Well, I'm pretty bored to be honest. It's been minutes since Jerry Dipoto last decided to get off his lazy laurels and make a trade and it's all gone a bit quiet on the Pacific Northwestern Front. So, since Jerry clearly reads and values the opinions of everyone here, I figured we should look at the non-tender pile to see if there are any gems just waiting to be plucked, dusted, and turned in to 2-3 wins like it is nobody's business. These are free agents simply wondering who will love them. We could, and maybe should.
The first group of players to consider is one's to fill an obvious hole. Let's see, looking here at this opening day lineup, it looks like right now we have a Bag of Beans hitting 7th and playing first so maybe we could do better. There are, interestingly enough, a couple real candidates in the non-tender group for a 1B/DH type and some are relatively exciting. Pedro Alvarez was an All-Star in 2014 and finds himself without a contract. As well, Chris Carter and Ike Davis are simply waiting for someone to roll them a groundball to practice turning a back door double play.
Another place of need is starting pitching, a position that someone like Yusmeiro Petit could come in and provide depth at the 4/5 spot of the rotation. With the Kuma signing taking more and more time and the pitching market pricing itself higher and higher, the chance of needing to get 25-Man quality depth at SP is becoming more and more pressing. Also, don't forget the appeal of watching near-perfect games. That's how you get butts in seats, folks.
Other considerations should be given to players like Aaron Crow and Steve Cishek to help fill out the Bullpen Pile. In the "Damaged Goods/ Potential Jerry Dipoto Bounce Back" category we have guys like Mike Minor and Henderson Alvarez. And do not forget that Will Middlebrooks now lurks without a contract. This is a player who has fallen so far off the radar that it almost seems impossible for him to not become a cult hero for a playoff team.
Listen, there is a reason all these players didn't get a contract. They are either coming off of bad years or injury, but that is also a player that Jerry seems to have confidence in extracting value from. A player like Alvarez can provide rest for Seager's off day (singular), and serve in some sort of 1B/DH platoon. Petit likely still has value in that arm in a park like Safeco, and Middlebrooks is just a wild card. There are players who lack contracts that will give value to a team that takes the flyer. The market is hard to judge here, but "value" is almost certain. Knowing Jerry, he is already sifting through the pile. Let's see if he picks anything out.