A Grip on Sports: As Winter Meetings fade into background, the Mariners continue to fade deeper into MLB irrelevance

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There was ice on the back deck this morning. The sun will set before 4 p.m. It may not show its face at all considering the clouds. Christmas decorations are everywhere. Stockings could include bowl tickets. Which means it is a perfect time to talk about the Mariners’ upcoming season.

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• Why not? Thinking about hot August nights just might make us a little warmer. Then again, the topic is the Seattle Mariners, so there is a chance it will just make us all feel as gloomy as the weather.

Why? Do I have to remind you it’s the Seattle Mariners we’re talking about?

The franchise that played its first game in 1977 – when this Medicare patient was still in college. In their 48 seasons, the M’s have won 3,599 games. They have lost – avert your eyes if you can’t deal with blood – 3,950 of them. That winning percentage is .477, not the worst result in MLB history but close enough to see it.

Of the seven teams below the M’s on the list, only two have not won a World Series. And all of them have appeared in a World Series. Not a big deal, though. The 22 teams with better winning percentages than Seattle? They have also been in a Series at least once.

And it doesn’t look as if the M’s will exit that lonely club of infamy any time soon.

As each day of the baseball’s recently completed Winter Meetings passed, the headlines were about this team and that team improving themselves for next season. The Mets spent nearly a billion dollars. The Red Sox, the Yankees, the Giants added pieces. The Astros explored trades that not only may help this season but ensure their future.

The Mariners? Hey, Ichiro is reaching out to the best Japanese free agent starting pitching prospect since, well, last season. Did it help then? Nope. Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed with the Dodgers for $325 million. Because, you know, money talks and the rest of that saying. This year’s shiny import, Roki Sasaki, will connect with Ichiro, sure. He’ll be flattered. Appreciative. Then he and his agent will take the best financial offer. It’s the way of the world.

It won’t be from Seattle. But that’s not a surprise, is it?

Between now and February, the M’s man in charge, Jerry Dipoto, will make a few minor moves. Do his best Phil Swift impression. Try to sell us a bit of tape or caulk here or there will fix Seattle’s house, when what it really needs is a couple new support beams. Termites have eaten the old ones away.

It’s been about two decades since this franchise was serious about winning. In that time they have signed two generational talents, pitcher Felix Hernandez and centerfielder Julio Rodriguez, for relatively bargain-basement prices.

And failed to build around them. At least to the degree needed.

Yes, the Mariners tried once. On this date 11 years ago, they signed Robinson Cano. Gave the free agent second baseman 10 years, $240 million. All guaranteed. Lured him away from the Yankees.

It didn’t work, did it? Forced the ownership group at the time to declare bankruptcy and sell, right? No, it did not. The contract may have been a mistake – the 31-year-old Cano regressed in just about every way in his five Seattle seasons – but it was a good-faith attempt to win. Maybe the last one. Yet, even with that over-the-top expenditure, the franchise continued to make money. It still makes money today.

Maybe not as much as the John Stanton, who owns the largest share, and the 20 or so other folks who have an ownership stake may want, but it turns a profit. Heck, in 2023, the franchise reportedly earned almost $400 million in revenue. They spent about $145 million on player salary last season.

That’s a wide gap. Wider, in fact, than just about every MLB franchise. And the M’s don’t win? What a shock.

Dipoto has made it clear the 2025 salary pool won’t be huge. That the offseason will include, once again, shopping at baseball’s equivalent of the 99 Cents store. The M’s have the best starting rotation in baseball. That’s a foundation. They have some offensive talent, including Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh. They need more. But instead of spending to build off that footing, Dipoto is forced to contemplate trading the senior member of that starting staff, Luis Castillo, to improve the offense.

The franchise is so bereft of … let’s call it all-in syndrome … it has to subtract to try to add. How sad is that?

Here’s a novel idea. For one or two seasons, throw caution in the garbage disposal. Instead, go for it. Add another $145 million to the payroll. Strike hard. Make a good faith effort to exit that awful club of which only this franchise is a member.

Just try. Please.

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WSU: The underpinnings of the Cougar roster is starting to melt away, with receiver Kris Hutson the latest to enter the transfer portal. Yes, the portal takes and gives (Hutson came from Oregon last offseason), but the giving won’t happen before the Holiday Bowl. Greg Woods delves into what Hutson’s departure means for Jake Dickert’s team. … Dickert also lost one his most popular assistants (at least on social media), running back coach Mark Atuaia. Atuaia resigned Wednesday to take another, yet to be revealed, job. Greg also has a story on that coaching portal decision. … As always, Greg keeps up with the player movement here. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, we have a great John Canzano column to pass along this morning. It is well worth your time. … The success of Oregon, Arizona State and a large group of players has fans of the former Pac-12 a little torn. … That’s just one of the national stories playing out this time of year. … Bill Belichick, anyone? … Belichick’s North Carolina hiring will impact Washington as it enters 2025 and its challenging schedule. … Former Husky quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has yet to make a mark with the Atlanta Falcons, despite starter Kirk Cousins’ recent struggles. … Dillon Gabriel is headed to New York for the Heisman ceremony. He will not win. But his numbers are comparable to other Oregon finalists. … The Ducks are not immune to roster change despite their status. … Oregon State is already adding through the portal. … We mentioned the Heisman. We expect Colorado star Travis Hunter to win it. We would have voted for Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty. … California will be among those looking for a new quarterback as Francisco Mendoza entered the portal. … Remember the New Mexico quarterback that gave WSU fits a while back? He will be at Utah next season. … The Big Ten released next year’s football schedules, including ones for UCLA and USC. … Arizona State has a tough quarterback, a tough runner and a tough few weeks ahead. … The exodus from Arizona continues. … Among the future Pac-12 members in the Mountain West, Colorado State needs a defensive coordinator. We misread that yesterday. And will need some portal replacements. … Boise State and the other MWC teams learned their conference schedule for next season. … San Diego State received some good news concerning the portal. … Utah State has settled on an offensive coordinator. And will travel to New Mexico next season. … In basketball news, Jon Wilner has his Best of the West men’s rankings in the S-R this morning. … Two of those schools, Arizona and UCLA, will meet this week. In Phoenix. That’s how it is these days.

Gonzaga: This is finals week at GU. Which explains why the Zags played last Saturday in Seattle and don’t play again until Saturday night in New York. In between, they are taking tests. Jim Meehan has this story on what seems to be a part of college sports that seems to have retreated into the background, academics. … Bulldog pitcher Payton Graham is one of the top 100 prospects for next year’s draft. That news leads off the S-R’s latest local briefs column. … Elsewhere in the WCC, don’t look now, but the USF men are off to an 8-2 start.

Idaho: For the Vandals to win Friday night’s FCS quarterfinal game at top-seed Montana State, they have to believe they can. That’s not easy considering the 38-7 shellacking the Bobcats put on them a couple months ago in the same stadium. How is Jason Eck trying to build that belief this week? Easy. He’s telling his team to be the hammer, not the nail. Peter Harriman has more in this story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, last-place Northern Colorado has a few players in the portal. … So does Sacramento State.

Preps: Gonzaga Prep’s boys have won three State titles under head coach Matty McIntyre. His daughter Olivia has witnessed his successful tenure. Now she’s trying to help the Bullpups add to their total of two on the girls’ side. Dave Nichols has this story on Prep’s senior leader. … We can also pass along a roundup of Wednesday’s wrestling action.  

Seahawks: Coby Bryant’s improvement has paralleled the defense’s improvement. … DK Metcalf has been double-teamed a lot. That and his mentorship has helped Jaxson Smith-Njigba. … Kenneth Walker III is getting better. But may not return this week.

Mariners: We have a couple Times stories on the Mariners and the Winter Meetings to pass along as they ran in the S-R today.

Kraken: One of the team’s co-owners, David Bonderman, died yesterday.

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• We will not be here Saturday morning. We have to be out of the house early. Sorry. We will be here tomorrow and Sunday, though, so you can wither dread those days or look forward to them. Your choice. Until later …