Whether step-back or rebuild, Mariners focus is on future

SEATTLE (AP) — Throughout the offseason, the decisions made about the future of the Seattle Mariners took on different catchphrases.

Whether it’s a “step-back” or a “rebuild” or a “reimagining” of Seattle’s current situation and its future hopes, the reality is for the first time in quite a while there appears to be a plan in place to perhaps get the franchise out of the purgatory of mediocrity.

There’s optimism about what Seattle’s future could be, but it might result in a difficult 2019 season.

“We don’t think this year is a punt,” Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto said. “We feel like we went from being stuck in the middle of the American League to being stuck in the middle of the American League with a future in front of us. That’s a better place to be.”

Seattle begins the season Wednesday in Tokyo with a pair of games against the Oakland Athletics, featuring a roster that is overhauled from the one that finished 2018 with 89 wins and yet again missed out on the postseason. The Mariners extended the longest playoff drought in the major pro sports.

Seattle made nine trades in the offseason, shedding itself of heavy salaries and burdensome contracts. In exchange, the club targeted 2021 as a time when it could be more than just a team stuck in the middle of the American League. Seattle acquired a number of key prospects that could be ready to contribute in two years. It kept a handful of core players — Mitch Haniger, Marco Gonzales among them — who will be in their prime. And, they freed up the potential to have a significant amount of money available to spend in free agency.

It makes sense. It’s also a risky proposition. If those prospects don’t hit, Seattle could find itself set back longer in its hope of again being a contender.

“That gives us the opportunity to look at the world in a different way than we could before. That excites us, and I think that excited ownership,” Dipoto said. “While we can’t sit here and stick a flag in the top of the mountain saying we are the world champs in 2021, that is a more realistic goal for us now than it has been in the past.”

Here’s what else to watch with the 2019 Mariners:

IN ROTATION: The top of Seattle’s rotation should be solid with Gonzales, Mike Leake, Wade LeBlanc and newcomer Yusei Kikuchi. Kikuchi’s arrival will be closely followed as Seattle tries to limit his total innings in his first season in the majors. Gonzales slumped late last season but had a stretch last summer where he was one of the best lefties in the AL.

FAREWELL FELIX: It’s clear this will be the final season Felix Hernandez wears a Seattle uniform. He’s going to be Seattle’s No. 5 starter in the rotation, coming off a career worst 5.55 ERA in 2018, and is unhappy about his place. The bigger question is whether Hernandez has anything left to be attractive to another team, either at the trade deadline or for next season, because his time in Seattle seems to be at an end.

TRADE BAIT: Part of the reason Seattle acquired Jay Bruce and Edwin Encarnacion during the offseason was to have a lineup that could still be serviceable. How long they’ll be around is another story. Seattle would like both to have a big first-half so they could be trade options by midseason and potentially land the Mariners a couple of more prospects in their rebuild plans. For now, Bruce will split time between first base and outfield, while Encarnacion will be the primary designated hitter.

WAIT AND SEE: Two key starters will miss the opening series with third baseman Kyle Seager out for at least a month after hand surgery and Mallex Smith slowed by a shoulder issue. Smith could be ready when the team returns from Japan, while Seager’s injury clears up a logjam at first base for the moment with Ryon Healy moving to third base.

ON THE FARM: While the major league club will get plenty of attention, there will be more focus on the minors than previous years. Plenty of attention will be on prospects Evan White, Braden Bishop, Justin Dunn, Shed Long, Jared Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez to name a few. At the Triple-A level, pitcher Justus Sheffield and shortstop J.P. Crawford are likely to be up with the major league club by the end of the season.

“Truly connected I think is the best word you can use for that and is what is going on,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “From my seat, I’ll pay more attention to it than I ever have here.”