The countdown is on as Seattle Mariners pitchers and catchers are due to report to Peoria next week, bringing the not-so-offseason to a close.

ESPN host on Mariners’ Brendan Donovan: ‘You’re going to love this guy’

While the answer to “what they have” coming out of spring training is far more important than it is heading into the report days, after a winter of uncertainty, it is a good time to take stock, while keeping the questions they have faced from the get-go in mind.

This winter, all eyes have been on the lineup, with the question being asked by many who follow the Mariners: Will they enter 2026 with a lineup that’s better than what left the field at Toronto’s Rogers Centre in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series last October?

It’s a fair question for a team that enters the season with the highest of expectations, but doesn’t quite align with the goals set by president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander, which involved looking beyond 2026. They weren’t shy about articulating their desire to largely run it back, and they accomplished their No. 1 goal with the signing of Josh Naylor. They were, however, outbid by the New York Mets for the services of Jorge Polanco, who was priority 1a, which was a loss in terms of production, and they passed on Eugenio Suárez, which left two holes in the lineup.

If their focus was set solely on improving the opening day roster, they wouldn’t have stopped after the addition of Brendan Donovan, but a co-priority of their offseason was to provide significant runway for at least one of their young players. That clearly wasn’t a priority at the end of the regular season last year, as Cole Young and Ben Williamson were sat for the playoffs. The intention heading into 2026 has been to have one or possibly two roster spots at the beginning of the season used to bring up or further develop young player(s), with an eye toward the payoff later in the season and beyond.

Because of the commitment to further development of young players, what the Mariners have heading into spring training is different from what we saw at the end of last year. Much has been made of the likely loss in home runs, with Cal Raleigh coming off a record-breaking season and Polanco and Suárez gone. It will be on the lineup to make up for the production. It is different, but it could prove to be a good different.

In Donovan, the Mariners are adding a player whose 13.0% strikeout rate would have been best on the club and .353 on-base percentage would have been second-best behind Cal Raleigh. The lineup will be left up to Dan Wilson day to day, but the initial plan is to bat Donovan at the top against both left and right-handed pitching. It has not been his best spot numbers-wise, but the Mariners believe he has the ability to settle in and be a strong table-setter for the middle of their lineup, bringing consistency to a spot that saw seven different Mariners lead off last year.

The majority of Donovan’s early-season plate appearances are likely to come at second or third base, two positions that provided the second and third-worst OPS marks in the lineup last year. The first? Right field, which came in with a .618 OPS with eight players getting starts there. This season, it should be more stable, as it is inked in along with designated hitter as a platoon spot to be shared – save for the days the DH spot is needed to get Raleigh off his feet – with Victor Robles and Luke Raley mostly splitting right field, and Rob Refsnyder and Dominic Canzone splitting DH. All can play right field if necessary, and a priority would be given to Refsnyder, who posted a .959 OPS against left-handed pitching last year.

On the topic of handedness, the Mariners are extremely left-handed in the infield, but this is something they are willing to run with as Donovan, Naylor and J.P. Crawford are everyday players, with Crawford hitting lefties decently to well the last three years. If a righty is needed at second base to platoon or face tough righties, the switch-hitting Leo Rivas could come into play.

In comparison to what we saw at the end of the year, plusses would appear to be an established leadoff hitter rather than the out-of-place run producer Randy Arozarena, where he put up by far his worst line of any spot in the order at .218/.302/.343 with a .645 OPS and 66 strikeouts in 53 games. Right off the bat, the lineup is lengthened.

A question that remains to be answered regarding the offense is what happens with Colt Emerson and Young. All eyes will be on the pair, with both Dipoto and Hollander making it clear they would be fine with Emerson forcing the issue and making it impossible for them to not bring him north out of spring training. It seems unlikely but not completely out of the question the Mariners could start the season with both Emerson and Young on the roster. If everyone stays healthy and both show they are ready, they could shift Donovan to a multiple-position role. This is a decision that should come down to the very end, with late spring training games critical in giving decision makers looks at them against better and more ready pitching. Either of them getting a start in the minors would not be a terrible thing.

As for the pitching, the intended starting five started 128 of 162 of the Mariners’ regular-season games in 2025, with many of those being games of adjustment either battling through or back from injuries or aggravations. A healthy rotation could give a significant boost over what we saw last year.

And for the bullpen, a wary eye will be kept on the relievers with the innings accumulated last year, but a bit of good news came the Mariners’ way with the announcement of the World Baseball Classic rosters. Initially, five Mariners relievers were expected to leave camp and pitch for their countries, but Jose Ferrer was not named to the Dominican Republic’s team and Matt Brash, who returned from elbow surgery last season, informed Team Canada that he wanted to focus on getting ready for the long season and would not pitch in the Classic. Andrés Muñoz, Eduard Bazardo and Gabe Speier are on WBC rosters and will be leaving camp for the tournament.

One thing is certain. Health withstanding, the Mariners will be starting with a better roster than they started with last season, back when first base was split between Rowdy Tellez and Donovan Solano, and Crawford and Polanco were the only infielders inked into positions. Their bench included two players in Miles Mastrobuoni and Ryan Bliss with minimal experience, and the bullpen was missing Brash and Ferrer.

What they have at this point appears to be a roster with more options and possibilities, and perhaps even a tough decision to come. Better? We shall see.

Seattle Mariners offseason coverage

• Here are the Mariners playing in the World Baseball Classic
• Mariners announce change to rare quirk in schedule
• Did Mariners pay the right price for Donovan? Morosi weighs in
• Salk: By adding Donovan, Mariners did ‘what contending teams do’
• Drayer: Seattle Mariners land Brendan Donovan after long pursuit