ESPN MLB Insider Discusses What Roster Priorities For Seattle Mariners Should Be
In this story:
The Seattle Mariners enter play on Friday at 67-55 with four games to play. After a disappointing series loss against the Baltimore Orioles, the M's now travel to New York for a series with the slumping New York Mets.
Despite the losses in Baltimore, Mariners fans are generally excited about the team's prospects in the now, but they are also excited about the team's ability in the future. Seattle has nine Top-100 prospects, per MLB Pipeline, and has the contracts of Mitch Haniger, Dylan Moore, Donovan Solano and Mitch Garver coming off the books, so there is (conceivably) room to add this offseason.
With that in mind, Mariners fans have a long wish list of things they'd like to see the front office accomplish in the looming offseason. Could the M's bring back free agents Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor? Could they extend Randy Arozarena, who is slated to be a free agent after 2026? Or do they need to look elsewhere?
According to ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney, the team should first look at keeping its starting rotation together. He said that on the most recent edition of the Refuse to Lose podcast:
I'm just making sure I keep the pitching together. If you're the Mariners, that's your distinct advantage. And so the priority is keeping the pitching together. Look, the Kansas City Royals, leading up the trade deadline, their general manager, J.J. Piccolo, was telling other teams 'that's what our focus is, is keeping the group of starting pitchers together.' And look, you can't expect that they're going to be able to do that for a long period of time. At some point, someone's going to hit free agency and you're going to think about trading them, and maybe you graduate somebody from your farm system into the rotation, and so you take advantage of trade value. But first and foremost, when you're talking about having assets to use financially, my focus is on keeping the pitching staff together, if that makes sense.
The pitching future
- Luis Castillo: Under contract through 2027, with a vesting option for 2028. Set to make $24.1 million in each of next two seasons, and has a no-trade clause that expires Jan. 1, 2026.
- Logan Gilbert: Under contract through 2027, but will get more expensive through arbitiration
- George Kirby: Under contract through 2028, but will get more expensive through arbitration
- Bryan Woo: Under contract through 2029
- Bryce Miller: Under contract through 2029
The Mariners will take on the Mets on Friday at 4:05 p.m. PT. Luis Castillo will take the mound against Sean Manaea.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
NEW PODCAST IS HERE: Brady is back on a Friday, talking about a disappointing series loss against the Baltimore Orioles and what went wrong, and he has the honest conversations about Dylan Moore and Mitch Garver's place on the roster. Furthermore, we're joined by Mariners on SI reporter Teren Kowatsch, who talks Ichiro Weekend, the previous homestand and the looming Little League World Series Classic. CLICK HERE:
RICK ON TV: Longtime Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs made his return to the television booth this week, and M's fans were pumped. CLICK HERE:
DAN THE MAN: Speaking at Ichiro's jersey retirement ceremony on Saturday, Dan Wilson delivered an epic line at the podium. CLICK HERE:
Follow Seattle Mariners on SI on social media
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @RefuseToLosePod. You can subscribe to the "Refuse to Lose" podcast by clicking HERE.
