Seattle, WA
Seattle Mariners Check-In: How trade deadline looks a month later
It may be easy to forget considering how much has happened in the last month for the first-place Seattle Mariners, but it really wasn’t that long ago that the team made a few moves ahead of the MLB trade deadline.
Sunday: Alonso powers Mets as Mariners lose 6-3, drop series
At the time, the Mariners’ activity before the Aug. 1 deadline left a lot of people scratching their heads. Seattle’s big move was to send Paul Sewald, their closer and one of the best relievers in baseball over the past three seasons, to the Arizona Diamondbacks for three hitters – one rookie, one prospect, and one 29-year-old infielder with no homers in 59 games this year.
It didn’t exactly scream of a team getting serious about making a run at a division title, did it?
Of course, we know what’s happened since. The Mariners will go into the first week of September leading the American League West, having ripped off a 23-8 record since dealing Sewald away on July 31. And yes, the players Seattle got in the return from Arizona have played notable roles in that success.
Current MLB Standings: Division | Wild Card
Let’s take a look at what the players involved in the Seattle Mariners’ moves in the days before the trade deadline have done since.
Seattle Mariners check-in
• The move: Seattle Mariners trade Paul Sewald to Arizona Diamondbacks for Dominic Canzone, Josh Rojas and Ryan Bliss
This trade looked plenty familiar to Mariners fans. Much like the Kendall Graveman deal in 2021 that saw Seattle sell high on a veteran reliever for young, controllable offensive help, the Mariners seized on the trade value of the 33-year-old Sewald that likely would never be higher. And like the Graveman trade, this wasn’t exactly popular at the time among the fan base.
Fortunately, the lefty-hitting duo of Canzone and Rojas have been much-needed upgrades at the plate for the Mariners.
Rojas immediately stepped in as half of a platoon at second base, taking over for the disappointing Kolten Wong, who was let go to make room for Rojas on the roster (more on Wong later). Rojas came to Seattle with troubling stats – .228/.292/.296 slash, .588 OPS, no home runs in 59 games – but has flourished offensively with his new team. In 23 games for the M’s, Rojas has a .278/.316/.431 slash for a .747 OPS with three homers.
Stay hot, @JoshRojass! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XCNTnjzYXB
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 26, 2023
The 26-year-old rookie Canzone, meanwhile, had played in just 15 MLB games with Arizona before the deal, and was struggling to find playing in a time in a D-backs outfield flush with young talent. Their loss has been Seattle’s gain, with Canzone ripping four homers and slashing .253/.293/.471 for a .764 OPS in 25 games for the Mariners. He’s provided some much-needed thump from the left side of the plate, including with homers in back-to-back games this weekend in New York, while Jarred Kelenic has been working his way back from a broken foot.
Perhaps most notable with Canzone is the amount of pop he showed on a prodigious solo blast off the windows in right field at T-Mobile Park against the Orioles on Aug. 13 (with two outs in the ninth inning and the M’s down a run, no less).
As clutch as it gets. pic.twitter.com/GE3du6mQ5O
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 13, 2023
Don’t forget about Bliss, either. The 23-year-old second baseman may only be 5 foot 6 and 165 pounds, but he’s been showing with Triple-A Tacoma that he packs a punch. In fact, he hit a home run in each of his first two at-bats on Sunday, giving him five in 29 games with the Rainiers. His averages need some work still (.213 batting, .681 OPS this year in Triple-A), but his power and speed combination (12 steals on 15 attempts with Tacoma) is intriguing.
As for Sewald, things got off to a rocky start in Arizona. He didn’t get a chance to pitch after joining the D-backs for nearly a week, and he blew his first save chance for Arizona, which came in his second appearance. He’s gotten on track for the most part since, posting a scoreless inning of work in 10 of the 12 games his number has been called, registering eight saves in 10 opportunities. Maybe the best part is that he showed he still appreciates the fans in the Pacific Northwest. After locking up a save for Arizona against AL West rival Texas on Aug. 22, Sewald shared this message on social media:
We got you PNW 🫶🏻
— Paul Sewald (@ItsPaulSewald) August 23, 2023
Moving forward without Sewald hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the Mariners, though. The bullpen clearly misses his ability to close out games, as Seattle has blown five saves since the trade. That’s tied for 10th in MLB since July 31, though luckily for Seattle, the leader over that period is Texas at 12 blown saves. On the other hand, the Mariners’ other key competition for the division, the Houston Astros, have blown just one save over that time, tied for best in baseball.
• The move: Seattle Mariners designate Kolten Wong for assignment
Wong, 32, landed with the Dodgers organization after the Mariners DFA’d and then released the veteran second baseman. He appeared in five games in the minors, including a three-game stint with Triple-A Oklahoma City where he went 7 for 13 with a homer and two doubles, and received a quick call up to Los Angeles.
So after hitting .165 with two homers and a .468 OPS in 67 games for the Mariners, what did he do upon joining the Dodgers on Friday? Oh, just homered in his first plate appearance. Did you expect anything else?
First Dodger at-bat for Kolten Wong? Homer. pic.twitter.com/vjsD1BkWCE
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 2, 2023
According to the Dodger Insider account on X, Wong said he made some mechanical adjustments in his short time in the minors that appear to be paying off.
• The move: Seattle Mariners trade AJ Pollock and Mark Mathias to San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later.
Pollock, like Wong, was another offseason veteran addition who never found his footing in Seattle, so this move allowed Seattle to get something back for a hitter whose playing time was likely running out. As for Mathias, the veteran infielder was an in-season waiver addition who never made it past Tacoma after joining the organization.
The 35-year-old Pollock was on the injured list at the time of the trade with a hamstring strain, and he landed back on the IL on Aug. 9 after just five games with San Francisco with an oblique strain. He is 0 for 6 in a Giants uniform so far.
Mathias, 29, has played five games with San Francisco, hitting 2 for 10.
More on the M’s from Seattle Sports
• What should M’s do with Teoscar Hernández this offseason? Morosi weighs in
• Key to Mariners’ historic August? Something they doubled down on
• Mariners add Haggerty and Leone to MLB club as rosters expand
• Drayer: Mariners enter September having turned the tables
• Seattle Mariners Breakdown — Will amazing August lead to AL West title?
Seattle, WA
Manhunt underway for Mason County shooting suspect
MASON COUNTY, Wash. – The Mason County Sheriff’s Office is currently searching for a convicted felon wanted in a recent shooting.
The sheriff’s office says Michael Allen Beyer is wanted for first-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Deputies believe Beyer was involved in a shooting that happened in Belfair on January 6.
Beyer is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him, do not approach him and call 911 immediately.
Anyone with information regarding Beyer’s whereabouts is asked to call Detective Helser at 360-427-9670 x657, or Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
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Seattle, WA
Two more Seattle restaurants close due to minimum wage hike
Two more Seattle restaurants are calling it quits thanks to the untenable minimum wage hike.
At the same time that the Seattle minimum wage rose from $19.97 an hour to $20.76 an hour, the city ended the tip credit of $2.72. Under the previous rules, restaurants were able to pay $17.25 hourly wage if their staff earned at least $2.72 in tips per hour. But as cost of business continues to skyrocket in Seattle, a minimum wage hike without a tip credit is simply untenable for many small businesses.
Jackson’s Catfish Corner in Seattle’s Central District closed its doors in this new year. In an interview with Converge Media, owner Terrell Jackson argued Seattle is too expensive to operate in.
“I know that the minimum wages went up to 20 bucks an hour … I know that’s hard for my business as a small Black business,” Jackson said. “I’m not Amazon or Walgreens or Walmart who can pay their employees that much.”
Jackson isn’t alone in his complaints.
More from Jason Rantz: Panic as Seattle restaurants may not survive massive minimum wage shift
A second West Seattle eatery closes, citing the minimum wage hike
Bel Gatto, a bakery and café, became the second West Seattle eatery to close its doors over the Seattle minimum wage hike. The owner posted a sign to the front door to thank supporters but said she can’t afford to stay open anymore.
“Our revenues, unfortunately, are not able to cover the close to 20% increase in mandated wages, salaries and payroll taxes put into effect by the Seattle City Council effective 1/1/25. This ruling has made the continuation of our bakery operations untenable,” the sign read.
The owner, Peter Levy, explained to the West Seattle Blog that, “we were approaching close to a break even status in the last quarter of 2024, but the requirement to absorb another $4,000 per month in payroll expenses with the new mandate by the city put a break even further from our grasp which is what led to the closure.”
Last week, a video by Corina Luckenbach, owner of Bebop Waffle Shop in West Seattle, went viral as she said the minimum wage hike was forcing her to close after 11 years. She said she didn’t have an extra $32,000 a year to pay her staff what the city mandates.
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Will more restaurants close?
Ahead of the minimum wage hike, restauranteurs offered many warnings over what’s to come.
Ethan Stowell operates a number of Seattle’s top restaurants, including How to Cook a Wolf, Staple and Fancy, and Tavolata. He warned this change would be exceptionally costly for businesses in an industry notorious for razor-thin margins. And restaurants can’t merely raise menu prices again.
“I know everybody wants to say, ‘Just raise things (on the menu) a dollar or two,’ and that’s what it’ll be. That’s very simplified math. I wish it was that easy, but it’s not. This is a large increase that’s probably large enough to be equal to or close to what most restaurants in Seattle profit,” Stowell told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.
Portage Bay Cafe co-owner Amy Fair Gunnar noted the minimum wage change will cost her about $45,000 more a month. She said restaurants will have to “seriously change what they’re doing or they’re going to close their doors.”
More from Jason Rantz: Here’s why Seattle residents vow to stop tipping in new year
Ignoring the warnings, mocking the business people
The warnings from restaurant owners were mostly ignored or mocked.
Efforts by the Seattle City Council to address the forthcoming crisis fell apart after activists said they didn’t want restaurants to get an exception. Council president Sara Nelson told “The Jason Rantz Show” they will take up the issue again this year but there’s no specific idea yet to forward for legislation. The Mayor of Seattle, Bruce Harrell, has been almost completely absent from the issue.
Left-wing voices, meanwhile, claim to not care. That if businesses “can’t afford to pay a living wage,” then they shouldn’t be in business.
One reporter with The Stranger mocked one of the closures, quipping on X, “Has anyone ever eaten at bebop waffle lol.” Left-wing Seattleites condemned the business for “creating a right wing media darling to complain about paying people a living wage.”
KING 5 reporter Maddie White helped elevate this talking point by citing the National Low Income Housing Coalition, claiming “the average renter needs to make upwards of $40 an hour to afford rent.” But she’s quoting a stat for two-bedrooms. Minimum wage jobs aren’t meant to cover the cost of a single person renting a two-bedroom home or apartment.
Ironically, as activists dismiss the concerns of small business owners, they fail to acknowledge the inevitable consequence: when those businesses shut down, people lose jobs. A $20.76 hourly minimum wage — even with a $2.72 tip credit — means nothing if you’re unemployed.
Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
Seattle, WA
Reports: Seattle Seahawks to interview 2 candidates for OC job
A pair of candidates have surfaced in the Seattle Seahawks’ search for a new offensive coordinator.
An NFL insider’s view on Seahawks OC change and what’s next
The Seahawks are scheduled to interview Detroit Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley and Chicago Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown, according to multiple reports. NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero first reported the news Thursday morning.
Seattle will interview Fraley on Friday and Brown on Saturday, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
The Seahawks moved on from offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb on Monday after an up-and-down season for Seattle’s offense that included one of the worst rushing attacks in the league.
Fraley, 47, has been on Detroit’s coaching staff for the past seven seasons, including the past five as the team’s offensive line coach. Fraley has coached an offensive line that’s paved the way for one of the NFL’s best rushing attacks. The Lions rank third in Pro Football Focus’ run block grading and finished the regular season sixth in both rushing yards per game (146.4) and yards per carry (4.7).
During his time in Detroit, Fraley has helped develop four-time Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow and three-time Pro Bowl right tackle Penei Sewell. As a player, Fraley started 123 games at center and guard over a 10-year NFL career with the Eagles (2001-05), Browns (2006-09) and Rams (2010). According to Breer, Fraley has done groundwork in searching for a pass game coordinator that he would pair with as an OC.
Brown, 38, began the season as Chicago’s passing game coordinator. He then was promoted to offensive coordinator when Shane Waldron, a former Seahawks assistant, was fired as OC on Nov. 12, and then to interim head coach when Matt Eberflus was fired on Nov. 29. Brown went 1-4 as the Bears’ interim head coach.
Brown was the Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator in 2023. Prior to that, he spent three seasons under head coach Sean McVay in various roles on the Los Angeles Rams’ coaching staff.
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