Gutierrez was fine when he was healthy, which is like saying Joe Saunders was fine when he wasn’t giving up so many runs. Losing them will not hurt the Mariners.
From what I understand (and this may have changed), the M’s were going to make the minimum qualifying offer to Morales, who will almost certainly go elsewhere for bigger bucks but at least bring in a first-round draft pick because of the offer. I would try to resign Ibanez, who did rather well until all those days spent chasing balls in left field at his age started catching up to him. He’d be a good DH and sixth outfielder at this stage of his career, and his veteran leadership alone is worth making a decent offer (and he’d likely take a little less money than he might get from another team to stay in Seattle).

Zduriencik is right in that more production and power are needed from the outfield, which is why the interest in Jacoby Ellsbury is a little curious. He’d be an outstanding defensive OF and base-stealer (should we ever get a manager not violently allergic to letting his players run), but except for one great power year, he’s not really a home run threat. Still, with him in CF and Ackley moved to LF, that could be two-thirds of a decent outfield…just one without any real pop.

The pitching isn’t in bad shape. Walker and Paxton both looked good in September, which is an awfully short window of opportunity for them but at least should give both a shot at the rotation next year. Maurer was rushed in April, but responded pretty well after he was gradually brought back into the rotation by September. Those three with Felix and Iwakuma could make for a good starting five. The real need among pitchers is a closer, but Pryor has the stuff to be a good one if he can come back healthy.

These guys aren’t that far away from being good. Then again, that’s what I was saying from last October through Spring Training and look how that turned out.