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There were only a handful of hitters that were gettable and I thought could do what we needed done (obviously I would have added Bryce Harper for instance, but he's not gettable).
We HAD to add more - I was absolutely against going into 2012 with the hitting roster as assembled.  We needed another MOTO hitter that we didn't have.  And for Sandy's plan to work, we needed them here for a long time.
My list had players like Alex Gordon (with an extension), Logan Morrison...and Jesus Montero.  But after we thumbed our noses at the Yankees on the Cliff Lee thing I figured grudges might have been held.  And maybe they were, hence Campos.  But I think the deal was pretty fair, if painful.
But it feels painful on both ends, as all good and fair deals should.
Now I'm good with going into 2012 with what we've got.  Jack's done his job.  Smoak doesn't have to carry all the heavy lifting, Carp doesn't have to be an impact player over his 500 ABs (though it'd be nice), there's some thump in the lineup to drive in Ackley and his soon-to-be-impressive OBP, and neither Franklin nor Catricala have to become MVP candidates to "save" this offense.
We still have lots of pieces in house to shuffle around as we find out who's working out and who isn't.  Could we make more trades?  Absolutely.  Trayvon's still sitting around and if Guti gets healthy one of em is expendable.  If Wells can play a decent CF then both might be, but good CF defense is one of the cornerstones of Safeco and a wonderful comfort to our pitching staff - and I like them to be comfortable.
Talent-wise, though, I feel good about what is now residing on the roster and in AAA.  The team I've been wanting the Mariners to build for a decade now is setting its foundations.
Cy Young candidate? check.
Cadre of power arms, both rotational and bullpen? check.
Multiple All-Stars in the lineup?  check.
Power? check.
OBP? check.
Core can be together for half a decade at least? Check.
Several major talents still in the minors to keep up the progression? Check.
Now we'll see if they can make some noise.
And I won't have to go into April and May knowing that if Smoak doesn't get it done, it's not getting done.
This feels like the Rays, bursting with young talent and a good pipeline.  If the AL West is turning into the AL East, then I'll be satisfied to be the Rays to Texas' NYY and the LAAAA version of the Sox.
Just with a little more payroll on our end, if you please.
~G