There seems to be a great deal of frustration surrounding the Mariners, which isnt limited to the fanbase. Former Mariner sounded off on the situation to yesterday, blasting the organization for its lack of aggre sion. That column led to seeking the response of various players, who kept themselves anonymous. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto also spoke about the state of the franchise to in a piece published today, though the piece didnt reference Turners comments or the Jace Jung Jersey USA Today piece and said the Dipoto interview actually took place earlier this spring. The fact that they mi sed the playoffs by one game, and didnt go out and add an impact bat or two when you have the best pitching staff in baseball, Turner said to Nightengale, just seems absurd to me. The Mariners went 85-77 last year, a solid season and their fourth straight above .500. But as Turner mentioned, they narrowly mi sed the playoffs, just as they did in 2021 and 2023. Their postseason appearance in 2022 is their only one since 2001. Their decent-but-underwhelming results last year were the result of an imbalanced team. Their 3.49 earned run average was tied with Atlanta for best in the league. The starting staffs 3.38 ERA was best in the majors. But the offense was more middling, with a .224/.311/.376 batting line as a club. The club surely would have loved to add more offense but didnt have significant resources to do so. Reporting throughout the winter indicated that the Mariners were going to increase payroll by around $15MM relative to last year. estimated their Opening Day payroll at $140MM. projects them to go into 2025 at $152MM, a $12MM increase. Their free agent signings this winter have been a $3.5MM deal for , a 37-year-old infielder, and bringing back . The Ms turned down a $12MM club option on Polanco, opting for the $750K buyout, but re-signed him via a one-year, $7.75MM deal with a player/vesting option. Generally speaking, the club hasnt been a big player in free agency. Cots hasnt had the clubs payroll higher than 11th in the league in any of the past 15 seasons. Theyve been in the bottom half of the league in each of the past five years. In the past decade, they have only twice given a free agent a guarantee larger than $24MM. got a four-year, $56MM deal back in 2019, though he opted out after three years. got a five-year, $115MM deal but was traded to the Giants after two years. Turner was acquired from the Blue Jays at last years deadline and finished the year with the Mariners. According to Divish, the club offered him a deal to return, with the guarantee larger than the $6MM pact he eventually accepted from the Cubs. At the time of the offer from the Ms, Turner seemingly felt he could do better and didnt accept, which prompted the Ms to pivot to Solano and Polanco. Turner made clear that his criticism wasnt mere sour grapes about not being re-signed. Honestly, as much as I wanted to be back there, Turner said to Nightengale, if I was the only piece they brought back in, I would be saying the same thing: What the hell are we doing? Are you trying? Theres not going to a better time to go for it. So, I dont know what theyre doing. Im very confused. Its a head-scratcher for me. Ultimately, the criticism is mostly geared towards ownership and the lack of resources it has provided to the front office. I thought was a slam-dunk, Turner said. How can you not go after him? You kidding me? But Alonso re-signed with the Mets on a two-year, $54MM deal. He will get $30MM of that in the first year, which is double what the Mariners had to work with this winter. Turner emphasized that he didnt hold Dipoto responsible for the parameters he was given. I think Jerry catches a bad rap for a lot of these trades and how crazy some of these trades have been, Turner said. But now being a part of it, I kind of understand. He doesnt have any money to spend, so hes got to create money. Like, OK, is it really Jerrys fault? Turner then referenced wherein the Ms sent to the Astros for , saying he probably needed to trade guys just to be able to spend money in the offseason, which is nuts. Turner also expre sed sympathy for the clubs frustrated supporters who are caught up in the situation. I feel for them. Theyve got great fans. Their fans are amazing. They want to win so bad. The team is very profitable. And they dont spend. Its perhaps illustrative of a level of discontent that exists in the Seattle clubhouse but doesnt always come out. Catcher after the clubs disappointing 2023 season finished, though he later apologized. Weve got to commit to winning, Raleigh said at that time, to going and getting those players. You see other teams going out, going for it, getting big-time pitchers, getting big-time hitters. We have to do that to keep up. Turner is no longer in the organization and is also 40 years old, meaning he doesnt have to fear any negative repercu sions for speaking out. The incumbent Mariners who spoke to Divish refrained from going on the record but seemed to largely agree with Turners points. Though the player frustration seemed to be largely pointed at ownership, many Seattle fans have their frustrations with Dipoto. His now-infamous 54% comments from October of 2023 are sort of legendary among his haters. For those unfamiliar, after the club just mi sed the playoffs in October of 2023, Dipoto said that teams that win 54 percent of the time always wind up in the postseason and they more often than not wind up in a World Series. Nobody wants to hear the goal this year is were going to win 54 percent of the time. But over time that type of mindset gets you there. Blum asked him about those comments and his general ability to speak in a manner that seems to rub people the wrong way. People obviously didnt understand it the way I expre sed it, Dipoto said. My gue s is that 98 percent of people didnt actually listen to it. They just read it off a tweet. Its what it is. Maybe they wouldnt have understood it any better had they heard the whole thing. And thats on me for poorly communicating what I think is a simple idea. Dipoto says he has scaled back his media appearances since hes aware that hes become something of a lightning rod. Truly, I could say hello, Dipoto said, and it would turn into a thing right now. He also expre sed to Blum that the very interviewing he was giving would probably not be well received. Im gonna get roasted, he said to Blum. He did somewhat attempt to frame the lack of spending as a strategy, saying that most great teams have been built on a foundation of draft, sign, develop or trade. Thats what weve communicated to our fans for a decade. Though at the same time, he also said hes aware theres a desire for The big move. The grand slam. The big free agent. and that maybe thatll happen at some point but they didnt think this was the right time, or the right group of players that fit for us. Regardle s of how one feels about it, the clubis largely banking on the Seattle lineup continuing a strong finish to the 2024 season. The club acquired both Turner and at the deadline last year. A few weeks later, they fired manager Scott Servais and hitting coach Jarret DeHart. Servais was replaced by Dan Wilson while took over as hitting coach. Martnez is still with the club but with the title of senior director, hitting strategy. Hes not expected to go on road trips, with Kevin Seitzer now to be the clubs primary hitting coach, though he will apparently report to Martnez. For what its worth, the Ms hit .264/.347/.433 in the month of September. That translated to a 128 wRC+ for that month, a mark that trailed only the Dodgers. That was a huge upgrade over the .216/.304/.364 they hit from March to August. Were talking about just one month, and some of Seattles opponents were out of contention and playing out the string. But if there was any meaningful improvement in there that the Ms could carry over, they could be in a better position than last year. If not, it could lead to another offseason of frustration in Seattle. Al Kaline Jersey