Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert discusses how fatherhood has helped his focus

The Seattle starter discusses how much he has changed as a player and a person since he and his wife welcomed their first child during the offseason

Feb 23, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Seattle Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Logan Gilbert had an extra pep in his step when he arrived at Spring Training this year, and he wasn't full of coffee or taking any type of performance-enhancing items. Instead, he was on cloud nine due to becoming a father over the winter. The Seattle Mariners starting pitcher and his wife, Aviles, recently welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Henry Strider Gilbert. They announced the news in early November 2025.

"It’s everything people say it is,” Gilbert said about fatherhood, “but you don’t really know until you have a kid. I just remember the first time holding him, he just seemed so vulnerable. And it clicks in your head, it’s like, ‘This is your kid, your responsibility, you and your wife.’

In a feel-good moment' in Peoria, Gilbert brought his infant son to Mariners' Spring camp:

The cutest thing you’ll see all day 🥹 pic.twitter.com/TwkwL291Gc

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) February 16, 2026

“I’ve seen changes already, just like the way you look at life, your perspective, what matters, all that kind of stuff. It feels like a more well-rounded balance. It’s not just live and die on how my bullpen went today. That still matters, don’t get me wrong. But going home to him and my wife and having them out here, life is good.”

Gilbert should be part of a solid starting staff

Feb 12, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert (36) at Seattle Mariners workouts in Peoria, Arizona. Mandatory Credit: Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images | Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images

While the Mariners' rotation, spearheaded by ace Bryan Woo's 15 wins, was good in 2025, the unit has a chance to be spectacular this season. Multiple arms were hampered by injuries last season, and Gilbert was no exception. The 28-year-old missed a little over seven weeks and was sidelined for all of May and roughly half of June. Still, he managed to go 6-6 with a 3.44 ERA and 173 strikeouts over the 2025 campaign.

“When you end up on the IL, you have to figure things out again,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh wait, I’m human, just like anybody else.’ So that's always the biggest goal for me, is 32 starts, 200 innings. That's the only thing I really care about. Everything else will take care of itself. So I want to get back to that.”

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