The Adrian Gonzalez Trade And My Offseason Nightmare

As you've probably heard by now, the Red Sox are on the verge of trading for Adrian Gonzalez and signing him to a long-term contract extension. The trade, on its own, isn't particularly surprising - the Red Sox have been after Gonzalez for a couple years, now, and he wasn't about to re-sign with San Diego - and, in isolation, it isn't even that upsetting. However, when viewed in a greater context, holy crap could this be the worst offseason ever.

Let's run down some of the big names, and discuss their situations a little bit:

Adrian Gonzalez: he's going to Boston, and he's going to play there for a while.

Adrian Beltre: he no longer has a place in Boston, with Gonzalez at first and Kevin Youkilis sliding over to third, but his hottest suitor has been the A's, with the Angels also involved.

Jayson Werth: the Red Sox are highly interested in Werth, and still have the budget room to sign him, even after getting Gonzalez.

Carl Crawford: Crawford's most active suitors - the Rangers, Yankees, Red Sox, and Angels.

Cliff Lee: that the Nationals think they have a chance is precious, as Lee will either return to the Rangers or join CC Sabathia at the front for the Yankees.

Zack Greinke: while the Royals may not end up trading Greinke this winter, the Rangers are reportedly trying to get him, regardless of what happens with Lee.

Rafael Soriano: arguably the best reliever available has reportedly been identified as a top Angels priority.

Seven players, seven elite-level talents, all of which are strongly connected to either the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Angels, the Rangers, or the A's. In other words, seven elite-level talents, all of which are strongly connected to either my least favorite teams in baseball, or direct division rivals of the Mariners. The Mariners, by the way, aren't expected to do much of anything, and their sexiest move may end up being the re-signing of Erik Bedard.

I know that nothing in baseball is guaranteed. I know that the winning teams may end up regretting the prices they'll pay for each of the players above. But while I get that a lot of star players shift around every offseason, I'm really not wild about those star players shifting around in such a way as to make my baseball experience less pleasant. I want the Mariners to win. If the Mariners can't win, then I want some underdogs from other divisions to succeed. This offseason is on course to make both those things way less likely.

I'll let the winter play out as it will, but I'm preparing myself to hate it.