If they don't add more, what was the point of this? My contention was that the roster at 70 wins (if that low) could add enough to be high 80's/low 90's. Adding Cano might be adding 4 or 5 but adding only a few more would be a mistake. I don't think there is reasoning to add Cano and not add another premium player or 3. From Zduriencik talking about it, it sounds like he wants to add multiple but I can see questioning whether Choo, Granderson, Beltran, Kemp etc. are still on the wishlist. It just seems to me that this first step makes sense only if another 10+wins are added.
Franklin, Ackley and Taylor all look like possible trade bait. Smoak is expendable as soon as Peterson is ready. It really does change the infield situation a lot, but essentially adds to their trade stock too. Enough to possibly get a bat and an arm or 2 (rotation and bullpen) without killing the depth. Added to Bloomquist, the roster spots for middle infielders just got eaten up.
First domino: the "pushover" reputation.
Maybe the supposed showdown between the aging exec and the music mogol was all overblown (and it seems that both sides blinked), but, if nothing else, the Mariners somehow managed to both get the big fish and bolster their "manhood" (if folks are still allowed to use that word) at the same time.
In other words, they got it done, but not by wildly and desparately bidding against themselves. Or, if they did, the little dust-up made it look more like they didn't.
Second domino: second base.
So Nick Franklin was ticketed there, supplanting Dustin Ackley who was ticketed there before, and there was assorted talk of D.J. Peterson pushing Kyle Seager over there, and here comes Chris Taylor, and ...
Suddenly moot.
Cano is there until he can't be, and that will be awhile.
Ackley has some level of value in the outfield, and the team is short of guys out there, so maybe they keep him, but Franklin is instantly someone the M's will need to move.
But it wouldn't shock to see both Ackley and Franklin moved for other pieces of the puzzle. With Brad Miller and Cano set for the middle of the field, it seems pretty unlikely that either Ackley or Franklin will ever play at their most-premium defensive spot for Seattle.
And with Taylor and Peterson moving up quickly, they will have some infield depth.
Third domino: outfield.
Since the "big add" ended up in the infield, that means, presumably, that the outfield will get "secondary adds."
Would they add Cano and one of the surplus high-priced Dodgers? It seems doubtful, but maybe. At least you're only going out five or six more years there, and the better the prospects (as in: Franklin and/or Ackley), the more the Dodgers subsidize.
Shin-soo Choo? Hard to envision now.
Nelson Cruz theoretically plays outfield, but I'd view him more as a replacement for Kendrys Morales at DH.
Fourth domino: DH/1b.
Morales remains a possibility, given the draft pick attached to him for other teams, and clearly they'll have money set aside for this spot. Mike Napoli, Corey Hart and Cruz (and Mark Reynolds -- yes, moe) are all still available.
I'm warming to the idea of Hart, myself. He's coming off a missed season due to a knee injury, but he might be an interesting risk. He seems like less of a risk than signing Cruz for big dollars.
Fifth domino: pitching
If Cano changes anything with pitching, it's mostly that it makes Franklin and Ackley more available for trades.
After looking at Ubaldo Jimenez, I'm rather more interested in giving him a chance than giving up a bunch for David Price. But if Price can be gotten for non-uber-prime guys (as in: not Taijuan Walker) (or, as in: a bit more than what snagged Doug Fister), then I'm good with that.