The 2023 second-round pick had played just 150 games in the minor leagues, with just 14 of those coming in Triple-A. Yet Williamson\u2019s glove and Seattle\u2019s lack of third base depth made William & Mary product the top candidate for the job.<\/p>\n
Like many young players, there were ups and downs for the rookie third baseman. Many of the ups came on the defensive side where Williamson wowed with his glove and posted the sixth-best mark with eight defensive runs saved at third base, despite playing far less innings than most of the others near the top of the leaderboard. The downs mostly came at the plate where Williamson posted a respectable .253 batting average but just a .294 on-base percentage and lacked the power most teams look for at the hot corner, slugging only one home run and producing a 76 wRC+<\/a> in 295 plate appearances.<\/p>\n Eventually, the Mariners made a trade to reunite third baseman Eugenio Su\u00e1rez just before the trade deadline, which resulted in Williamson finishing out the final two months of the season with Triple-A Tacoma. With Su\u00e1rez now a free agent, Williamson could be in line for a prominent role in 2026 with the expectation that he and top prospect Colt Emerson will be battling for the spot at third base, unless the M\u2019s make an addition there before spring training starts.<\/p>\n During Tuesday\u2019s edition of Seattle Sports\u2019 Wyman and Bob<\/a>, co-host Dave Wyman and producer Mike Lefko<\/a> discussed the possibility of Williamson being Seattle\u2019s starting third baseman in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe Mariners now are in this position where they have a couple of almost pivots they could make either at third or second,\u201d Lefko said. \u201cIt\u2019s the question of, \u2018Are you gonna get two veterans to play these infield spots? Are you gonna get one veteran at third and go with the young guys at second? Or vice versa, go with the young guys at third and try to get a veteran at second?\u201d<\/p>\n If the Mariners do end up going with a younger player at second or third, which seems likely to will be the case at one of the positions, if not both, Wyman has the most confidence in Williamson due to his defensive capabilities.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s where you want power. I get that, but he\u2019s a proven commodity defensively,\u201d Wyman said. \u201cSo to me, if you\u2019re gonna go young at one of those spots, I would say Williamson.\u201d<\/p>\n Wyman made the point that Williamson\u2019s lack of offensive production can be made up elsewhere on the roster where the M\u2019s get more offensively than the typical team does. For the M\u2019s, those spots would be at catcher with Cal Raleigh and center field with Julio Rodr\u00edguez.<\/p>\n Lefko added that if the M\u2019s were to make a trade for Diamondbacks second baseman Kete Marte or Cardinals utilityman Brendan Donovan, two bats Seattle has been linked to, playing Williamson at third base becomes more plausible from an offensive standpoint.<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps you feel better about a Ben Williamson starting at third, kind of like you said, if you get that production from elsewhere,\u201d Lefko said. \u201cThe home runs come from somewhere else, the big bat comes from somewhere else, like a trade at second base. So if you do get that swing and get Ketel Marte or if it\u2019s Brendan Donovan, you\u2019re like, OK, now we have veterans around the rest of the infield with (J.P.) Crawford (at shortstop) and whoever\u2019s at second and (Josh) Naylor at first. Third base will go with the future.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if you didn\u2019t get that name at second, now it adds a little more urgency to bring a veteran back at third. So I think it\u2019s the question that still looms to the Mariners.\u201d<\/p>\n While Lefko can see a scenario where Williamson makes sense as the everyday third baseman, he still thinks finding a way to bring back Su\u00e1rez could be the best option for the team.<\/p>\n Why reuniting with Eugenio Su\u00e1rez could still be on the table for M\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve still been along the lines of there doesn\u2019t seem to be a downside, at least early on, to bringing Geno Su\u00e1rez back and letting Williamson still develop,\u201d Lefko said. \u201cThere\u2019s 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\u2019t sure what you getting. You had to put Dylan Moore in there and he really struggled.<\/p>\n \u201cSo if Ben Williamson is the guy that\u2019s getting every third day if Geno takes a day off or you put him as the DH early on, that\u2019s 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?\u201d<\/p>\n Hear the full conversation at this link<\/a> or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.\u00a0<\/p>\n Seattle Mariners offseason coverage<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Seattle Mariners sign free agent OF\/1B Rob Refsnyder to one-year deal<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Who is Rob Refsnyder? A close look at Mariners\u2019 new OF\/1B<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Morosi: Refnsyder deal signals M\u2019s have another move coming<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0The Seattle Mariners could have one of spring training\u2019s biggest stories<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0What would a Brendan Donovan trade cost Seattle Mariners?<\/a><\/p>\n
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