Author

Nate Alexander

Grew up in Spokane, Washington. Turned to Naval service to travel the world and see what else exists. Living in San Diego, love the Mariners, Seahawks, and Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Seattle Mariners

Kyle Seager Retires from Baseball

by Nate Alexander
written by Nate Alexander

Mariners legend and free-agent Kyle Seager has announced he is retiring from baseball via his wife Julie’s most recent Twitter post.

Today I’m announcing my retirement from Major League Baseball. Thank you to all of my family, friends and fans for following me throughout my career. It’s been a wonderful ride but I am unbelievably excited for the next chapter of my life.

The Mariners’ Gold Glove third-baseman finished his career with a .251 batting average, 242 homeruns, 807 RBIs, with 1,395 hits. In his 11th and final season with the Mariners, he finished with a career-high 35 homeruns and 101 RBIs. He represented the Mariners in the 2014 All-Star Game and was awarded a Gold Glove following that 2014 campaign.

His retirement announcement comes somewhat as a shock, coming off a career year and only being 34 years of age.

Unfortunately, in his 11 year career, he never played post-season baseball–something he and Felix Hernandez have in common. 

His lack of social media usage makes it tough to decipher what the next chapter in his life will be, but I know we will see him in Seattle in some capacity again–at least for his Mariners Hall of Fame induction down the road.

He impacted the community of Seattle not just with game play, but with his off-time volunteering. He was selected as the 2021 Roberto Clemente nominee for the Mariners for his work with the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. He also served as a spokesperson for the Refuse To Abuse Campaign.

He was also a frequent visitor to Seattle Children’s Hospital, helped with Mariners Care, Boys and Girls Clubs, and the American Heart Association. His passion for the Seattle community will always be remembered, especially by those he directly impacted. 

 

 

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Seattle Mariners

MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement: A Lockout is Imminent

by Nate Alexander
written by Nate Alexander

If you’re like me and you’re wondering “What the heck is a collective bargaining agreement?”, you are not alone. I have browsed numerous sources and have put together a hodgepodge or “collective” of article bits to piece this together in a way that makes some sort of sense. All credit is provided to those authors.

I’ll preface by saying the biggest issue for most of the followers of Cascadia Sports is Seattle Mariners free agency. If a stoppage occurs, contact cannot be made between teams and free agents or players on their 40-man rosters.  Additionally, players cannot use team facilities. Therefore, free agency will then be put on hold–the last thing fans want to hear entering a pivotal season for Seattle Mariners fans.

Without a CBA in place, players will likely strike right before the season, giving players leverage over owners. A lockout is a measure to hopefully prevent a strike, giving club owners the upper hand in hopes players will bend to their requests.

While very likely to happen at midnight on Wednesday, both parties can continue negotiating, but the lockout will induce urgency.

The first question is, “What is a collective bargaining agreement?”

The short answer, according to the MLBPA CBA website, is that it is essentially the agreement of the terms and conditions of employment between team owners and MLB uniformed players. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as scrolling down really fast and checking a box that you “agree to the terms and conditions” as we do on our devices. The entire 373-page CBA from 2017-2021 can be found here .

So what exactly are the players arguing for or against? From multiple sources, I’ve gathered the following:

Dayn Perry from CBS Sports:

[Players would like] to address their shrinking share of those league revenues (indicated in part by the declining average player salary), the occasional practice of service-time manipulation (i.e., when teams hold back a clearly ready prospect in order to delay his free agency and arbitration eligibility for a full year), and the “tanking” problem, among other matters. Teams have increasingly trended younger in their roster construction, and the union will be fighting to get those younger players paid more in line with their on-field value while also seeking incentives to make teams more competitive with one another.

The key takeaway is the last sentence.  Younger players are not getting (or rarely getting) paid the big money when they’re younger and productive. Front offices, in some cases, don’t value these players as highly due to their age or possible plateau towards declination and therefore could limit their next deal. Teams with talented players like Fernando Tatis, Jr. and Wander Franco tend to restructure contracts early on to ensure they don’t enter free-agency for at least a decade.

Players would like to enter free agency at 29.5 years of age after achieving five years of service time or after six years of service, whichever is first. Players also would like the arbitration process to start after two seasons vice three as it currently is.

Jeff Passan of ESPN stated:

The players want bigger paydays earlier in their careers, more competitive integrity, no service-time manipulation and fewer artificial restraints on players via the competitive-balance tax (CBT) and draft-pick compensation. Among the league’s objectives: a static amount of spending on players, expanded playoffs, an international draft and on-field changes.

Mark Feinsand at MLB.com:

MLB made three proposals last week that included a number of concessions to the players:

• The elimination of the current qualifying offer system, which would remove Draft-pick compensation attached to any free agent
• A Draft lottery similar to the one used by the NBA
• The universal DH, which would add 15 everyday jobs for hitters in the NL; the average salary for a DH in 2021 was $9.2 million
• An increase to the minimum player salary
• An increase in the CBT threshold

The league did state there was some headway on a postseason expansion proposal, introducing a new playoff system.

Feinsand also stated the MLBPA is trying to overhaul the economics of the League that have been implemented for decades.  These include six-year free agency, super-two eligibility, and revenue sharing–all which could have a negative impact on small-market teams.

Jesse Rogers of ESPN:

On Tuesday, players added potential revenue-generating ideas, such as allowing advertising patches on jerseys and a 12-team postseason, to their offer. But they also asked for the luxury tax threshold to be raised to $240 million. It was $210 million last season.

 

To accommodate the playoff grid in a 12-team postseason, the union offered up each league realigning to two divisions, one with eight teams and one with seven.

The points above are just surface points I’ve been able to uncover through these supporting articles which I encourage you to read. Overall, I believe a lockout will happen and the hot stove will be shut off for a few weeks, which is detrimental for the Mariners. However, we still have three months until Spring Training and four months until the first pitch of the 2022 season.

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Seattle Mariners

Robbie Ray to the Mariners: 5 years, $115 Million

by Nate Alexander
written by Nate Alexander

As free-agency has ramped up, especially in the AL West, the Mariners made a push and acquired Robbie Ray at the tune of $115 million for five years, with an opt out after three, per Jeff Passan at ESPN.

Ray, 30, is the reigning Cy Young winner who is coming off a 13-7, 2.84 ERA season. He also struck out 248 in his 2021 campaign.

The Mariners are looking to add more depth as they have signed Adam Frazier in a trade with San Diego.

Jon Heyman reported the Mariners are also looking to add Javier Baez and Kris Bryant, likely one or the other to solidify the infield.

We expect to see more of these signings transpire in the next few days.

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Seattle Mariners

The Graveman trade hurts, but don’t discount the return

by Nate Alexander
written by Nate Alexander

The Mariners front office has been known to break the hearts of their own team and fans. That was the case once again Tuesday in Seattle immediately before the Mariners took on the division-leading Houston Astros. Roughly two hours before first pitch, the Twitterverse blew up with the news that Kendall Graveman was sent across the foul lines to the Astros for infielder Abraham Toro and reliever Joe Smith.

Fans, players, and the rest of MLB seemed to be perplexed at the move by Dipoto and company. On the surface, it does not make any sense, but after doing some grieving and soul searching, I’ve come to the conclusion that the move, as much as I don’t like it, makes sense.

Graveman is set to be a free agent at the end of the season. He has appeared in 30 games this season, averaging of eight games per month, adding a game to that average for his time on the 10-day IL. With 2 full months remaining, at his current play rate, he has 16-20 games left—so roughly 25 innings.

We, as fans, should not discount or minimize the efforts of the rest of that bullpen. JT Chargois, Keynan Middleton, Anthony Misiewicz, Drew Steckenrider, and Paul Sewald have done a fantastic job holding games down. Sewald also has what it takes to be the new closer for the Mariners, if they don’t go out and pick another up—which I think they will.

Abraham Toro, if he remains in Seattle, you’ll get years of production—hopefully. His bat is showing promise, but has yet to fully develop at the Major League level. With only 110 at-bats this season, he is hitting .218 with 7 HRs while driving in 22. Last night I didn’t even think he would even put on a Mariners uniform, yet alone get his first hit and homerun with one swing of the bat against his former ball club.

In the 6th inning of last night’s game, news broke that Tyler Anderson’s trade deal with the Phillies fell through and the Mariners ended up acquiring Anderson for prospects C Carter Bins and RHP Joaquin Tejada.

Scott Servais no longer has to use the bullpen to start on day five of the rotation, which eases the burden on the bullpen.

Anderson is having an average year. The 2011 Colorado Rockies first rounder and 20th overall pick has appeared in 18 games and has a 5-8 record and a 4.53 ERA this season. He has ties to the Pacific Northwest as he played college ball at Oregon–his nickname is Mr. Duck.

Overall, the Graveman trade makes sense. The timing was impeccably terrible and the team he was sent to isn’t worthy. To win back the fans and some of those in the clubhouse, Jerry and company need to complete a deal that blows the doors off their hinges. I think we will see something in the upcoming 48 hours.

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