Mariners’ Bullpen Picture Takes Painful Turn With Promising Arm Sent Down

The Mariners’ latest roster trim didn’t come with a huge surprise. But a few names did get optioned and reassigned. Seattle took another pass through camp and trimmed the roster to 55, sending Troy Taylor and Josh Simpson to Tacoma while Casey Lawrence and Carson Taylor were reassigned to minor league camp. Mariners PR said Seattle now sits at 35 on the 40-man roster, one on the 60-day IL, and 19 non-roster invitees still hanging around.

Troy Taylor being in that group stings a little. He wasn’t necessarily guaranteed a spot and the Mariners clearly haven’t given up on him. But Taylor still feels like one of those arms fans want to matter sooner rather than later. He has the kind of relief profile that looks exciting on paper and even better when it’s right: big fastball, nasty breaking ball, late-inning energy, and enough shine left to keep people curious about his upside. MLB Pipeline’s scouting report has long leaned into his closer-style look, built mostly around the mid-90s fastball and hard sweeper.

The @Mariners Spring Training Roster is now at 55 players:

🔹35 on 40-man
🔹1 on 60-day IL
🔹19 NRI pic.twitter.com/7JaBc2aKAO
— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) March 13, 2026

Troy Taylor’s Option To Tacoma Adds A Layer To Mariners’ Bullpen Race

It really was not that long ago Taylor felt like one of the more fun bullpen stories in the organization. He flew through the system, made his big league debut on August 11, 2024, and looked like a guy forcing the Mariners to pay attention after carving up the minors with a 1.27 ERA and 21 saves across High-A and Double-A.

That version of Taylor was easy to buy into. The Mariners looked like they might have found one of those cheap, homegrown relievers every good team needs to keep working through the late innings.

Things got a lot messier in 2025. Taylor’s big league line ballooned to a 12.15 ERA and 2.55 WHIP in eight appearances, and his Triple-A season was rough too. The stuff did not magically disappear, but the consistency absolutely did. A lat strain also interrupted his development and relievers like Taylor do not have a giant margin for error to begin with. If the command wobbles or the rhythm disappears for even a little while, the whole profile goes sideways in a hurry.

This is probably the correct move. Seattle can send him to Tacoma, let him stack clean outings, and keep him ready as one of the more obvious call-up candidates when bullpen attrition starts doing what it always does. The Mariners still have options, and Taylor is still one of them. The most annoying spring outcomes are the ones that leave it cracked open just enough to remind you what could still be there.