TERRY MOSHER
TOP OF THE TOWN – Jarred Kelenic is unhappy. His agent is pissed. Seattle Mariner fans should also be upset. Kelenic has been held back from the Major Leagues for over a year because the team does not want to start service time that would cost them a year in which they would have no control over their budding baseball star. General Manager Jerry Dipoto holds to the company line and says Kelenic needs more minor league at-bats to fully be developed and ready for the big leagues. BS. Kelenic is ready, has been ready. He’s just being held back to save the team an extra year of service (a player become a free agent after six years of service, and a year is defined by 172 days in the big leagues). If a team can hold a player back so he can’t reach 172 days, that means the player must wait another full year before his countdown to six years and free agency starts. This devious strategy has been going on for years. But it’s wrong. A team should want its best players on the big-league roster in order for it to compete at full strength. This, though, is not the way the Mariners have operated. With the exception of Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr., the Mariners have always been careful about bringing their better players to the big leagues too soon. Instead they keep players like Kelenic down in the minors as long as they can. It’s a common refrain throughout baseball, although some clubs bring their young prospects up if they believe they can help. The Mariners do not. Kelenic should have been up to Seattle last year, even though it was just a 60-game season due to COVID-19. Right-handed pitcher Logan Gilbert should have been on the roster last season and should be this season right out of the gate. My guess is he won’t because they don’t want to start his service time. Same goes for outfielder Julio Rodriguez, who is even better than Kelenic. These are reasons why the Mariners have not made the playoffs since 2001. They aren’t the only reasons, but they are important reasons. You want, or you should want, your best players in Seattle. The Mariners, in an effort to save money, do not. It was the same back in the days of club president Howard Lincoln and Chuck Armstrong. The bottom line was always the bottom line. … So what I understand is Russell Wilson wants to stay in Seattle and be a Seahawk. But if he was traded he has a list of four clubs he would be okay with –Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys. If he is traded, and I still think he might be, I believe his best landing spot would be the Saints. The Saints have a good coach, a good offensive line and a good defense. He could rock and roll there, and twice a year he would compete against Tom Brady, which I think he would like. Because the silence is deafening from the Seahawks’ front office and coach I suspect something is brewing on the back burner. Wilson, it seems, may have complained his way out of Seattle. We’ll see. That’s it for today. Be safe.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.