however, as Hishashi Iwakuma will be 37 years old come the 2017 season, and showed last year that his best years are behind him. The fact of the matter is that the core of the Mariners is old, and was constructed out of desperation due to our inability to develop young players. The fact that they still have not brought Seattle a playoff berth shows that their ceiling is capped at possible wild card contention which means, unfortunately, this current team will never be regarded among the MLB's elite.

While this current Mariners team may be able to sneak into a wild card game in the near future, it will come at a dire cost. This middling, old roster will only be able to carry the Mariners for a few more years, and after that, it is back to rebuilding mode and back to the misery that has plagued this franchise for the last decade and a half. The cost of being an okay baseball team in the present has set up the Seattle Mariners for a very bleak future.