Seattle Columnist says Mariners have several options left this off season
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The Mariners walked into the Ma jor League Baseball Winter Meetings riding a lot of momentum after re-signing first baseman Josh Naylor. Unfortunately, the front office was unable to swing any moves during the Hot Stove League sabbatical. But, Seattle Sports' Mike Salk, sportswriter and host of the Brock & Salk podcast (with former NFL quarterback Brock Huard), says the team still has a myriad of moves and offseason options with a few months until Spring Training begins/
"What’s left to be determined? Almost everything!" Salk wrote as the Winter Meetings were winding down.. "I still believe that Polanco is the keystone. Once he makes a decision, everything else will fall into place. If he ends up back in Seattle, the M’s can go find a backup catcher (Mitch Garver or maybe Jonah Heim?), maybe another veteran reliever, and wait for July. They can spend the first few months of the season learning about their young infielders and then see what the trade deadline holds for them."
"We know they need a backup catcher. The organization has never been comfortable with Harry Ford’s future as a catcher and has been willing to deal him for quite some time," Salk added. "They could be wrong. and he might turn into a quality big leaguer at that position. But they needed another leverage arm in the ‘pen and, perhaps just as important, they are cognizant of not breaking in too many rookies at one time.
Polanco is the Mariners' Biggest Domino
As Salk made clear, Polanco is the priority for the team right now, and for good reason. The second baseman hit .265 with 26 home runs and 78 RBI in 2025, while providing solid defense. His power-packed presence helped protect Seattle's two biggest stars, Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez. assuring them they would see plenty of good pitches to hit. That's why, after the Mariners convinced Naylor to return to the fold, their attention was turned towards the veteran second sacker.
“The guys who come here, the comfort that they feel, the environment that they're in, I do believe that,” Team president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said, per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. “I don't want to speak for Jorge, but I think his experiences were similar to Josh.”
