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I don't think we really disagree on that much (though I don't agree that the utility infielder is the "25th roster slot" - it's a much more important position than 5th OF or 7th bullpen arm, but that's quibbling). There's a moderate amount of value on being able to count on your utility INF for somewhere between 0 and 0.5 wins (to use the language of WAR) with a high degree of probability, and the Mariners have gotten burned by a lot of below replacement level talent in recent years. And he's got grit, and intangibles, and a good attidude, and grittatude, and all that junk.
What we're left with is the consensus that this is a defensible but pretty questionable move with limited downside. This is the kind of move that makes people say "meh" when they otherwise trust their FO on the big moves. On a bad team where the FO has lost the fans' trust, though, it's further confirmation of the notion that they don't know what they're doing and value the wrong things. I'm somewhere in the middle. The degree that the FO decided to overpay Bloomquist doesn't matter to me much in isolation, but it raises all sorts of red flags about what other skillsets they overvalue, since we know that more big moves are coming.