THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Here's how GM Jerry might improve the Mariners

It’s time.

Or almost time.

I’m looking at a truckload of emails here from Northwest baseball junkies, all wanting to know what the Mariners are planning as improvements to this season’s surprising 90-win season.

We should find out soon.

That’s assuming Major League Baseball doesn’t halt everything while fighting over a collective bargaining agreement.

Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto, though, says the club intends to proceed normally, and besides that …

Jerry wants to make some deals quickly.

Just so you know the rules here, MLB teams can trade players two days after the end of the World Series, and sign free agents three days after that.

So, that means this week.

Dipoto hasn’t exactly been secretive about the fact that the Mariners have money to spend – a lot of it — and that he’s looking for players to fill specific positions.

The Mariners want an infielder who can hit, a middle-of-the-lineup guy like Toronto free agent Marcus Semien or Colorado’s Trevor Story.

THE THING about free agents, though (and the reason Dipoto prefers trades), is that they’re generally guys who are pretty far along in their careers.

It’s tough to manage free agency much before you turn 30 — since you need six years of major league service time — which means that truly worthwhile players who are asking for big money and long contracts will be stretching deals out through their late thirties.

Semien hit 45 home runs and drove in 102 last year, but he’s already 31 and reportedly is seeking for a fat six-year contract.

Story boasts career average numbers of .271, 34 homers, 98 RBIs with an OPS of .893, and he’s a rare bird who is a free agent at just 28 years old.

Best of all, he could be affordable, more or less — and just because the Mariners have money to spend, no, it doesn’t mean they’re willing to be fleeced.


The only issue with Story is that, unlike Semien (a second baseman last year with the Jays), he’s never played anywhere but shortstop, and the Mariners are set at that spot with Gold Glover J.P. Crawford.

Dipoto is looking for someone who can play second or third, which makes you peek at someone like Kris Bryant of the Giants.

“However we do it,” Dipoto said, “we need a serious bat added to the infield, someone who can hit in the middle of the lineup.”

The M’s might be able to fill some other needs through trades, but the more you look at the available market, the more it seems that this impact infielder may have to come as a free agent.

And will be expensive.

YES, THERE are other holes to fill.

Although Dipoto has said repeatedly that he won’t bring someone aboard who might block the path of a promising youngster within the organization, he would like to find a “second-tier” starting pitcher and some infield depth.

That pitcher, by the way, could be Tyler Anderson — the veteran lefty plucked from the Pirates at midseason.

Anderson was solid but not spectacular, and Servais loved “solid” during the Mariners stretch run.

National reporters who specialize in leaks believe Dipoto likes two of San Francisco’s free agent pitchers, Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood.

DeSclafani will be 32 during the 2022 season, and had a great year for the Giants (13-7, 3.13 ERA), while Wood (31) was 10-4, 3.83.

Naysayers will note that Oracle Park is a pitcher’s paradise, but T-Mobile in Seattle is almost as friendly.

WHATEVER help the Mariners get to address their most glaring needs, they MUST get serious production from some of their own young stars.

Pitchers Logan Gilbert, Justin Dunn (injured most of this year), George Kirby and Brandon Williamson could fill out the rotation with just a little assistance.

Jarred Kelenic has to keep improving on the way he finished his rookie season, and hopefully 2020 AL Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis can recover from knee surgery to provide another loud bat.

And then there’s Julio Rodriguez, the Mariners’ most exciting prospect.

Can J-Rod make the jump from Double-A — after smashing minor league pitching — all the way to Seattle?

In the Mariners’ perfect world, the kids will develop and some proven veterans will fill those other needs.

One thing we know is that Dipoto is ready to get off and running.

Hunting for magic — and a hundred wins.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

He also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball which will run next week and be published weekly during the season.