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The Mariners are in damage control mode following the resignation of CEO Kevin Mather following a bizarre video interview that caused considerable backlash on the organization. General manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais called the whole situation “embarrassing” during their meeting with the Seattle media this week (link via Corey Brock of Athletic). Dipoto sought to distance the organization from Mather’s comments, repeatedly pointing out that Mather was just one person and that his views were not shared across the organization.
Mather, of course, not only all but admitted to handling the service time of the best prospects in the organization, but also called Marco gonzales “Boring” said Kyle seager was ‘overpaid’ and in his final season as a Mariner – it is not clear if Seager expected to return after his current contract was concluded – and made derogatory comments about the obligation to pay translators for Japanese players while criticizing the top prospects Julio Rodriguezhis English skills spontaneously (among many other bizarre and sometimes disturbing comments).
Mather said in his interview that the best outside prospect Jarred Kelenic turned down a long-term contract offer, and he narrowly stopped before making it clear how they planned to delay his MLB debut to gain another year of team control. Mather said Kelenic will not be on the opening day roster regardless of the spring performance, but will be in the Majors by the end of April. It’s true that most teams do, but public admission of this nature fuels an MLBPA grievance and only further fuels the flames in impending collective bargaining.
Unsurprisingly, Mather’s comments did not match Kelenic’s camp well. Agent Brodie Scoffield and Kelenic himself spoke to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale yesterday, and both sides have indicated that Kelenic would have been in the Majors last year had he been ready to sign the bid for extension proposed by the Mariners before the 2020 season.
Scoffield told Nightengale it had been “made clear to Jarred” that the decision to keep him at the Mariners’ alternate training site for the 2020 season was driven by serving time. “There is no doubt that if he had signed this contract he would have been in the big leagues,” said Scoffield. Kelenic himself agreed, saying it was “God’s honest truth” that the fact had been communicated to him several times. “He’s aged,” Kelenic said.
While Dipoto clearly wanted to distance himself as much as possible from Mather’s comments, he dismissed the idea that the Mariners had deliberately decided to play on the duty time mechanism.
“I don’t know how you interpret the manipulation of serving time with a 21-year-old who has played 20 games over the A-ball and has yet to make 800 home plate appearances as a professional player,” said the general manager. It’s a rather dubious claim, however. First and foremost, the use of games played is a clearly flawed benchmark after a year in which no minor league games have taken place. Second, Mather’s simple acknowledgment that Kelenic wouldn’t open the year with the Mariners but be in late April only further underscores the duty-time element of the situation.
Despite all the negative attention surrounding the situation and his palpable frustration, Kelenic stressed to Nightengale that he was fully committed to the Mariners’ organization. Citing the love of the fans, the city of Seattle and his teammates, Kelenic said, “If anything, I’m more motivated to bring a World Series championship to Seattle.”
It should also be noted that the door on a potential extension with the Mariners is not closed due to this public inconvenience. Scoffield told MLBTR that he and Kelenic would always listen to the Mariners’ new proposals, if they wanted to work out another offer. It’s unclear whether common ground can ultimately be reached at this time, but at the very least, Mariners fans should be encouraged that the relationship does not appear to be fractured in any way.
The specifics of the Mariners’ original proposal are not known, but not all contracts for pre-MLB players are created equal. Kelenic’s teammate, Evan white, signed a six-year, $ 24 million contract before making his debut – a pact very similar to that signed by Philadelphia Scott kingery. White Sox Left Thief Eloy Jimenez and central defender Luis Robert, on the other hand, signed six-year pacts worth $ 43 million and $ 50 million, respectively, before making their own debuts.
The question for the Mariners now is whether they will try a new deal, stay the course by keeping Kelenic in Triple-A to open the season, or bite the bullet and put him on the same opening day roster. without a long term. treat in place. Calling him to the Majors shortly after his time on duty had been sufficiently limited would, after all this attention, be one of the brazenest examples of service manipulation in recent memory. Kelenic previously spoke to Nightengale about how the now-ex-CEO’s comments “widened the gap” between the front office and the locker room, adding that Dipoto’s attempt to sort things out with players was “strange” and not particularly well received.
It is a horrible situation in every way. However, while Gonzales admitted to Brock that Mather’s words were “hurtful and personal” to much of the clubhouse, including himself, it could in some ways have a unifying effect on the clubhouse. “Sometimes common goals can unite you,” Gonzales said. “… Sometimes a common enemy can do the same, if not more.”
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