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What will it take to make the 2021 Mariners a playoff team?

The American League playoffs begin today, welcoming eight clubs for the first time in the sport’s history. Per Rob Manfred’s latest missive, we won’t likely see 16 teams in the Fall Classic, but 12 or 14 is likely to remain the playoff pool, at least through the 2021 season. 12 feels more appropriate, but any such scenario is a slight return to sanity from this year’s mayhem. It also remains a more attainable target for any club, in any year, even with a hopeful return to a safe, 162 game slate. Keep that in mind throughout this article, which is predicated on Jerry Dipoto’s comments yesterday to reporters, seeing playoff contention in 2021 as a realistic goal:

“The next wave of players, I’m not entirely sure what the timing looks like or their progression, but I know with the group that will come back and what we anticipate adding to our club via free agency or trade, I think we’re in a really nice position for 2021,” Dipoto said.