Mariners Are Guarding Ryan Sloan Like a Pitcher They Expect to Build Around

The kid in Arkansas already has a say in Seattle’s winter.

Feb 19, 2026; Peoria, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners pitcher Ryan Sloan (97) during spring training photo day in Peoria, AZ. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Mariners have spent the GM meetings talking about upgrading the left side of their infield. In those talks, they’ve made it clear that there’s one pitcher other clubs should not bother asking about. Ryan Sloan is 20, he’s coming off a dominant full season in Double-A, and Seattle is already willing to take him off the table in discussions this winter.

Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reported that executives with other clubs have effectively been told Sloan is untouchable this offseason. Mariners general manager Justin Hollander put it in slightly softer terms. “I wouldn’t anticipate Ryan Sloan being traded,” he told Jude.

So, we know the Mariners might use an arm to get hold of a bat to upgrade their lineup. Now we know where they’re drawing a hard line. Ryan Sloan is expected to stay put.

What Ryan Sloan’s Potential 2027 Workload Says About the Mariners’ Rotation Plans

Hollander believes 155 innings is within reach for Ryan Sloan next year. He threw 101 1/3 at Double-A Arkansas, so we’re talking about ramping up another 54 innings. And with a first-half call-up in play, some of those innings could come in Seattle. We could see Sloan with a starter's workload in Seattle this season.

That tells us more about Seattle’s plans than his spot at the top of the prospect list. We can fantasize about the 6-foot-5 right-hander Baseball America ranks ninth in the sport. The Mariners are already thinking through how often they can hand him the ball. And with Kade Anderson already graduated from prospect status, there’s a chance the two pitchers who got close in Arkansas wind up taking regular turns in the same big-league rotation.

We’ve waited this long to see what the Mariners have in Ryan Sloan. Give him time to earn his starts and give Kade Anderson time to get comfortable in the majors. Keeping George Kirby buys both of them that time. It’ll take a hitter who changes the middle of Seattle’s order to make giving that up worthwhile.

What the Mariners Should Ask for in a George Kirby or Emerson Hancock Trade

Keeping Sloan gives the Mariners one fewer way to land the infielder Jerry Dipoto wants. Kirby and Emerson Hancock have been identified as the leading candidates if Seattle trades a starter. There’s a real case for moving Hancock after the year he just had, and there’s a much higher bar for giving up what Kirby has done over five seasons.

Hancock just gave Seattle 25 starts with a 3.57 ERA and 126 strikeouts in 138 2/3 innings. He struck out 109 hitters in 162 2/3 innings across his first three big-league seasons combined. He executed a real jump, and it gives the Mariners something to sell. The question for another club is how much it wants to pay for one season at that level. The Mariners are likely to ask for an everyday shortstop or third baseman who gets on base and can hold the job for more than a year. There’s enough value in having Hancock around for another 25 starts to pass on a stopgap kind of guy.

Kirby’s 2026 line gives a trade partner room to haggle. He had a 4.33 ERA and walked 47 in 174 2/3 innings. In 2023 and 2024, he walked 42 total across 381 2/3 innings and posted ERAs of 3.35 and 3.53. Even in a down year, he stayed healthy and reliable. That’s the biggest rub for Seattle. A buyer can point to the recent numbers and ask for a discount. Seattle would still have to replace those starts while finding out how much Anderson and Sloan can handle.

If the Mariners are putting George Kirby on the table, we’d ask for a bat we’d want near the top of the order every night. For the sake of not beating the Gunnar Henderson drum too many times, let's think about someone the caliber of Isaac Paredes. He hit 25 homers with a .360 on-base percentage in 2026. We could put that bat in the No. 2 spot and make pitchers work before they get to the heart of the lineup. That’s the kind of upgrade the Mariners should consider giving up 30 starts from Kirby, and we’d want more than one season of it. If the best offer is a solid regular, keep Kirby and see what Emerson Hancock can bring back.

We can see why the Mariners are guarding Sloan. They think he’ll give them the kind of starts other clubs are already asking them to trade. They just need to make sure those clubs pay for the starts Seattle has today.