THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: With a taste of success, will M's cash in now?

We answered plenty of your questions on Wednesday.

Or tried, at least.

However …

If you take Geno Smith and the all-consuming Seahawks out of the equation, one query swamped all the others combined — and we didn’t really get to address it.

I’ve seen so many versions of this question, I feel like Jerry Dipoto.

Here are some samples …

Are the Mariners going to sign or trade for another outfielder?

Are the Mariners still looking for more offense?

Are the Mariners just refusing to look at free agents?

Are the Mariners really planning to start the season with Jarred Kelenic in left field?

Are the Mariners too cheap to sign another bat?

And of course, the obvious follow-up …

Who do you think the Mariners might add to the lineup by opening day?

This is all predictable, because now that Seattle has gotten its first taste of playoff baseball in two decades, the fans want more.

They want a shot at winning it all.

LET’S TAKE the easy piece of this puzzle first.

Yes, the Mariners will make another move or two before the season.

You are correct in assuming that they don’t like the free agent market, for the simple reason that it’s tougher to get enough value for your money.

Dipoto’s mantra — “Draft, develop and trade” — makes sense, and if you look around Major League Baseball, most championship contenders have built their rosters that way.

Maybe the Mets, who just added Carlos Correa to a spending spree that’s run to $608 million just this year, can pull off a title run by simply swooping up every player on the open market — even handing Correa $315 million over 12 years, despite the fact that he failed a physical in San Francisco.

As everyone in MLB understands by now, though, Mets owner Steve Cohen (with his net worth of $16 billion) is a total outlier who is competing in a different league.

Meanwhile, back home …

The Mariners have a VERY good team, considered by Vegas bookmakers to be the third favorite to win the American League — behind only Houston and the Yankees.

Fans in the Northwest aren’t asking for insane investment, or competition with Cohen for every free agent.

They only want some logical additions to go with the young core already in place — a group that SHOULD get even better from season to season.

Most fans (and I agree with this) would like to see the Mariners snag a left fielder who can get on base ahead of their gang of power hitters, And they’d like to be sure there’s backup for first and third basemen Ty France and Eugenio Suarez, along with someone who fits as a not-quite-everyday designated hitter.

Opening the new season with Kelenic, Taylor Trammell and Cade Marlowe (all unproven left-handed hitters) auditioning in left doesn’t seem to square with the Mariners’ title ambitions.

But that’s how the lineup would look today, with Kelenic getting the first shot — likely platooning with switch-hitter Sam Haggerty.

So …

Sure, common sense tells you that, no matter how highly the Mariners rate Kelenic’s shot at fulfilling his potential, they need one or more established big-league bats under contract.

Any ideas?

WE KEEP hearing that Seattle wants to find a package that will entice the Pirates to trade outfielder Bryan Reynolds.

Pittsburgh wants the sun and moon — or at least, far more than the Mariners are going to give up. Pitching is gold, so the idea of trading either Logan Gilbert or George Kirby as part of a deal for Reynolds has to be a non-starter.

Gilbert and Kirby are going nowhere.

Dipoto has shown that he’ll part with VERY good prospects for the right targets as part of a win-now mentality.

Perhaps rotation prospect Emerson Hancock would pique someone’s interest, especially if Matt Brash is in the same conversation.

The Royals, who need pitching desperately, have said they’re willing to move outfielder Michael A. Taylor — an average right-handed hitter who’s a Gold Glove caliber defender (carrying a 3.2 fWAR contribution from 2022).

Taylor wouldn’t excite the fan base, but it’s likely that by now, only Reynolds would do that.

The Mariners are built on pitching and defense, however, and that will remain mandatory in T-Mobile Park.

SOMEBODY like Taylor could fit on this roster, but that still leaves a gap in depth at the corner infield spots.

Free agents?

Jurickson Profar, maybe, a guy who has played every position capably at one time or another — and is considered the type of guy who would blend into this Mariners clubhouse.

Profar logged a 3.1 fWAR last season with the Padres, hitting .244 with a bit of pop (15 homers).

Who else is left?

Are you thrilled by Wil Myers or Trey Mancini?

Does Dipoto have someone stashed in Korea?

It’s best to make peace with the fact that, unless the Pirates are seized by some Christmas spirit and wrap a bow on Reynolds, there won’t be a blockbuster deal coming up.

But hey, the Mariners have done a damn good job putting this playoff team together so far.

Why not trust them now?

Oh, and …

Will you apologize if Kelenic turns into a star?

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”