The Seattle Mariners (52-61) have underachieved this season and currently sit nine games behind the Houston Astros for first place in the AL West. After multiple big additions in the past two offseasons and nothing to show for it, the team's management could be in trouble, according to the latest rumors.
"[General manager Jack] Zduriencik and manager Lloyd McClendon are on the hot seat, according to a Mariners insider," writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. "Zduriencik is an excellent talent evaluator, but it was a team that didn't come together...
"The Mariners have made many of us prognosticators look bad. They were considered the team to beat in the AL."
Zduriencik has been in charge of baseball operations since 2009 and McClendon is in his second season as the team's manager.
Since the end of the 2013 season the Mariners have revamped their club and acquired Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Austin Jackson, Mark Trumbo, Seth Smith, Fernando Rodney and others, but they missed the playoffs by one game last season and have failed to find their groove in 2015. They are currently the third-worst team in the American League.
On top of that, they were sellers at the MLB non-waiver trade deadline and sent reliever Mark Lowe to the Toronto Blue Jays, starter J.A. Happ to the Pittsburgh Pirates and outfielder Dustin Ackley to the New York Yankees. Zduriencik said those moves were to help the club beyond 2015.
"It's more about the future, yeah, but also the production you are getting at the big-league level and if you can replace that and still be competitive while adding talent to your organization," he told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. "I think that's what we accomplished."
But how much time does the GM have to prepare for the future?
Rumors in the offseason suggested both Zduriencik (who signed a contract extension last August) and McClendon would be under a microscope this year in the competitive AL West after sinking a ton of money into the current roster thanks to a payroll increase this past offseason.
However, the Houston Astros have come out of nowhere to lead the division at this point in the season while the Texas Rangers and Angels have held their own up until this point.
The Mariners have not made the playoffs since 2001 and have had only five winning seasons in the past 13 years. They're on pace for another losing season in 2015 and that could be the undoing of these two baseball veterans.
