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Mariners SEA

199790–72 (0.556)Made Playoffs
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GM: Woody Woodward

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1997, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$43M
Surplus $M
+8
Win %
0.556
TAB
+13.9
WAB
+6.9
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
49.2
Dead money %
23%
Depth Players
9.0
Dead WAR
-4.5

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1997 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RDan Wilson144
RJohn Marzano37
LRick Wilkins⇄5

1B

LPaul Sorrento139
RMike Blowers49
RRich Amaral14
REdgar Martinez7
RDan Rohrmeier3
BBrent Gates1

2B

BJoey Cora142
BBrent Gates21
RAlvaro Espinoza14
RRich Amaral11
RAndy Sheets2
BGiomar Guevara2

3B

RRuss Davis117
BBrent Gates32
RAndy Sheets21
RMike Blowers10
RBrian Raabe⇄2
RAlvaro Espinoza1
REdgar Martinez1
RRich Amaral1

SS

RAlex Rodriguez140
RAlvaro Espinoza17
RAndy Sheets9
BBrent Gates5
BGiomar Guevara1
RRich Amaral1

LF

LRob Ducey43
RRich Amaral39
BLee Tinsley34
RRoberto Kelly⇄29
RMike Blowers5
LRaul Ibanez2
BBrent Gates1
LKen Griffey Jr.1

CF

LKen Griffey Jr.153
LRob Ducey12
RRich Amaral9
BLee Tinsley6
RRoberto Kelly⇄2

RF

RJay Buhner154
LRob Ducey19
RRich Amaral6
LRaul Ibanez6
BLee Tinsley2
RMike Blowers1

DH

REdgar Martinez144
LKen Griffey Jr.4
RAlex Rodriguez1
RDan Rohrmeier1
RJay Buhner1
LRick Wilkins⇄1
RRuss Davis1

Starters

LRandy Johnson7.0 WAR
LJeff Fassero5.0 WAR
LJamie Moyer3.2 WAR
RKen Cloude0.3 WAR
RBob Wells0.2 WAR
ROmar Olivares⇄0.1 WAR
RDerek Lowe⇄0.0 WAR
RBob Wolcott-0.1 WAR
RFelipe Lira⇄-0.3 WAR
RDennis Martinez-0.4 WAR
REdwin Hurtado-0.5 WAR
RScott Sanders⇄-0.6 WAR

Bullpen

★ RHeathcliff Slocumb⇄27 sv
RBobby Ayala0 h
LNorm Charlton0 h
RBob Wells0 h
LGreg McCarthy0 h
RMike Timlin⇄0 h
LPaul Spoljaric⇄0 h
RJosias Manzanillo0 h

Each position shows its top 3 by games (top = starter) — click "+more" for the rest. The letter is bats/throws; ⇄ marks a player traded mid-season. Starters are ranked by WAR, bullpen by holds; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.

Key additions (new vs 1996)

PlayerfWAR
Jeff Fassero5.0
José Cruz Jr.1.5
Roberto Kelly1.0
Rob Ducey1.0
Mike Blowers0.5
Heathcliff Slocumb0.4

Key subtractions (gone from 1996)

Player1996 fWAR
Sterling Hitchcock2.7
Darren Bragg1.9
Mark Whiten1.6
Terry Mulholland1.2
Dave Hollins1.1
Mike Jackson0.7

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Mariners. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1997; everyone else is shown as a 1997 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Ken Griffey Jr. 1997 +9.0 +147.4 7.9 +139.5 $0.9M 2.05× –
Randy Johnson 1997 +7.0 +139.9 6.3 +133.6 $0.9M 2.50× –
Jeff Fassero 1997 +5.0 +87.6 3.5 +84.1 $0.7M 2.19× –
Edgar Martinez 1997 +6.1 +82.7 3.0 +79.6 $0.5M 1.71× –
Jamie Moyer 1997 +3.2 +50.8 1.7 +49.1 $0.5M 1.96× –
Alex Rodriguez 1997 +4.3 +45.1 1.1 +44.1 $0.2M 1.32× –
Jay Buhner 1997 +3.0 +38.3 4.8 +33.5 $1.6M 1.60× –
Dan Wilson 1997 +3.5 +31.4 1.1 +30.3 $0.3M 1.12× –
José Cruz Jr.↔ 1997 +1.5 +14.7 0.1 +14.7 $0.0M 1.22× –
Paul Sorrento 1997 +2.3 +15.0 1.5 +13.5 $0.7M 0.81× –
Russ Davis 1997 +1.6 +10.7 0.2 +10.5 $0.1M 0.85× –
Joey Cora 1997 +1.6 +10.4 1.0 +9.4 $0.6M 0.82× –
Roberto Kelly↔ 1997 +1.0 +6.8 0.2 +6.6 $0.2M 0.83× –
Rob Ducey 1997 +1.0 +6.7 0.2 +6.5 $0.2M 0.83× –
Bobby Ayala 1997 +0.5 +5.2 0.9 +4.3 $1.8M 1.34× –
Heathcliff Slocumb↔ 1997 +0.4 +4.4 0.8 +3.6 $2.0M 1.34× –
Mike Timlin↔ 1997 +0.3 +3.1 0.5 +2.6 $1.8M 1.34× –
Mike Blowers 1997 +0.5 +2.4 0.4 +2.0 $0.7M 0.56× –
Paul Spoljaric↔ 1997 +0.4 +2.1 0.1 +2.0 $0.2M 0.67× –
Lee Tinsley 1997 +0.2 +1.6 0.4 +1.2 $1.7M 0.83× –
Greg McCarthy 1997 +0.2 +0.8 0.2 +0.7 $1.0M 0.67× –
Bob Wells 1997 +0.2 +0.9 0.3 +0.6 $1.7M 0.67× –
Omar Olivares↔ 1997 +0.1 +0.9 0.4 +0.5 $3.7M 1.02× –
John Marzano 1997 +0.1 +0.4 0.2 +0.2 $2.5M 0.52× –
Rick Wilkins↔ 1997 +0.1 +0.2 0.1 +0.1 $2.8M 0.52× –
Tim Davis 1997 +0.0 +0.1 0.2 -0.1 $10.9M 0.67× –
Salomon Torres↔ 1997 -0.0 -0.2 0.0 -0.2 – 0.67× –
Brian Raabe↔ 1997 -0.0 -0.2 0.1 -0.3 – 0.58× –
Bob Wolcott 1997 -0.1 -0.4 0.2 -0.6 – 1.02× –
Josias Manzanillo 1997 -0.2 -1.2 0.2 -1.4 – 0.67× –
Felipe Lira↔ 1997 -0.3 -1.7 0.1 -1.8 – 0.67× –
Brent Gates 1997 -0.4 -1.7 0.3 -2.0 – 0.58× –
Edwin Hurtado 1997 -0.5 -2.8 0.2 -3.0 – 0.67× –
Raul Ibanez 1997 -0.4 -2.8 0.1 -3.0 – 0.83× –
Rich Amaral 1997 -0.4 -2.4 0.6 -3.0 – 0.83× –
Scott Sanders↔ 1997 -0.6 -3.2 0.9 -4.1 – 0.67× –
Norm Charlton 1997 -0.2 -2.2 3.0 -5.1 – 1.34× –
Andy Sheets 1997 +0.0 +0.2 0.2 +0.0 $3.9M 0.58× –
Alvaro Espinoza 1997 -0.6 -3.0 – – – 0.61× –
Dan Rohrmeier 1997 +0.1 +0.6 – – – 0.56× –
Dennis Martinez 1997 -0.4 -3.4 – – – 1.02× –
Derek Lowe↔ 1997 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 1.02× –
Giomar Guevara 1997 -0.2 -0.9 – – – 0.56× –
Ken Cloude 1997 +0.3 +2.8 – – – 1.02× –
Mark Holzemer 1997 +0.1 +0.3 – – – 0.67× –
Mike Maddux 1997 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.67× –
Rafael Carmona 1997 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.67× –
Total—+49.2+687.243.0+648.2—

Trades

Every graded 1997 deal involving the Mariners — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 6 total.

1997 · COL / SEA
COL · Bob Gebhard +$0.0M
Brian Raabe
SEA · Woody Woodward +$0.0M
Donnie Schmidt
Even trade
1997 · MIN / SEA
MIN · Terry Ryan +$16.0M
Joe Mays, Jeromy Palki
SEA · Woody Woodward −$16.0M
Roberto Kelly
MIN came out ahead by $16.0M
1997 · SEA / SDP
SEA · Woody Woodward +$0.8M
Andrés Berumen
SDP · Kevin Towers −$0.8M
Paul Menhart
SEA came out ahead by $0.8M
1997 · BOS / SEA
BOS · Dan Duquette +$164.0M
Derek Lowe, Jason Varitek
SEA · Woody Woodward −$164.0M
Heathcliff Slocumb
BOS came out ahead by $164.0M
1997 · DET / SEA
DET · Randy Smith +$1.6M
Dean Crow, Scott Sanders, Carlos Villalobos
SEA · Woody Woodward −$1.6M
Felipe Lira, Omar Olivares
DET came out ahead by $1.6M
1997 · TOR / SEA
TOR · Gord Ash +$80.0M
José Cruz
SEA · Woody Woodward −$80.0M
Paul Spoljaric, Mike Timlin
TOR came out ahead by $80.0M

Current & Historical Payroll

1997 payroll
$43.0M

What the front office was committed to as of 1997, 1997–2003. Pre-2015 has no contract-terms data — forward italic $ are realized actuals (hindsight, not commitments known then). Control labels (ARB/FA) are point-in-time.

current $ guaranteed $ actual $ (hindsight) arbitration (proj) pre-arb (proj) free agent

Guaranteed / signed (22)

PlayerAgeSvc1997199819992000200120022003
Ken Griffey Jr.278.000$7.9M$8.2M$8.8MFREE AGENT
Randy Johnson339.000$6.3M$4.1MFREE AGENT
Jay Buhner3210.000$4.8M$5.4M$4.8M$1.4M$1.9MFREE AGENT
Jeff Fassero346.000$3.5M$5.0M$4.1MFREE AGENT
Edgar Martinez3410.000$3.0M$3.5M$3.5M$5.4M$5.5M$7.1M$4.0M
Norm Charlton349.000$3.0MFREE AGENT
Jamie Moyer3411.000$1.7M$2.0M$2.3M$6.0M$6.5M$6.5M$6.5M
Paul Sorrento318.000$1.5MFREE AGENT
Joey Cora3210.000$1.0M$1.4MFREE AGENT
Heathcliff Slocumb316.000$817k$3.0MFREE AGENT
Rich Amaral356.000$550k$550kFREE AGENT
Mike Timlin316.000$528k$3.0MFREE AGENT
Omar Olivares297.000$418kFREE AGENT
Mike Blowers328.000$400kFREE AGENT
John Marzano3410.000$250k$300kFREE AGENT
Roberto Kelly3210.000$214kFREE AGENT
Rob Ducey3210.000$200k$375kFREE AGENT
Josias Manzanillo296.000$200kFREE AGENT
Rick Wilkins306.000$141k$336kFREE AGENT
Alvaro Espinoza3513.000—FREE AGENT
Mike Maddux3511.000—FREE AGENT
Dennis Martinez4321.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (12)

PlayerAgeSvc1997199819992000200120022003
Dan Wilson285.000$1.1MFREE AGENT
Alex Rodriguez213.000$1.1MARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Scott Sanders284.000$913kARB 3FREE AGENT
Bobby Ayala275.000$900kFREE AGENT
Lee Tinsley284.000$400kARB 3FREE AGENT
Brent Gates274.000$300kARB 3FREE AGENT
Bob Wells303.000$280kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tim Davis263.000$218kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Russ Davis273.000$185kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Paul Spoljaric263.000$65kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Salomon Torres254.000$25kARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Holzemer274.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (13)

PlayerAgeSvc1997199819992000200120022003
Bob Wolcott232.000$195kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Edwin Hurtado272.000$155kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Andy Sheets251.000$152kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Greg McCarthy281.000$151kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Raul Ibanez251.000$150kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Felipe Lira252.000$81kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Raabe292.000$80kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
José Cruz Jr.230.000$71kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rafael Carmona252.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ken Cloude220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Giomar Guevara240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Derek Lowe240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Dan Rohrmeier31–—

Graphs

How each 1997 acquisition stacked onto Mariners's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

Rosternomics — front-office performance, roster value, and transaction history. Follow @rosternomics on X.
Decision-maker records extend to 1933; resource-controlled WAR and payroll metrics cover 1985–2026. Data sources include FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, the Chadwick Bureau register, the Lahman Database, prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs, and public payroll records. Transaction and trade data was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Executive birth/death data via Wikidata (CC0).
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