Mariners’ Sunday Finale May Double as Logan Gilbert’s Farewell

Sunday afternoon is supposed to be one last empty baseball game at the end of a Mariners season that didn’t really go anywhere. But it may carry significantly more weight than that.

When Logan Gilbert walks off the mound at T-Mobile Park, there’s a real chance it will be the last time he does so in a Mariners uniform. Nobody has reported that the Mariners have decided to trade him. There’s no deal that’s truly set in stone. But we also can’t ignore the chatter.

Gilbert is scheduled to start Sunday’s season finale against the Los Angeles Angels. He enters the outing with a 12-11 record, a 3.81 ERA and 197 strikeouts. Three more strikeouts would get him to 200.

Gilbert is entering his fourth and final year of arbitration and can become a free agent after the 2027 season. The Mariners approached him about an extension last spring, but no public agreement has followed. He has already identified him as a logical offseason trade candidate. And the M’s have reached the point where waiting is also a decision.

Keeping Logan Gilbert Would Protect the Mariners’ Biggest Strength

In case we haven’t already made our stance clear: the Mariners should absolutely extend him. Gilbert is exactly the kind of player the Mariners claim they want to keep. They drafted him, developed him and watched him grow into a frontline starter. He has spent his entire major league career in Seattle and is now the longest-tenured starter in the rotation.

If “draft, develop and retain” is really the organizational blueprint, Gilbert should be one of its easiest applications. The Mariners can’t celebrate their pitching factory every time it produces another premium arm and then become squeamish when the retention bill arrives.

He did stagger a bit during this 2026 season. Posting a 3.81 ERA isn’t exactly vintage Gilbert, and he would be the first person to admit the year has fallen below expectations. After his most recent start, Gilbert did not hide behind the team’s effort. He acknowledged that every major leaguer puts in the work, but the Mariners are ultimately judged by whether that work produces wins.

He still racked up 197 strikeouts. He takes the ball every fifth day. And clearly, he still misses bats at a remarkable level. The Mariners have already done the hard part here. They found a legitimate top-of-the-rotation pitcher. Creating another hole because filling it someday might be cheaper would be a real shame.

Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan are outstanding prospects. We should be excited about both of them. Their presence shouldn’t make Gilbert disposable. Anderson and Sloan should have the chance to join Gilbert in a loaded rotation, not become the justification for sending him somewhere else.

Seattle Cannot Afford to Let Gilbert’s Value Disappear

Gilbert is one year from free agency after the 2027 season. The Mariners cannot allow this to drift until his trade value has evaporated and his departure becomes inevitable. An extension will be expensive, Gilbert is no longer a young pitcher being asked to surrender distant arbitration years in exchange for early security. They had their negotiation window and opted not to engage. Now it’s closed, and it’s going to cost them serious money.

If the Mariners cannot reach an agreement with Gilbert, trading him this winter becomes a painful but defensible move. A full season of club control gives Seattle more leverage than a rushed move at the trade deadline next July. It would also give another team time to discuss its own extension with him.

But the return also has to hurt the other team. If they go the trade route, Gilbert shouldn’t be exchanged for a package of prospects. The Mariners already have plenty of those. They need to snag an established, controllable impact hitter who can step into the 2027 lineup and change it immediately. Anything less would be unreasonable.

Sunday Deserves More Attention Than a Typical Finale

Let’s not treat Sunday like it’s some hypothetical retirement ceremony for Gilbert. (Plus, there already is one going on for Rick Rizzs.) Gilbert could sign an extension this winter and start Opening Day in a Mariners uniform. He could return on his current contract and spend all of 2027 in Seattle. As long as he’s staying in Seattle, that’s the outcome we want.

But when Gilbert gets his third strikeout and reaches 200, take in the moment. When Dan Wilson walks toward the mound for the final time, pay attention. If Gilbert tips his cap on the way back to the dugout, don’t assume there will always be another start waiting for him at T-Mobile Park.

The Mariners have three real choices. Extend him. Trade him for a major league hitter worthy of the cost. Or carry him into 2027 with a firm commitment to contend and continue negotiating.

Sunday might be Gilbert’s final start as a Mariner. If it is, it will not be because Seattle no longer needed him. It will be because the organization decided it could not, or would not, keep him.

Add us as a preferred source on Google