ORLANDO, Fla. – For one American League contender, the MLB Winter Meetings closed with a bang Wednesday.
For the Mariners, it was more of a whimper.
And that was to be expected for the M’s as they remain patient and wait out Jorge Polanco’s free-agent decision and on the St. Louis Cardinals to budge on Brendan Donovan.
The Baltimore Orioles, meanwhile, made the most surprising move of the offseason so far, agreeing to a five-year, $155-million deal with Pete Alonso to lure the slugging first baseman away from the New York Mets.
Alonso’s deal, worth $31 million annually, stands as an intriguing comparison to the five-year contract the Mariners gave to first baseman Josh Naylor last month, worth $92.5 million in all, $18.5 million per year.
Alonso, 31, is one of the most prodigious power hitters in the game, and he posted a 3.4 bWAR this year, with 38 homers, 126 RBI and a .272/.347/.524 slash line (.871 OPS).
Naylor, 28, had a 3.1 bWAR between the Mariners and Diamondbacks this year, with 20 homers, 92 RBI, 30 steals and a .295/.353/.462 slash line (.816 OPS).
Rule 5 results
The Mariners did not make a selection in the major-league portion of the Rule 5 draft held Wednesday to close out the Winter Meetings.
In the minor-league portion of the Rule 5, though, the Mariners made two selections, taking right-handed pitcher Sean Hermann from the Yankees and infielder Carson Taylor from the Phillies.
There are no roster restriction for players selected in the minor-league draft, meaning they can be added to their new team’s minor-league system. (Players selected in the major-league portion must stick on the major-league roster the following season or be offered back to their former team.)
The Mariners lost one player (to the Brewers) in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5: RHP Cole Phillips, who was part of the return in the Jarred Kelenic trade with Atlanta two years ago.
Phillips, 22, has yet to make his pro debut after two Tommy John surgeries in recent years.
Front office position to remain vacant
The Mariners, for now, do not plan to make an outside hire to replace longtime executive Andy McKay, who joined the Cleveland coaching staff last month as the Guardians’ field coordinator.
McKay was one of Jerry Dipoto’s first front-office hires in October 2015, and McKay oversaw the team’s player development program for seven years. He was promoted to assistant general manager in 2022 and then Vice President/GM in 2024.
McKay was effectively third in command in the front office behind Dipoto, the team’s president of baseball operations, and GM Justin Hollander.
“I can’t imagine one person fulfilling Andy’s role as he was involved in everything that we do,” Hollander said this week. ” … I do think it’s a great opportunity for a lot of people here to pick off little parts of what Andy does well and gain some experience in new areas. And then I think probably the most likely outcome is we reassess where we are a year from now or 10 months from now, and see how those people have grown and developed.”
Joel Firman, elevated to the assistant GM a year ago, will take on some of McKay’s duties, as will director of baseball ops Tim Stanton.
Firman, a Covington native, graduated from Washington State in 2015 with a degree in economics and joined the Mariners as an analytics intern later that year, and he’s been on a steady upward trajectory within the front office since.
It was Firman, for the first time, who took the lead on the Mariners’ trade negotiations with the Washington Nationals last week, when the M’s acquired lefty reliever Jose Ferrer for catching prospect Harry Ford and minor-league pitcher Isaac Lyon.