PEORIA, Ariz. \u2013 No ballclub is perfect. There are nits to pick with every major league roster. Maybe even one or two for the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers and their (gasp!) $395-million payroll.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just, finding the flaws in this Mariners roster isn\u2019t as easy as it has (almost always) been. Take a few minutes to scan the field during spring training drills and even the most hardened critic would have to come to this conclusion:<\/p>\n
This team is loaded.<\/p>\n
Loaded, perhaps, like no team the Mariners have ever had.<\/p>\n
For a franchise that has historically fallen short of expectations, for a fan base that has been conditioned for 50 years to brace for certain disappointment, that might be an uncomfortable statement.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019m here to tell you: The talent is real. The October aspirations are warranted. The dreams are justifiably bigger and bolder than ever.<\/p>\n
Seven years after initiating the first full-fledged rebuilding project in the organization\u2019s history, the Mariners came within eight outs of their first World Series five months ago.<\/p>\n
Now they enter 2026 as the prohibitive favorites to repeat as division champs and, on paper, look like the favorite across the American League.<\/p>\n
There has never been a better time to be the Mariners.<\/p>\n
This roster features a half-dozen future Mariners Hall of Famers \u2026 five All-Stars atop the lineup \u2026 one of the sport\u2019s most well-rounded pitching staffs \u2026 an elite closer \u2026 and several promising prospects poised to break through this summer.<\/p>\n
The Mariners are in the prime of their competitive window. They know it and they embrace it.<\/p>\n
In that spirit, here\u2019s my annual bold predictions about the state of Mariners, culled from observations and conversations through the first several weeks of spring camp. Bigger and bolder than ever:<\/p>\n
95 wins is the floor<\/p>\n
The projection algorithms are quite bullish on the Mariners. You should be, too.<\/p>\n
The Mariners won 90 games last season to claim their first AL West crown in 24 years. This season, they should win the division by 10 games, they should close in on 100 wins and they should hold the AL\u2019s No. 1 seed in October.<\/p>\n
Julio 40\/40<\/p>\n
Book it. Julio Rodr\u00edguez, at age 25, will have his best season yet \u2013 poised for his first 40-homer, 40-steal season. He\u2019ll close in on his first 10-WAR finish and join Aaron Judge and teammate Cal Raleigh in the AL MVP discussion.<\/p>\n
Much has been made of Rodr\u00edguez\u2019s first half struggles over his first four seasons, and the numbers speak to that. He has a .737 OPS collectively in the first half and a .902 OPS in the second half. Certainly, playing home games in baseball\u2019s most pitcher-friendly park is a factor. But there does seem more to it.<\/p>\n
Rodr\u00edguez opted to skip the MLB All-Star Game last summer, an important time, he has said, for him to step back and evaluate himself. He\u2019s talked about having a better sense of self, knowing who he is and what he\u2019s capable of.<\/p>\n
He returned for the second half and posted a .290\/.341\/.560 slash line (.901 OPS) with 14 doubles, 18 homers and 13 stolen bases. Over 162 games, that paces out to 43 homers and 31 steals.<\/p>\n
This spring, he appears at ease with who he is and what he\u2019s capable of. And perhaps for Team Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic should serve to kick-start his swing into midseason form right out of the gates this season.<\/p>\n
Cal won\u2019t repeat 60-homer season<\/p>\n
Womp. Womp.<\/p>\n
OK, that\u2019s hardly a bold prediction. Raleigh did something no catcher in MLB history has ever done in 2025 \u2013 and will likely never do again \u2013 and there\u2019s hardly any shame in suggesting he\u2019d only hit 40 homers this season.<\/p>\n
Because of what Raleigh did last season, pitchers simply won\u2019t give him as many pitches to hit this season. (Which is another reason why Rodr\u00edguez, hitting behind Raleigh in the lineup, will get more opportunities to reach another level of stardom.)<\/p>\n
Even so, Raleigh is a lock to be the most valuable catcher in the game again this year, and by this time next year, we can start to have serious conversations about the possibility of the first Mariners catcher as a future Hall of Famer.<\/p>\n
Kirby\u2019s Dream (Season)<\/p>\n
Pitcher health is paramount for the Mariners this season. That\u2019s obvious and that\u2019s true for any team in any season. But it is especially so for the M\u2019s after three of their five starters missed significant time last season.<\/p>\n
Bryan Woo, coming off his first All-Star season and a top five AL Cy Young finish, is one of the most important figures on this roster. If he continues his ascent as a bone fide ace, the Mariners will find themselves right where they want to be.<\/p>\n
George Kirby is the X factor for this team.<\/p>\n
An All-Star in 2023, Kirby had a delayed start to his season a year ago because of shoulder inflammation. He had an up-and-down season from there \u2013 he was more hittable than ever and walked more batters than ever \u2013 but it\u2019s worth remembering that the team handpicked Kirby to start Game 7 of the ALCS in Toronto.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s as talented as anyone the Mariners have. He\u2019s entering his age-28 season \u2013 the peak of his powers \u2013 and the prediction here is he ends up as the most valuable pitcher on this M\u2019s staff in 2026.<\/p>\n
Seattle\u2019s own Donnie Baseball<\/p>\n
Brendan Donovan, acquired in a trade from St. Louis a week before the start of spring training, was the perfect finishing touch for this roster. A left-handed hitter, he will bat atop the lineup and likely will open the season as the starting third baseman (though he can play just about anywhere on the field).<\/p>\n
\u201cDonnie\u201d has a chance to win a batting title someday soon. He\u2019s exactly what the Mariners needed \u2013 on-base threat and grind-it-out hitter who will wear down opposing hitters before they have to face the likes of Raleigh, Rodr\u00edguez, Josh Naylor and Randy Arozarena.<\/p>\n
Amid all this over-the-top optimism, a word of caution: Don\u2019t be surprised if Donovan and Naylor need some time to acclimate to T-Mobile Park.<\/p>\n
Naylor, we all know, was the ideal trade-deadline acquisition last summer. Seattle has never fallen in love with a player so fully as it did with Naylor in September and October \u2013 and the feeling from him was mutual.<\/p>\n
Naylor, though, hasn\u2019t had to hit regularly through April and May at the most daunting hitter\u2019s park in the game \u2013 and, obviously, Donovan hasn\u2019t either \u2013 and the colder-weather months have broken many a big-league hitter new to Seattle (Jesse Winker and Teoscar Hernandez being the two examples in recent memory).<\/p>\n
Point is, if Naylor and Donovan do slump to start the season, don\u2019t panic. They\u2019re bound to settle in eventually.<\/p>\n
The next deadline blockbuster<\/p>\n
Over the past handful years, the Mariners front office has been the most active club at the MLB trade deadline, acquiring the likes of Andr\u00e9s Mu\u00f1oz, Matt Brash, Luis Castillo, Randy Arozarena, Eugenio Su\u00e1rez and Naylor.<\/p>\n
One name to watch for at the deadline this summer: Cleveland closer Cade Smith.<\/p>\n
He would come at a steep price \u2013 as in, multiple high-end prospects \u2013 but he\u2019d be worth it for the Mariners to bolster a championship-caliber roster.<\/p>\n
Prospering prospects<\/p>\n
Colt Emerson, Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan have been the talk of Mariners camp this spring, and rightly so. They\u2019re three of the very best prospects in all of baseball.<\/p>\n
As things stand, none of them will make the opening day roster. But the prediction here is all three will play into the Mariners\u2019 October plans in some fashion.<\/p>\n
Emerson, 20, ought be the third baseman by midseason, pushing Donovan to either second base or the outfield (Arozarena to DH, anyone?).<\/p>\n
Anderson, 21, is as polished as any college pitcher have drafted. His floor is incredibly high.<\/p>\n
Sloan, 20, throws two fastballs at upwards of 100 mph, stands 6-foot-5 and says his changeup (a changeup!) is his best pitch. His the Mariners\u2019 best 20-and-younger pitching prospect since F\u00e9lix Hern\u00e1ndez. His ceiling is incredibly high.<\/p>\n
Look for both pitchers to be in the mix for a bullpen spot late in the summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PEORIA, Ariz. \u2013 No ballclub is perfect. There are nits to pick with every major league roster. Maybe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523405,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-523404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}