How Will Seattle Spend Their Surplus During The Off-Season?
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The Seattle Mariners enter the 2025 MLB off-season with some serious question marks in their lineup. They're looking to retain some of their key offensive stars while using a bit of their payroll surplus to build off a successful, 90-win season.
With first baseman Josh Naylor, third baseman Eugenio Suarez, and second baseman Jorge Polanco set to test the open market, the team is dedicated to retaining at least two of the three. While that may not be possible, there's a priority to protect the nucleus of the AL West Champions. Seattle General Manager Justin Hollander believes that synergy will ensure long-term success.
“I do think this group is going to be together a long time,” Hollander said. “And we should be back in the same spot with a chance to go further for years to come.”
The Mariners finished 2025 with a payroll of roughly $165 million, which was 15th among the 30 teams and was the highest in franchise history. That figure was a $15 million (10%) increase from the previous year. President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto said it may have shocked the system, but it proved effective late in 2025 for a team that eventually came just one win away from the World Series.
“I think it shocked people,” Dipoto said. “But we have the support of our ownership group, and they've always been open to us pushing in. We did push this summer in a way that maybe we didn't quite push before. But we think that's, again, part of our roster-building model is to really lean into what we can access in July and lean on our city, our ballpark, our fan base, and our atmosphere to really help seal the deal, because it's the best recruiting tool we have.”
Things will become clearer once the MLB free agency begins in just five days. Hollander and Dipoto have made it publicly acknowledged that re-signing Josh Naylor to a multi-year deal is a major priority of the off-season.
