Mariners insider says that Ben Williamson can fill the third base position in 2026
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During the Mariners' amazing run to the 2025 postseason, promising prospect Ben Williamson ended up making the jump to the big leagues to start at third base. He would be usurped of that spot when the team traded to bring back a former Mariner, Eugenio Suarez, as a proven power bat.
Now, Suarez is a free agent, and his future status in Seattle is a big question mark. Meanwhile, general manager Justin Hollander is starting to run out of options at the hot corner.
Recently, on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, co-host Dave Wyman and producer Mike Lefkodiscussed the possibility of Williamson starting again in 2026. During the segment, Lefko said that while the club's goal may be to retain Suarez's services, Williams is a solid option in his second year.
“I’ve still been along the lines of there doesn’t seem to be a downside, at least early on, to bringing Geno Suárez back and letting Williamson still develop,” Lefko said. “There’s not a downside to having your bench be better than what it was last year, where some of these guys you put them in (and) you weren’t sure what you're getting. You had to put Dylan Moore in there, and he really struggled.
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“So, if Ben Williamson is the guy that’s getting every third day if Geno takes a day off or you put him as the DH early on, that’s not an issue. And then you get towards the end of the season, you get to the middle of the season, the trade deadline, you say, look, are we ready to go with Williamson?”
Ben Williamson could take a big step forward in 2028
However, Williamson is also still largely unproven. He played just 150 games in the minor leagues before he was called up, with just 14 of those coming in Triple-A. He finished the final two months of the season with Triple-A Tacoma.
The Mariners' second-round pick in 2023, Williamson hit .253 with one home run and 21 RBI in 85 games. He has noted for his great glove work and making big plays defensively
“Ben Williamson did a lot of good things in the big leagues,” Hollander said of Williamson last season. “He’s a uniquely good defender, someone who we believe has a chance to be an impact defender who separates himself from the rest of the impact defenders at his position … with contact skills, with the ability to hit the ball hard. He made some adjustments in Triple-A and did big things after we sent him down. We really believe in Ben.”
