3/25/26
After five long months, baseball has finally returned and with a new season all 30 fan bases have set their sights and have their list of goals for what a successful season might be. For a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers, they will look to become the first National League team to ever three-peat with a third consecutive World Series. Then there are teams like the Washington Nationals and the Athletics who look to just take another step forward. And then there are teams like the Minnesota Twins and Colorado Rockies who just want some commitment to a rebuild.
Then there are the Seattle Mariners. The only team in MLB to never make the World Series who had a heartbreaking end to their season, falling just seven outs shy of reaching the Fall Classic in a game 7 loss in the ALCS in Toronto. With getting so close, the goal for this team is quite simple as they find themselves in a position that they have never been in. For the Seattle Mariners, the 2026 season ending with anything short than a World Series appearance would be a failure.
Now, another postseason appearance being the ceiling for this team would not force them into a rebuild. The core is there with Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez and a plethora of All-Star and Cy Young caliber pitching with Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo, and George Kirby to just name a few. The offseason was about adding the supplementary pieces. The biggest move was the Mariners resigning Josh Naylor to a 5-year, $92.5 million contract after he helped spark the Mariners in the second half on their way to their first AL West title since 2001. Brendan Donovan was also a key addition along with Rob Refsnyder and Jose A. Ferrer to the bullpen.
Dan Wilson will captain the ship for his second full season and the member of the Mariners Hall of Fame had some growing pains in his first full season but continues to adapt and learn and he will continue to do so with some changes to his staff. Manny Acta will once again be the bench coach with the beloved Pete Woodworth returning as the pitching coach and Perry Hill as coaching the infield. Seattle saw an increase in stolen bases due in part to first base coach Eric Young Jr. and he will return to that position while Carlos Cardoza takes over at third base. Kevin Seitzer and Edgar Martinez will handle the hitting coaching duties while Austin Nola takes over as the bullpen coach.
Seattle did see some names leave that we will cover later on in this article with playoff hero Jorge Polanco being the big name to leave along with reliever Trent Thornton and prospect Harry Ford who was traded in December. The M’s will also retire Randy Johnson’s #51 on May 2nd. after retiring it for Ichiro last season.
Now that we have scratched the surface on what is new for the Mariners this season, let’s get into some specifics on the additions and subtractions along with an outlook on the AL West.
Subtractions
Jorge Polanco- The biggest loss from the 2025 Mariners is without a doubt Jorge Polanco. There wasn’t a better hitter in baseball than Polo in April last season and he came up with huge hit after huge hit in the postseason including the walk off base hit in the 15th inning against Detroit to send Seattle back to the ALCS. He took a pay cut to stay in Seattle last year to show fans what he can really do and was rewarded with a nice contract with the New York Mets for two years and $40 million.
That immediately makes the infield thinner and with Dylan Moore being released in the middle of last season, two infield bats are now gone. Polo got back to his usual self last season, hitting .265 and an .821 OPS, just the third time in his career with an OPS of .800 or higher. He also flirted with career highs in home runs and runs batted in and really mashed right handers last season. It was going to be hard for the M’s to bring him back with so much infield talent coming up from the farm and they couldn’t outbid the Mets. At least Polanco will go out and remembered for a great season and an even better postseason and will be loved by Mariner fans forever because of that.
Eugenio Suarez- I don’t know if there was a move in baseball that fired up a fan base more than the Mariners bringing back Eugenio Suarez at last season’s trade deadline. Geno mashed with Arizona and while he cooled down after returning to the PNW, he still put together some nice moments with none bigger than his go-ahead grand slam in game 5 of the ALCS to move the Mariners to one win away from the World Series.
Geno really struggled in a Mariners uniform last season and there is no denying that. What he did do was bring the energy every single night to both the team and the fans and was exactly what is motto states, Good Vibes Only. Sure, it could have gone better and he could have hit much better than his .183 average with the M’s, but without him there is no telling if the team could have pushed through that August lull that almost knocked the Mariners out of playoff contention before the homestretch. Again, with so many infielders coming up there is already a traffic jam and now Geno will get to make another return as he heads back to Cincinnati where his career really took off.
Ben Williamson- This one got some mixed reactions from the fanbase. While Polo and Geno were obviously not going to return, many had penciled Ben Williamson in as the Mariners Opening Day third baseman in 2026. His incredible defense was definitely what stole the show and the hearts of Mariner fans last season and there was plenty of optimism at the plate for the young Virginia native.
What the Mariners needed was a more contact oriented, high average guy. That is not what Ben Williamson would be. Williamson is somewhere in between a slugger and a singles machine. To bring in a bat like Brendan Donovan, Seattle had to be willing to give up a little and with Williamson’s defensive prowess, he was enough to complete the three-team trade and now Williamson will be on the Tampa Bay Rays Opening Day roster and will see a mix of time at third and second base.
Harry Ford- Cal Raleigh forced the Mariners to trade their prized catching prospect. Raleigh has just been too good and has taken over the mantle as the best catcher in baseball and to hold Harry Ford back because of that would have been unfair to him. Also, he was a nice and coveted trade chip that many teams had been interested in for years. Now, could Seattle have gotten a bit more for him? You would think. However, adding another lefty in the bullpen was a move that had to be made.
Ford will not be on Washington’s Opening Day roster with Keibert Ruiz being the guy for the Nats. It feels like it could only be a matter of time before Ford takes over that role. Washington is taking strides towards being a contender in the future and it seems like they are looking to make their move just as Philadelphia exits their World Series window. With guys like CJ Abrams and James Wood, the pieces are there and Ford will join that core that the Nats hope will make them contenders in a strong NL East.
Trent Thornton- I won’t spend too much time on Trent Thornton, mostly because he spent a bulk of last season injured after tearing his Achilles in a fluky injury. Still, Thornton brough the energy and the memory of watching him round the bases on his scooter after the Mariners clinched a postseason spot and the entire team waiting for him at the plate was a very cool moment. Again, he is not necessarily a needle mover with the M’s already dealing with not having him last season, but that moment is what Thornton will be remembered for in Seattle.
Caleb Ferguson- Lastly, we have the biggest trade flop the M’s have had in the last couple of seasons. Caleb Ferguson was supposed to be that second lefty out of the Mariners bullpen for the postseason wrong. It just never worked. Ferguson never had a bad ERA (3.27), but he was not the reliable arm for the M’s. In the playoffs it was even worse and Dan Wilson just could not feel confident bringing him in in big moments.
Again, Caleb Ferguson was not terrible but he just didn’t change the outlook of the Mariners like he was supposed to. They didn’t give up much to acquire him which took the sting out of that quite a bit. He joins Geno in Cincinnati and will likely be the solid reliever that can eat innings as he always has been. Much like Tyler Anderson, it just didn’t workout quite like they had hoped it would.
Additions (Josh Naylor resigned so he doesn’t count)
Brendan Donovan- This is a needle mover right out of the gate. Brendan Donovan I think will be this year’s Josh Naylor and fans will be in love with him fairly quickly. The All-Star second baseman will move over to third base but I would not worry about that as he has seen time everywhere but center field and catcher in his career. Donovan his a high average guy and is coming off a career-high .287 average with a .422 slugging percentage and a .353 on-base.
He had never been an RBI machine but a lot of that has to do with being on a bad team in St. Louis where there just weren’t a lot of opportunities with guys on. He did miss some time last season but still had 132 hits and 32 doubles in just 118 games. He will be the leadoff man Seattle has been searching for since Jean Segura left in the late 2010s. He won’t hit 30 home runs. He won’t drive in 100 runs. But he will be on base for Julio and Cal consistently and if the bottom of the order sets things up, he will see an uptick in his run production as well.
Jose A. Ferrer- This is the most interesting move to me this offseason for the Mariners and I think the one that will impact them one way or another the most. Seattle needs lefty pitching. It is no secret as they relied way too much on Gabe Speier last season. Speier was not bad at all for the M’s but in the postseason, guys knew they would face Speier and have a better gameplan against him. In comes Jose A. Ferrer. The lefty out of the Dominican Republic was the return for Harry Ford which puts a spotlight on him from Mariner fans that expected more from trading a top catching prospect.
Ferrer just turned 26 in March and is still developing and now will get the magic touch the Mariners seem to have with relievers. He had a career high 72 appearances last season and had a great 4.44 strikeout to walk ratio. The only real negative was his WHIP of 1.271 which means he allows more than a hit per inning. But again, he is just 26. The fact that he throws strikes and controls the zone is massive and he is dominant against lefties, who hit just .186 against him last season. His heater is in the upper 90s with a sink and has a changeup and slider to go along with it. Ferrer could be the steal of the offseason if he gets any sort of boost coming to Seattle’s pitching factory.
Rob Refsnyder- Speaking of sneaky additions, Rob Refsnyder adds in depth and power against lefties. You can always get a little extra information from how a player’s former team reacts when they sign elsewhere. Boston fans were not exactly thrilled so see Refsnyder leave, let alone sign with another American League contender.
He will not start too much and will be more of a platoon guy in the outfield. He will get opportunities off the bench against lefties and if Luke Raley struggles or gets banged up, can see opportunities to be a starter against lefties consistently. His slugging percentage against lefties is .443 which is outstanding for a guy coming off the bench. Depth is a massive key and Refsnyder adds a ton of depth to the lineup.
Cooper Criswell- Lastly is a guy not a lot of people even know is on the roster. Cooper Criswell will take the spot of Trent Thornton out of the bullpen. He will not be a high leverage guy but again Seattle has plenty of those guys already. They need inning eaters and while Criswell has only pitched 154.2 innings in his career, he will get plenty of opportunities in 2026.
He could cut down on the walks a little bit and he isn’t going to be a strikeout machine. He needs to pitch to contact and let the guys behind him do the hard work. He won’t blow anyone away with velocity but does have a lower arm slot to create a unique release point. He is a ground ball guy and that is perfectly fine for what the Mariners need this season.
Projected Lineup
- Brendan Donovan, 3B
- Julio Rodríguez, CF
- Cal Raleigh, C
- Josh Naylor, 1B
- Randy Arozarena, LF
- Dominic Canzone, DH
- Cole Young, 2B
- Leo Rivas, SS (J.P. Crawford will start the season on the IL)
- Victor Robles, RF (Luke Raley and Colt Young will swap with righty on the mound)
Predicting the Opening Day lineup is always tough because things can look very different because of injuries so this year I went with what I think it will look like for the most part to start the season. Donovan is a lock to leadoff and J-Rod and Raleigh could flip and likely will throughout the season and the same can be said for Naylor and Arozarena depending on if the opposing starter is a righty or lefty.
The top five are pretty much set with only the order to debate but things change after that. Dominic Canzone will likely be the usual DH with his power and his incredible September adds some pop down the order. He will get plenty of time in the outfield as well to give rest days to Arozarena when needed. Cole Young will get the nod at second base to begin the season but don’t forget about Ryan Bliss who returns from an injury riddled season and will likely see time against lefties. Both could end up being just placeholders with top prospect Colt Emerson expected to get called up sometime this summer.
With J.P. Crawford on the IL to start the season, Leo Rivas will get plenty of playing time at shortstop. Rivas was a hero in the M’s wild game 5 win against Detroit in the ALDS when he drove in the tying run well before the game went to extras. It will be cool to see him get his run before the longest tenured Mariner returns in Crawford in what is the final year of his contract. Right field has taken a turn with Victor Robles struggling in the spring and Luke Raley raking down in Arizona. Those two will platoon and Raley will move up in the order when he is in the lineup while Robles will be at the bottom to set the table for the top of the order.
Multiple guys had breakout seasons last year with Cal putting up the greatest season ever by a catcher and Julio being Julio again. Randy Arozarena had a sneaky great season despite struggling in the playoffs. A full year with Josh Naylor and Brendan Donovan will continue to cut down on the strikeout total and expect to fall in love with Donovan just as Mariners fans did with Naylor last season. The lineup is better and deeper and more balanced this season. Question marks remain in right field and second base but those questions could be answered before April ends which is best case scenario for Seattle.
Pitching Rotation
- Logan Gilbert
- Bryan Woo
- George Kirby
- Luis Castillo
- Emerson Hancock
Depth has been something that the Mariners have always had with their starting rotation. That depth is not as strong, or at least experienced, as it has been in year’s past. Logan Evans will miss the entire 2026 season after having Tommy John surgery and Bryce Miller is dealing with an oblique issue so he will begin the season on the IL. That puts Emerson Hancock into the rotation to begin the season after he had an up and down 2025.
The rotation as a whole took a step back last season but injuries played a huge factor in that. Only Luis Castillo stayed off the IL the entire season and La Piedra once again put together a solid season despite no longer being the ace of the staff. Bryan Woo of course had the best season out of any starting pitcher on the Mariners with his second season in a row with an ERA under 3.00 and his first All-Star nod. Logan Gilbert will make his second consecutive Opening Day start and will hope to get deeper into games this season than he did last year, which was the only real blemish on his outstanding season. Lastly, George Kirby will be in the rotation to begin the year after missing all of April last season and he will try to get back to his dominant ways after a career high ERA of 4.21 in 2025.
The depth will come later in the season especially when Bryce Miller returns. Miller was the standout in the ALCS for the M’s but had a nightmare of a regular season with an ERA of 5.68. Young prospects Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan could both become available towards the end of the season and into the postseason to fortify that bullpen and plug into starts when needed. If the rotation does get hit with a plethora of injuries this season, the front office would be forced to go out and make some moves but veteran free agents are available along with cheap rentals from non-contenders. Once again, the rotation will be the strength of the team and if they get the 2024 rotation with the 2025 lineup, this team will be nearly impossible to stop.
Bullpen
Bullpen pitching is what makes or breaks a team in October and where the Mariners fell short was with left-handed pitching. Gabe Speier was the only reliable lefty Seattle had after the acquisition of Caleb Ferguson didn’t work out. Going out and getting Jose A. Ferrer will bolster that a little bit. He virtually swapped places with Caleb Ferguson and Trent Thornton is the other departure. Taking his place will be Cooper Criswell who can eat innings as he has spent time as a starter and out of the bullpen since making his debut in 2021. Andrés Muñoz is still the guy out of the bullpen with other electric arms being Matt Brash, Carlos Vargas, and Eduard Bazardo making this one of the deeper bullpens in baseball. However, a lot rides on can Ferrer help take pressure off of Gabe Speier against lefties late in games.
AL West Preview
Texas Rangers– If you would have told me that the Texas Rangers would have the best rotation in baseball in 2025, I would have assumed they ran away with the division. Jacob deGrom was phenomenal (and healthy), Nathan Eovaldi was great when he was on the field, and Jack Leiter and Tyler Mahle had nice years. The lineup is what let them down. Anchored by Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Adolis Garcia, the Rangers offense was a huge disappointment, finishing bottom 10 in runs scored and average. That forced a little reset for the Rangers.
Texas added to their strong rotation by acquiring MacKenzie Gore from Washington to add a reliable third arm to the rotation. The big changes came to their lineup. Semien and Garcia are gone which puts added pressure on the youth movement led by Josh Jung, Wyatt Langford, and Evan Carter. They also need a healthy Corey Seager and more production from Joc Pederson and Jake Burger who had massive letdowns in 2025. Texas added former MVP Andrew McCutchen but the big offensive get was Brandon Nimmo. He bounced back from a very down 2024 and hit .262 with the Mets last season and drove in 92 runs, both of which would have led Texas in 2025. If they get a little better offensively and the rotation stays healthy, Texas can find themselves in October as the biggest threat to the Mariners.
Houston Astros– Injuries were the story of the 2025 season for the Houston Astros. They could not stay healthy at all. Yordan Alvarez missed most of the season and Isaac Paredes barely played in 100 games. Jose Altuve will spend more time in the outfield and he was about the only Astro that didn’t spend time on the IL. By the time Carlos Correa returned to Houston at the deadline, the injuries had already piled up and they couldn’t hold off Seattle. The rotation was solid with Hunter Brown enjoying his breakout season and Josh Hader remained one of the best closers in the sport. Framber Valdez had a great year, but he is now with Detroit.
There are so many question marks surrounding the Houston Astros. Hunter Brown is not one of those as he will contend for a Cy Young. After him, there is a lot to worry about pitching wise. Lance McCullers Jr. and Christian Javier have both dealt with injury plagued histories and Mike Burrows has only made 19 career starts. That is more than Tatsuya Imai who comes over from Japan and while he could definitely turn into a Yoshinobu Yamamoto, he could also turn into a Shintaro Fujinami…the fact you have heard of one of those guys but not the other tells you all you need to know. They need a healthy Yordan Alvarez and absolutely need more production from Christian Walker after an awful first season in Houston. Josh Hader will start the season on the IL but Jeremy Peña will not. He and Brice Matthews will man the middle infield but can the offense figure things out? There are just too many question marks to feel comfortable about this team.
Athletics– If you are looking for a bad team from 2025 to make the playoffs in 2026, look no further than the *Redacted* Athletics. The potential is there for the A’s to surprise everyone and make a run to the postseason, much like the Cincinnati Reds last years and the Detroit Tigers in 2024. Nick Kurtz is a darkhorse MVP candidate after an incredible rookie season and in a very hitter-friendly ballpark, those numbers will only go up. Jacob Wilson also put together a terrific rookie campaign that was shortened due to injury and Tyler Soderstrom broke out as well. Brent Rooker remains Mr. Reliable for the A’s. Pitching is another story especially after they traded the best closer in baseball in Mason Miller to San Diego last deadline.
Almost nothing has changed roster wise for the A’s. They are going to rely on the same guys that they did last season and if they can replicate that while getting a bounce back from Lawrence Butler, the lineup will produce. They did bring in Jeff McNeil as a veteran presence and he can hit for average. They also have one of the most exciting players in baseball in Denzel Clarke who made a number of out of this world catches in a short time last season. Pitching is just up in the air with the A’s. Luis Severino seems to be good or bad depending on how passionate and into the game he is at the time. Jeffrey Springs and Aaron Civale add experience but there are questions beyond that and the bullpen is unpredictable. That is the big issue with this squad and a bad bullpen will likely prevent them from being taken too seriously as a playoff contender.
Los Angeles Angels– Los Angeles was surprisingly active during the offseason despite another down year. Mike Trout was once again banged up last year and his best years are clearly behind him. Taylor Ward and Jo Adell both mashed 35+ home runs and were around 100 runs batted in with Ward driving in 103 and Adell 98. Zach Neto had his best season as well but the Angels were just too inconsistent and their pitching was not good. Yusei Kikuchi had an alright season but nothing compared to what he did the year before with Houston. Jose Soriano showed flashes of brilliance but veterans Tyler Anderson and Kyle Hendricks were well below average. Kenley Jansen was a reliable closer, but didn’t get too many opportunities.
Then the Angels made weird moves including trading their best hitter in Taylor Ward to Baltimore. They do bring in veterans Adam Frazier and Jeimer Candelario but the notable offensive addition was Josh Lowe from Tampa Bay. Lowe is coming off a down year but does add some depth although comes nowhere close to filling the shoes of Taylor Ward. They are hoping Reid Detmers can become the stud he has always been hyped up to be and that Grayson Rodriguez can do what he couldn’t do in Baltimore and that is stay healthy. Injuries have already hurt a bullpen that does not have Kenley Jansen this season which makes that unit very thin. Los Angeles just doesn’t do anything great which makes them the obvious choice to be the cellar dweller in the AL West.
Predictions
AL West Standings Predictions
- Seattle Mariners (93-69)
- Texas Rangers (87-75)
- Houston Astros (84-78)
- Athletics (76-86)
- Los Angeles Angels (69-93)
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