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The Evan White contract and the start of the rebuild
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2025 12:49 am
by D-train
Obviously the White contract ended up being a massive mistake but really the start of the rebuild yielded nothing but failures other than Logan Gilbert who was actually drafted in 2018 prior to the rebuild.
The Failures:
https://sodomojo.com/mariners-disastrou ... kbahwwtmc4
1. Evan White
2. The Yankees trade - Paxton for Justus Sheffield, Dom Thompson Williams and Erik Swanson (Swanson converted into a reliever and was very good for us and then traded for Teo)
3. Mets trade - Cano and Edwin Diaz for Anthony Swarzak, Kelenic, Jay Bruce and Gerson Bautista. This trade did nothing for us other than dump Cano's salary, savings they have yet to reinvest in the team 6 YEARS later
4. Yusei Kikuchi - Inexplicably signed him to a 4 year $60M deal 5 minutes into the rebuild with the contract ending before our window began. Thank God he didn't exercise his player option.
What they did do well was draft SPs and Cal and sign Julio as a 17 yo in 2018 but again that was before the start of the rebuild.
Re: The Evan White contract and the start of the rebuild
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2025 1:54 am
by Pharmabro
D-train wrote: ↑Mon Dec 01, 2025 12:49 am
Obviously the White contract ended up being a massive mistake but really the start of the rebuild yielded nothing but failures other than Logan Gilbert who was actually drafted in 2018 prior to the rebuild.
The Failures:
https://sodomojo.com/mariners-disastrou ... kbahwwtmc4
1. Evan White
2. The Yankees trade - Paxton for Justus Sheffield, Dom Thompson Williams and Erik Swanson (Swanson converted into a reliever and was very good for us and then traded for Teo)
3. Mets trade - Cano and Edwin Diaz for Anthony Swarzak, Kelenic, Jay Bruce and Gerson Bautista. This trade did nothing for us other than dump Cano's salary, savings they have yet to reinvest in the team 6 YEARS later
4. Yusei Kikuchi - Inexplicably signed him to a 4 year $60M deal 5 minutes into the rebuild with the contract ending before our window began. Thank God he didn't exercise his player option.
What they did do well was draft SPs and Cal and sign Julio as a 17 yo in 2018 but again that was before the start of the rebuild.
Kik was a good prospect. He tossed upper 90’s with some good bendy stuff from the lefty. He just never was good for us for a sustained stretch.
The year they drafted Logan the also drafted Cal.
They had to do the rebuild because Felix fell on his face just when they got into a position to win if he was great. 2014 was his last great year and they only had Cano, Morrison, Seager, and Saunders which was a 93 OPS+ offense but they won 87 games because Felix had a 171 ERA+ which supported a 115 ERA+ staff.
2015 Nelson signed and they had a 103 OPS+ offfense 10% better production but Felix flopped 108 ERA+ 92 ERA+
If Felix had maintained his 2014 form for another 3 or 4 years we would have had some playoff runs and who knows you get Felix-Paxton-Walker-Kuma with some health? Coulda woulda shoulda.
Re: The Evan White contract and the start of the rebuild
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2025 2:05 am
by D-train
Didn't matter if Kikuchi would have pitched like Randy Johnson. Why waste money on a significant FA during a rebuild??
Re: The Evan White contract and the start of the rebuild
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2025 2:33 am
by Sibelius Hindemith
The rebuild was just Jerry getting lucky on a couple draft picks. Wait until those guys are gone and things are going to get really ugly.
Re: The Evan White contract and the start of the rebuild
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2025 4:32 pm
by D-train
Sibelius Hindemith wrote: ↑Mon Dec 01, 2025 2:33 am
The rebuild was just Jerry getting lucky on a couple draft picks. Wait until those guys are gone and things are going to get really ugly.
And the draft is Scott Hanson. That is all Jerry has done well in a decade. Hire Scott Hanson.
Re: The Evan White contract and the start of the rebuild
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2025 4:37 pm
by Bil522
D-train wrote: ↑Mon Dec 01, 2025 2:05 am
Didn't matter if Kikuchi would have pitched like Randy Johnson. Why waste money on a significant FA during a rebuild??
C'mon DT, he was not a significant FA. He was the #12 FA, in a weak FA class. He was signed so he could leave, and regardless of whether you are in a rebuild or not, you got to have starting pitching. Signing Kikuchi neither really helped nor really hurt anything.
Re: The Evan White contract and the start of the rebuild
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2025 4:40 pm
by Bil522
D-train wrote: ↑Mon Dec 01, 2025 4:32 pm
Sibelius Hindemith wrote: ↑Mon Dec 01, 2025 2:33 am
The rebuild was just Jerry getting lucky on a couple draft picks. Wait until those guys are gone and things are going to get really ugly.
And the draft is Scott Hanson. That is all Jerry has done well in a decade. Hire Scott Hanson.
You mean he does the Mariners draft and NFL Redzone?
Re: The Evan White contract and the start of the rebuild
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2025 4:53 pm
by D-train
Bil522 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 01, 2025 4:37 pm
D-train wrote: ↑Mon Dec 01, 2025 2:05 am
Didn't matter if Kikuchi would have pitched like Randy Johnson. Why waste money on a significant FA during a rebuild??
C'mon DT, he was not a significant FA. He was the #12 FA, in a weak FA class. He was signed so he could leave, and regardless of whether you are in a rebuild or not, you got to have starting pitching. Signing Kikuchi neither really helped nor really hurt anything.
For a team intent on shedding payroll that was a ridiculous and significant signing for a guy that had an ERA of 5 and put up a total of 2 WAR in 3 seasons. Ended up flushing $43M so they could lose 94 games in 2019, go 27-33 in 2020 and barely miss the playoffs in 2021 and . Any AAAA guy like Casey Lawrance could have done that. If they didn't signing him they could have signed a legit starter in 2021 and made the playoffs.
They only saved $39M by dumping Cano and they spent all of it PLUS $4M on him for no reason.
Re: The Evan White contract and the start of the rebuild
Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2025 4:54 pm
by D-train
Bil522 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 01, 2025 4:40 pm
D-train wrote: ↑Mon Dec 01, 2025 4:32 pm
Sibelius Hindemith wrote: ↑Mon Dec 01, 2025 2:33 am
The rebuild was just Jerry getting lucky on a couple draft picks. Wait until those guys are gone and things are going to get really ugly.
And the draft is Scott Hanson. That is all Jerry has done well in a decade. Hire Scott Hanson.
You mean he does the Mariners draft and NFL Redzone?
Hunter.
Re: The Evan White contract and the start of the rebuild
Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2025 12:19 am
by harmony
FWIW
The Athletic has ranked baseball's 19 "ugliest" current contracts and no Seattle contract made the list:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/683370 ... on-bryant/
Subscription required.
Every contract carries risks.