Commentary: Hoping for best, but Mariners offseason optics give us a case of Deja vu

I’ll be the first to admit that results are far more important than optics. But when a season hasn’t started, all we have are optics and perception. Which is why Déjà vu seems to be such a common theme with our hometown baseball team. 

As the offseason comes to an end, with Spring Training starting in just 11 days when pitchers and catchers report, the Mariners have a strikingly similar roster to last season. And when your most notable addition is Jorge Polanco, a guy they declined to bring back on a $12 million option, only to sign him in what feels like the 11th Hour, what are fans supposed to think? 

Frankly, it’s been another offseason that’s supported the prevailing thoughts about ownership and the front office: That ownership refuses to spend money to build a bonafide contender, and the front office might be trying really hard, but have little to show for their efforts. 

In mid-December, general manager Justin Hollander told MLB.com, quote, "We need to add to our infield; we’re working hard to do that. We’d love to add some type of first base impact to go along with Luke Raley…then the rest of the infield is flexible enough that we could add at second, we could add at third, we could [add] in a variety of ways." 

I still don’t see that first base impact guy, unless you really think it’s a 37 year old in Donovan Solano. And the second and third base puzzles seem to be Polanco and Dylan Moore. 

Nothing against any of them personally, but how do you EXPECT fans to react? 

And therein lies the rub. I don’t find it gratifying in any way shape or form to consistently be discussing the M’s in a negative light. I’m all about this stellar pitching rotation and a farm system that Keith Law of The Athletic ranked the best in all of baseball just last week. But it’s even *more* of a reason this team should be taking advantage of this window of opportunity, overspending if they must to make the splashes they need to try and win it all. 

By this point, we’ve seen the frustration from just about every Mariners podcast. Even national writers and former Mariners players like Mike Cameron and Omar Vizquel have shaken their collective heads this offseason. 

And I appreciate the Marine Layer Podcast highlighting this Jerry Dipoto quote this week from the start of the rebuild in 2019: That by 2021, the Mariners would have "incredible spending power in the free agent market at a time when some of the best players of this generation might be available in free agency."

Where has that "incredible" spending power been? Why is their payroll still middle-of-the-road? When projections like that aren’t met, and goals aren’t reached, you can’t blame the media for negativity or the fanbase for losing faith. 

Which brings us back to the here and now: The Mariners could very well shock the world and contend for a title. But in terms of optics and perception, they’ve done absolutely nothing this offseason to inspire confidence about their chances. 

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