Commentary: To do very little at the trade deadline would be as Mariner as it gets

I get the impression that the majority of fans will be left once again shrugging their shoulders.

We’re now just two days from the Major League Baseball trade deadline, and the question remains: Will the Mariners be buyers or sellers?

But it would be even more on brand if, on Tuesday night, we looked back on the deadline and asked: So, were they buyers or sellers? Because I can’t really tell.

I say "on brand," only because we seem to be right about where we are all the time with this team – at least, in terms of performance and record. For the number of pessimists lamenting the underperformance so far this season, you’ll find at least a handful touting their 16-9 record in the month of July and the fact that they’re only 4.5 games out of the final wild card spot, 5.5 games out of the division lead.

To which I say, isn’t that where they always seem to be? In this perpetual state of "within reasonable reach" of a wildcard spot, not really contenting for a divisional title, but just kind of hanging around?

For a team that finally reached the playoffs after two decades – and one that did so in such incredible fashion, making us all believe this season would be the breakthrough year – it’s simply exhausting to feel like we’re right back in this same place again. Now, I’m not saying they don’t have the right pieces for the future. But it also feels like we’re constantly banging our heads against the wall seeing the same results in the standings.

The Mariners are on pace to win just over 83 games this season. Even if they overperform down the stretch and win 90 games, there’s still no guarantee of a playoff spot.

And to miss the postseason one year after finally shattering that seemingly impossible playoff ceiling, would equate to a major stepback for an organization that is so accustomed to falling short.

So I’m just going with the easy explanation as always, because, for as much as I want to blame Jerry Dipoto or Scott Servais – and believe me, both are culpable – the Mariners continue to be in the bottom half of the league in payroll, despite being one of the most profitable teams in baseball. And the below-average spending usually, not always but usually, ends with less-than-desirable results.

Now, I get it: This season at least, the Top 3 teams in payroll – the Mets, Yankees and Padres – have been pretty disappointing. But then there’s the Rangers, who are spending 106 million dollars more than Seattle – fourth most in all of baseball – and, how about that? They’re in first place in the AL West.

Do not get me wrong: I love a team that overperforms. I loved the underdog story of the Mariners coming from nowhere to clinch a playoff spot last season. And I continue to hold out hope that they do something similar again – and go even further this year. I enjoy this team, these players, and the joy they bring when they play good baseball.

But it doesn’t take away the current state of affairs: The push and pull of whether to buy or sell, once again with eyes on NEXT season, and not necessarily the rest of this one. Barring some unforeseen blockbuster trade, I get the impression that the majority of fans will be left once again shrugging their shoulders.

And if we really don’t know whether the Mariners were buyers or sellers after this deadline is over? It wouldn’t get more Mariner than that.