Mariners Moose Tracks, 11/26/16: Hall of Fame Season, Felix and Guti Mannequin Challenge, and Romero Signs

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful Black Friday, whether or not you partook in the shopping spree (I did not). While Thanksgiving coming and going likely means it’s winter holiday season for most people, it also marks a special time for baseball fans: the start of Hall of Fame season.

This is a convenient time to direct you over to Kate’s wonderful #EdgarHOF series. Here’s her latest post. While last year’s voting numbers don’t bode well for Edgar to get in this year, it’s entirely possible that a large swath of the voters have a change of heart. Let’s all hope this is the year Edgar gets what he deserves.

Now, on to the rest of the day’s news.

In Mariners news...

• Bob Dutton has a writeup on some of the latest minor happenings for the M’s, including a breakdown on the team’s signing of righty Lindsey Caughel.
• In an ESPN Insider piece, Buster Olney likes the way Jerry Dipoto is setting the team up for 2017 success.
• Felix Hernandez’s and Franklin Gutierrez’s families came together for one big Mannequin Challenge.

• Taijuan Walker’s departure from the team makes James Paxton’s success even more crucial for the Mariners in 2017, writes Joe Clarkin from Beyond the Box Score.
• Stefen Romero has already inked a contract with the Orix Buffaloes of the NPB. Reports indicate he will make seven figures, which is more than he ever made in a season in Seattle.

Around the league...

• Don’t be surprised if these big names get moved this offseason, writes David Schoenfeld at ESPN.
• The Braves have signed utilityman Sean Rodriguez to a multi-year deal. The only thing I ever remember about Rodriguez is that when he was a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, he got stung by a real ray.
• Three Hall of Fame ballots have gone public so far. This is your yearly reminder to follow Ryan Thibs on Twitter, who keeps track of all public ballots as they come in. Once the sample sizes get big enough, his vote tracker is usually pretty predictive of who has a real shot at getting voted in.

Anders’ picks...

• A Woodland Park Zoo raccoon was tasked with picking the winner of the Apple Cup before the game. Was she right? You’ll have to see.
• Likely missed in the Apple Cup mayhem was the UW men’s basketball team coming away with a strong victory over Western Kentucky. Here’s the writeup from our SB Nation comrades over at UW Dawg Pound.