Seattle Mariners Proven Right in Offseason Roster Decision

And that led me to Haniger, the former All-Star outfielder who the Mariners cut bait with at the end of spring training. It was a necessary, but still surprising move, given that the M's had to eat more than $15 million on Haniger's salary.

Eventually, I thought to myself that it was surprising that no team had picked up Haniger this season, if even for a short trial. Just 34 years old still, a team could have had Haniger for the league minimum, with the Mariners picking up the rest of the bill. I'm shocked it didn't happen, given that Haniger hit 39 home runs as recently as 2021.

Then, I eventually landed here too: Clearly, the Mariners were proven right in their decision. Teams are often afraid to part with players for the fear that they'll take off somewhere else. They are afraid of being the Chicago White Sox, who let go of Andrew Vaughn, only to see him become reborn with the Milwaukee Brewers.

That could have happened with Haniger too, but the M's made the move anyways. However, they weren't proven wrong, they were proven right. The fact that no team has even taken a minor league chance on him shows that.

Fans aren't always in the business of praising the front office, but they were happy to see them make this move in March, and they should be extra happy now: The group led by Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander got this one correct.