The Seattle Mariners have missed the postseason in 22 of the last 23 seasons. In 2022, Seattle made it to the ALDS, where they were promptly swept by the Houston Astros. Prior to that playoff appearance, the Mariners had not played meaningful baseball in October since 2001.
Just a season ago, Seattle was close to earning another postseason bid, finishing only 3.5 games out of first in the AL West and one out of the third and final Wild Card spot. With Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo in tow, you could argue that the Mariners have the most starting pitching talent of any team in baseball. Combine that potential with a near-miss in 2024 and one would think that this would lead to some assertiveness in the free agent market this offseason.
Instead, general manager Jerry Dipoto chose to do essentially nothing, sitting on his hands while offensive talent flew off the board via trade and free agency. The result? Seattle once again projects to be stuck in the middle — and at least one former Mariners player has had enough.
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Justin Turner rips Seattle Mariners for quiet offseason
Veteran infielder Justin Turner spent the second half of the 2024 season in Seattle, hitting .264 with 5 home runs and 24 RBI over 48 games with the team. These are not exactly eye-popping numbers, but they're good enough to say that Turner helped contribute to the success the Mariners had down the stretch last year.
After the season ended, Turner hit the free agent market at 40 years old. While many viewed retirement as his most likely destination, he ended up signing a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs. Now that he is out of Seattle, Turner's comments about Jerry Dipoto's decisions (or lack thereof) this winter are pretty straight forward.
Turner discussed the Mariners' offseason with USA Today and had this to say: "The fact that they missed the playoffs by one game and didn't go out and add an impact bat or two when you have the best pitching staff in baseball just seems absurd to me."
Seattle certainly did not lack options in the free agent market this offseason. They had the payroll space to aggressively pursue anyone from Juan Soto to Pete Alonso to Alex Bregman if they wanted to, but DiPoto seemed satisfied with Donovan Solano and Jorge Polanco being the biggest moves this winter. Maybe that gamble will work out, but if not, he'll have some very hard questions to answer.