THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: How we — and you — think the M's roster will be reshaped

By the time you read this, Jerry Dipoto may have shaken up the Mariners roster.

Admittedly, it’s only been a few hours since I typed these thoughts — and most of that time came in the middle of the night — but never underestimate the Mariners boss.

Jerry is open for business 24 hours per day.

Every day.

Not only that, but we know the Mariners intend to make dramatic additions to the team that won 90 games a year ago.

Dipoto would probably prefer to do it via trades, and he’s got perhaps the deepest farm system in all of baseball to draw from when discussing deals.

There is also free agency, however, and Seattle has at least $100 million freed up to hunt at the top of the talent pool.

Declining Kyle Seager’s $20 million club option, and then having Yusei Kikuchi turn down his own $13 million player option has left the Mariners with very, very few financial commitments for 2022.

YOU KNOW most of this, I suspect, judging from the emails we’ve received — almost all suggesting players the Mariners should sign, or acquire in trades.

I shouldn’t have been surprised, but by midday Tuesday, our readers have tossed out the names of 58 players that Dipoto should be looking to add.

No offense, but that would make the squad a little unwieldy.

Adding 58 new stars to a 40-man roster also would stretch MLB’s roster limits.

Now, I’m not saying that Dipoto won’t land ANY of the 58 uncovered by our amateur talent scouts.

Seattle is almost certain to spend big on someone from the deepest shortstop class that anyone can remember.

The Mariners need a player who can move to second or third, however, since they’re covered at short with J.P. Crawford.

Most baseball insiders think the M’s will wind up signing Marcus Semien, who shifted to second last season and hit 45 home runs for Toronto.

Semien has earned a deal in the range of $130 million for six years — although the Mariners would prefer to slice that to five since Semien is already 31.

We know that Dipoto has already begun talks with Semien’s representatives, so — right now, at least — he’s on the short list.

My personal choice among the available shortstops would be Corey Seager, who is four years younger than Semien — but the less-than-pleasant departure of Corey’s brother, Kyle, from the Mariners roster after 10 seasons would probably rule that out.

OK, SO we know Dipoto intends to land an infielder with a live bat.

Jerry has said that much himself.

Now …

What else?

Surely, the Mariners want a starting pitcher. They have plenty of young talent getting close to the major league level, but don’t want to rush anyone.

They may well re-sign lefty Tyler Anderson, but I suspect they also want someone a bit higher up the food chain.

My favorite among reasonable free-agent pitchers?

Eduardo Rodriguez, another left-hander who has received a qualifying offer ($18.4 million) from the Red Sox.

I suspect Rodriguez will decline that offer and try the market.

He’s good, he’s healthy, he’ll only be 29 next season, and he’s probably be worth $25 million per year for five years.

Next …

After that glamor infielder and a reliable starter, the Mariners can begin adding depth pieces — and they’ll have the cash to do it.

As for us …

Sometime soon, we’ll discuss how Dipoto might view his outfield situation — and whether or not they keep alive their 24-year streak of having at least one Japanese player on the roster.

Yep, the intriguing case of Seiya Suzuki is next on our menu.

Stick around.

Email: [email protected]

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 is published weekly during the season.