Seattle Mariners fans have been angry at president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto for some time now, something that his "54 percent" comments regarding building a winning baseball team only furthered. However, that ire toward the front office executive was only amplified this offseason with the Mariners failing to do anything to address an ailing offense.
Despite finishing the 2024 season in the bottom-third of MLB in runs scored (21st) and team OPS (22nd), Dipoto and Seattle did precisely nothing of consequence to address that. Their two "big" moves in free agency were bringing back Jorge Polanco on a one-year deal and signing veteran utilityman Donovan Solano, also to a one-year deal. Not quite what Mariners fans were hoping for when early offseason connections had them dreaming of Pete Alonso.
The one thing that the Mariners had still working in their favor, though, was perhaps the best rotation in baseball. Headlining that group is certainly the tandem of George Kirby and Logan Gilbert. But now during spring training, Seattle is being forced to face the unfortunate reality of the situation Dipoto put them in with his offseason inaction thanks to an injury to Kirby.
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George Kirby injury gives Mariners fans more reason to be furious at Jerry Dipoto
Mariners general manager Justin Hollander (who, let's be real, feels like the fall guy for delivering this message) held an unscheduled press conference to announce that George Kirby has been shut down in spring training due to shoulder inflammation and is expected to start the regular season on the Injured List, as reported by Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times.
Hollander made that pretty clear when he called the injury a "week-to-week" deal as opposed to being something Seattle will monitor day-to-day for when Kirby can return.
While the Mariners still have Gilbert, Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller to bolster the rotation, losing Kirby is obviously a huge blow, specifically because pitching is virtually all that Seattle does well. Now, that massive strength and the club's best hope for competing for a playoff spot this season just took a hit.
Kirby's injury doesn't sound like something that's going to keep him out for the entire season but it is something that could put Seattle behind the 8-ball early in a highly competitive AL West. In essence, it could be something that hurts the Mariners well beyond the timeline for his return from the IL. And that's an indictment on Dipoto and the front office.
Everyone who remotely knows baseball understood that the one thing the Mariners needed was upgrades on offense. They didn't get a single one and now the Kirby injury sets them up to pay a price for that from which they might not recover in the 2025 season.