Julio Rodriguez is probably going to be a really solid #2 or #3 option in a lineup. Cal is the same way. This team will kind of need an MVP caliber bat. If not, they need 6 guys that can be #2 or #3 guys in the order. You need an incredibly deep lineup or you need two REALLY high level hitters (see 2024 Yankees).
I will never root for the Yankees. Routinely my "Root for Anybody But..." list starts with the Yankees. It is worth noting that I live in upstate NY, LOVE the Mariners, and I'm surrounded by Yankees fans and I can not cheer for them.
Lyle continues the narrative that the Stanton group will not spend. Stanton said that the group won’t spend TOP dollar on aging free agents. That doesn’t preclude signing aging free agents if budget friendly. Stanton believes in the farm system as a pipeline to fill the roster as well as using trades to fill the roster. Free agency is the last resort if the farm or trades won’t be able to fill the holes on team. He stated as much in the 2023 August 10 rooftop interview by Geekwire. Ryan Divish reported this in the Seattle Mailbag article. Stanton is sold on the draft, develop and trade philosophy that Dipoto started that bore 4 straight winning seasons after the step back plan.
Please dissect this trade- STL: M. Mikolas B. Donovan SEA: M. Haniger D. Canzone E. Hancock T. Peete Rationale- STL is hard selling. I think adding a durable arm like Mikolas would give us more value than Haniger at roughly the same price. I am bullish on the offer because I think we will be competing with a lot of teams for Donovan’s services. Donovan is a perfect fit for the org and the offense, prove me wrong 😤
Cal is a Scott Boras client. This means no extension and getting top dollar on the open market. Scott Boras believes in the bidding wars on the open market
Lyle is enamored by the big spending teams implying that the M’s should follow the $300M plus model. This is not pragmatic for a mid-market team such as the M’s. The M’s pragmatically are exactly in the realm of Detroit. In fact, Detroit has a slightly bigger population than Seattle and a slightly lower TV Media Area, but these two are statically next to each other. Fans like to point out that there is interest in the greater NW. Guess what, when the Blue Jays come to town, a flood of Vancouver fans come to town in their Blue Jays attire. In Montana, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times followed the Cubs via WGN. Lyle is in denial like some many M’s fans. We like to think that we are in a better market than we are, but statistically speaking (based on Nielsen DMA (Designated Media Area) rankings and the Census), we are not. The teams with $300M plus payroll are in the largest markets in the USA. The path to the World Series approach has to be similar to those mid-market teams that won a WS such as Detroit, KC, and Minnesota. The M’s organization (ownership and front office) are realistic and are making baby steps in that direction, more conservative than a small group of toxic fandom would want. Toxic fans want to change GMs. That’s all fine, but it resets the clock and there are no guarantees that ownership will hire as good a GM as Dipoto. Toxic fans fail to recognize the modicum of success that Dipoto has started, but are willing to throw it all away and resetting the clock again. The M’s history of setting and resetting is cycle that needs to be broken.
