The Mariners' troubled offseason continues. The team made another trade this week and signed a controversial new lease agreement. KNKX sports commentator Art Thiel and talked with Morning Edition host Kirsten Kendrick about some of the recent negative headlines.
Thiel says this week's three-team trade, the latest in M's fans' frustrations, is definitely not typical offseason wheeling and dealing.
"This is a team that's desperate," Thiel says. "There's just so much going on with this team that's negative, I think (GM Jerry) Dipoto is moving parts out of desperation to get lucky."
Thiel says Dipoto's company line is that they are working to assemble a team with controllable contracts that will "blossom" down the road at an unknown time in the future.
Thiel also discusses the controversy swirling around the new lease agreement, as well as the large amount of public money associated with it. The King County Council approved a $135 million contribution to the stadium over 25 years. "They are obliged as a public facility to maintain this," Thiel says.
He noted that the optics are problematic amid the homelessness crisis in Seattle, and stressed that this kind of controversy isn't good for a team that's rebuilding: "You're giving people an excuse not to show up."
They also talk about the impending stadium name change, and Thiel's idea for a possible nickname to follow. Listen to the full conversation above.
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