Mariners Roundtable Part 2: Offseason Needs & Wildcard Players for 2026 | Seattle Sports

Mariners Roundtable Part 2: Offseason Needs & Wildcard Players for 2026 | Seattle Sports

Okay, so we have established where we feel the Mariners are right now, the state of the organization. Let’s go ahead and get to what we could see coming up over the next couple of months and start with the needs. Uh, first base. I’m going to start with first base. You don’t say. And I’m going to keep shouting it for a while until Josh Naylor is here. Signed with the Mariners for the next few years. It It’s, you know, Brock and I always do these most irreplaceable lists. We just did it with the CEOs the other day and it’s built off of not just how valuable a person is and how good they are at their job, but also how important that job is and what else is available to replace that person if they were to go away, injury or leave or whatever the case may be. You know, who are the most valuable and irreplaceable Mariners? Well, obviously Cal Raleigh is going to be at the top of that list and obviously, you know, Julio and the starting pitchers and Munoz. like there’s a bunch of guys that you’re going to put on there, but if something if you don’t have Josh Naylor at first base, I don’t know what first base looks like. It is not a a position that is deep in their system at all. As good as the system is, there is not a natural fit at first base. Maybe they want to try to play Laz Montes or Michael Aoyo there, but as of right now, there’s no obvious fit at first base. Lukeley is the only other guy on the roster and I don’t think they like that option very much for him to be your primary first baseman next year. He’s clearly not comfortable over there. No. And and he really had a tough year this year as well. So counting on that would be a mistake. Um you know if you are able to sign Palano and they haven’t yet maybe he’s an option at first base although I don’t like that as much as Josh Naylor. And if it’s not that you’re probably looking in the trade market because I don’t see Pete Alonzo coming here. And after that it gets rough. I don’t love Bellinger as an option. I guess maybe they could. I’m not a big Bellinger fan and I think his value is more in the outfield than it is at first base. So if it’s not Josh Naylor, I look around and go, who’s playing first base for this team? Okay, let me throw this at you. Let’s say they sign Naylor, that gets done. Let’s say they sign Naylor and Palano. That gets done. What does this team need? You can add something to this. Okay. Then I would say then I’m in all in on the trick school conversation and we got into this on the show and everyone’s like why would you want school? I’m like I do but not if you’re not going to have Naylor and Palano and now I don’t know whether this is a team that is worth investing in a one-year ace rental with everything you’d have to give up to get Teroo. But if you tell me Josh Naylor’s back and Jorge Palano and you’re feeling pretty set at a few of these positions and you’ve got other guys coming in, well, now I’m real willing to have a conversation about an ace because we saw exactly what it does for a team like LA throw. And I’m not saying school can throw, you know, on zero days less like rest like Ryan would back in his day, you know, just big strapping young buck. He’s like, “Oh, you need me every day? I’ll just go right out there and throw again.” But having an ace like Scubble would be my next priority. It’s the one thing that I think they’re missing. Yeah. one-year race. Okay, I’m curious to see what Palano does now. He’s just obviously declined his his player option and 100% you knew that was going to happen, right? Um and this is really his last chance, not last chance of free agency, but a last chance to get the the security of multiple inning uh multiple years. And so I look at that and say, okay, can the Mariners and him um they have that familiarity? He he came he was obviously coming back from an injury. Um, I know you want to go explore free agency because you get a chance to go multiple years here and and you’ve you’re coming off a really nice September even though he went ice cold there in May and June, but you’re looking at that saying, can there be a way where there is that um option to say, hey, let’s tack on another year. Let’s call it a player option in year three or or or whatever it may be, right? and keep the cost a little bit more u manageable because I feel like if you’re sitting here going all right all right what are our priorities Naylor is going to take forever I’m sorry that’s not going to get done quick he’s going to that’s going to drag out now you can start talking about Ryan throwing the wet blanket on everything because he’s never been a free agent before I don’t blame him that’s not all the time in the world he’s waited forever to be a free agent and bet on himself over and over again and the hard part here is too with the Mariners you look at and say okay all right you look at first base and you look Palanka, right? Maybe second base or DH, what whatever that then you look over the other side of the field and say, “All right, third base.” Is there a way to somehow with all this stock you have in the farm system, not saying that you’re going to give all that up for just a one year, but you have a situation where you can give up some pieces there for a controllable someone who is doesn’t have a choice because he’s coming over trade and he’s under team control for three to five years or something. But you kind of have to wait and see with that what you have going in regards to what you’re spending and what you’re going to give up. If you’re talking pitching, is it a situation I I hate to to see this, but you’re looking at Castile is making what 22 million next year, right? He had a nice year last year. He’s attractive to a lot of teams. Is it a situation where all right we’re willing to will and deal a little bit way more than what we were at 12 months ago to figure out some control over that third base and then you can get maybe a one year or something in regards to starting pitching but then you can and then I love the TK school thing. Don’t get me wrong but yeah I mean would you give George Kirby to get Terble? Nope. I would. Yeah. What are you gonna do next year? I mean you gota figure that out prospects. You’re also you got to figure it out. But you’ve got three or four guys that are coming and so three or four Yeah. Don’t you I mean I mean I think you think that St. John Sloan and and anderson taking for granted that you’re going to have another Gilbert Woo. I look at that but I’m willing to go all in if I’ve got if I really believe that Naylor is there and I’ve got a team that I think can put up the same kind of offense as last year. I’m willing to take a few more chances. So they’re all going to appear the next year and be what this group has been for the last four years. I don’t know that but I’m I think you’re leaving yourself very short at that point. Maybe to me that’s more for more than a year I would be for that but for a year you have to ask what happens next year at that point. Yeah. And I still feel like too if looking at the end of the ALCS, right, and is this the start of something, you still have to look at this and say, “All right, can go at at a place where we have got something for three to five of course, right?” And that’s kind of the foundation, then we figure out from there. I don’t I’m not big on banking on even if you got three guys in the minor leagues in in a Kate Anderson or Sloan. Now, I’m willing to bank on them if we maybe see a couple starts or or what they do in the first couple years in double A and AAA next going into next year and what we but until they actually get here and you really figure it out. I just I’m not big on have some level of faith in your farm system. I mean I to me that’s part of it. No, but they can’t they don’t just instantly appear and hey, we can replace George Kirby Luis Castillo. Do you know how hard it would be to replace Luis Castillo? For the record, I’m not talking about replacing Luis Castillo. I wasn’t talking about doing both. Well, no, not both. To me, it’s like, hey, if you if you really believe you’re a great team next year and have a possibility of being where you were, do you trade George Kirby, giving up a little bit of your future for a right now with a little bit? That’s not a little bit of your future. Well, it’s what he’s got. After this year, how many more years is? But you’re also giving up more than George Kirby. George Kirby alone is not going to get that done. All right. But I’m willing to start the conversation there and see where it goes because I have some level of faith in what’s coming. Okay. Like I I I you’re giving yourself an opportunity to be even better next year, but I got to know more about how the rest of the roster shapes up. That’s why I love your Palano conversation. To me, he’s such an interesting lynch pin because I could write you a script where I say, “Look, you got to have Jorge Palano back. He, you know, what he did for you, the versatility, second base, first base, DH, switch hitter. Cal’s got a DH sometimes. So, he gives you the opportunity to be a DH, but then go into the like there’s so many ways he fits the roster and he was clutch. But I could also turn around and be like, really, you want to start investing in Jorge Banco as he gets into his 30s after you had to nurse him through the year this year just to make sure he could walk. But that’s what I’m saying. The cost of that, if you were in a situation where if look, put it this way. If he cost you, Yep. 10 million bucks Yep. for the next two years. Are you willing to wear the third year and and who knows maybe where you’re at? I mean, right now I would be throwing everything at Naylor and Palano because you’re overpays for them. You’re talking 2,34 million as opposed to we’re going to roll the dice on a third baseman from Japan who hit a fast ball over 92 miles an hour and I agree. And we’re going to have the long term, you know, rather Yeah, take a couple million more. Whatever I can do to get that solidifies where you are. Well, I I think Palano is just as important. Strangely enough, because of the flexibility that he now brings, particularly with young players, young infielders coming in and expecting the H. You could put them at first base, you could put them, you can put him at second. You have these kind of interesting um I’m not sure what the right word is. Uh and they’re not challenges, but they’re like little roster quirks. Like, hey, you got Cal Raleigh, who’s the best catcher in baseball, but you kind of want to DH him a lot because you can’t play him every day behind the plate. And so a fulltime DH is a bit of a challenge for the Mariners because you want to be able to put Cal there. Okay. So Palano fits really well because he can DH on those days, but then you got this young second baseman who you like, right? And Cole Young, you want to be able to run him out there, but you want to expose him to lefties every time. I don’t know if you really want to do that. And you don’t know how real what it all So Palano can slide in there. And Naylor, hey, he’s really great against righties and he can he’s last year, last two years are really the only times he’s played a whole season. So Palano has a really nice potential fit at first base. I love his fit. Well, so I I’m with you. I’m not trying to poo poo the Palano thing. I think he’s an interesting point. To your point, too, the Mariners have done a nice job the last couple years with that roster versatility. If you all of a sudden get to a place where, oh, we have to have, you know, Palano playing this position constantly and you handcuff the ability to DH a cow roll and get him off his legs that they’ve done an amazing job of having that versatility. Um, and then having guys slide in and out of that DH, you know, for multiple reasons, especially Cal is a big one. So, let me ask you the the horrifying question. I I’ll be the I’ll be the bad guy for a minute and ask you the horrifying question. What if Cal hits 30 home runs next year? Because, you know, because you could write for all we just said about the incredible season they just had and it was incredible. It was a magical run. What if Cal had hit 30 home runs this past year instead of 60? Are we having any of these conversations? Are we talking about them having, you know, won the AL West and won the, you know, beaten the Tigers and been a strike a couple outs away from beating the the the Blue Jays? I don’t I don’t know what would have happened if Cal just had what had previously been a Cal year. And I’m not saying he’s going to return to being a 30 home run hitter. I think he’s probably now I’m hoping for 40 45. In other words, you’re saying in 2026 put Cal up for 30 home runs. Put it at that. What does the offense look like? In other words, yeah. Let me go back in time. What did the offense in 2025 look like if Cal Okay, so let me let me ask this because it was really kind of interesting to see it and to try and I think it’s this and then go back and look at the numbers. And I was like, “Huh, it really wasn’t.” But it was this during times of the year and this at other times of the year. What should their balance be? I mean, they have been so pitching forward and it seemed like, well, the offense finally carried this year and they were a very offensive club. Yeah, they scored a lot more runs this year then and the pitching kind of took a step backwards, but their run differential was still still very similar to what it’s been the last few years, which is crazy. So, I think it was different times of the year that we saw it. So, what is that balance? What do they need to be as a team? What kind of team do they need to be? Was this it this year? And do you need a 60 home run? Obviously not. But I mean, do you can’t live with that one. Got to have 60 home run now that we’ve had. You don’t have a 60 home run threat. You might as well pack it in. 55. It’s like C. That was a bad home. I know. Aaron Judge has had a few 50s. Maybe he’ll have another one. I think it’s what makes a Mariner season so interesting and and people hate this conversation because it sounds like you’re trashing the team or saying that they’re not going to be as good or they’re going to take a step back. I find it interesting to be in Jerry and Justin’s shoes and say, “Okay, how real was this is, you know, how much of this was real? How much of it was Cal making a big step forward that is going to be repeatable? How much of this was a down American league and especially AL West? And we don’t know whether that’s going to look different next year and what the Rangers do and what the what the Astros do and there’s new managers and Oakland’s getting better or Vegas is getting whatever they are. Sacramento’s getting better, the A’s are getting better like right you know if you are you have to take that you have to be realistic. You can’t be pie in the sky as a GM. You might be able to do it as a fan that’s fun or a member of the media but like they have to realistically think about that. Can we keep Palano healthy for another year doing what we did last year? keeping him off his feet. Is that realistic? Can Cal be a, you know, all right, maybe not 60, but 47 home run guy this next year. Like all of those have to be taken into account when you’re trying to determine what you think and project your lineup and your roster is going to look like. And it’s not unreasonable to assume that there’s going to be some steps back there. JP is another year older. Where is his defense at at this point? We haven’t even mentioned his name. And I actually think he could be, if you want to go down that road, a lynch pin for making some changes to how your infield looks if you want to go down that road. Randy Rosena was Shannon, as you’ve mentioned a couple times, not very good in the last couple months of the season and especially in the postseason. Do you He’s getting a big fat raise this year is another year of arbitration. Do you want to go through that with Randy or you is that like he’s been the best left fielder you’ve had here since ever? I I mean like a really really really long time. So like you know all of these are it’s why I love this off season because you could look at it and say this team’s set man let’s go. They were a couple pitches away. Let’s rock and roll and go big. And you could also look at it and be like uh a lot of question marks that got to be worked out before you commit to anything. Well, one of the other things though is that a lot of the time everything that you just mentioned was offensive and they did not have their starting pitching for a good amount of the season. That’s a great point. if you double and triple down on the starting pitching next year, which I’ve been saying for three years now. Yes, you’re right. Three years now. I mean, how does that balance? So, point back to your question in regards to how this team should balance out if you could, and this is the boring answer, but I said this even going into 2025. If you can have, you mentioned the injuries, right? So, Bryce missed a ton of time, be look good at the end of the year. Nothing going on this off season in regards to hold him back to start April off. Um you had Logan Gilbert miss what 7 weeks I believe it was on the IIL came back it took him a little bit he wasn’t the same guy as 2024 George Kirby a shoulder injury it’s always a little tougher to come back he’s a little bit more inconsistent if you could have short answer here a mid-range offense and the pitching live up to their capabilities with some additions that’d be great then you’re good and then you get to the trade deadline and you can you can you have the ability to add and just back to to Mike’s point going into this off season. I think that they are in a really good spot because and I’m again I’m not trying to play GM here, but you got a situation where Randy Rosarin is nearly making 20 million bucks in arbitration this year. And look, he had a great year last year, don’t get me wrong, but there was times, man, where you really needed him to step up, especially that second half. A bad Yeah, right. Bad second half. Really good first half, right? And even too with some of these ads like Gino wasn’t the same guy under 200 and was not didn’t have the same you know slugging ops nowhere near what he was having when you grabbed him from Arizona. But if you can look at that and say, “All right, you know, the simple things obviously cut down the swing a miss the same you the the power numbers can be mid-range and then you can add in regards to the starting pitching and you figure out maybe some of these again I’m this is banking a lot but there’s a couple reclamation projects out there in the bullpen you can get on the cheap a little bit to add to that bullpen. If you go into it that way there’s plenty of room to to plenty of room to to fix on the margins. I do like the idea of fixing um hitting on the margins. I I agree with that. I think trying to I you know Shannon, your first question when we started this was what have you learned this year? And again, I don’t know if this something we just learned this year, but I don’t know how anyone in the world has any freaking clue what one hitter is going to do from one year to another. I don’t know what Randy or Rosarena is going to show up next year. Do you have any idea which Randy you’re going to get next year? Let’s say you were to resign Gino Suarez. I don’t feel like that’s likely to happen, but let’s say you did. What Gino Suarez are you going to get? Which one have you gotten for the last three years? At times he’s the best hitter in baseball and at times he’s the worst. Like I I don’t know how any poor which Jorge Palano are you going to get? What if you get the Jorge Palanco from two years ago and what if you get the Palanco from May in June which was the Palano from two years ago? He couldn’t hit. He was he was nearly cut halfway through not this past year but the year before 2024. Like you want to bet three years on Jorge Palano knowing that just two years ago this entire city wanted him run out of town on he has a history when he’s healthy. I know that but the point being and I know there a big health and they may have figured that out. How in the world do you do you have any clue what these Did anyone in the world think Cal Raleigh was going to hit 60 home runs? What JP Crawford are you going to get next year? Sometimes you get the three and a half win JP Crawford and sometimes you get a guy who can’t hit. It’s much more predictable. So, I’m with you. I I do think that pitching is more predictable. I do like Shannon, you’re absolutely right. The more you can make sure, and that’s kind of why I like the scubble idea, even if it’s only one year, and we don’t need to go down that rabbit hole, but I’m with you. If there are ways to make sure the pitching is great, but I also don’t want to be rolling out the rowdy toes of the world either. Like, you you’ve got to find a way to make sure that you’ve got a competent offense and then, as Ryan said, add to it when when the time comes. I I that’s a great point. I don’t want a situation where you’re you’re building this side of your team, that side of your team, and then all of a sudden you get to the end of spring training and nothing, look, nothing against rowdy to, but you don’t want a situation where playing majority against righties and pitching 70% of the time, you got rowdy to and we’ve seen that Mike Ford and Rowdy to a bunch of these guys like that’s why I keep coming back to first base. I’m traumatized like I I want a real first baseman. I don’t think that’s too much to ask. And that and obviously the answer to the question becomes, okay, if if I can’t predict what Ry’s going to do or what Palano is going to do or any of these guys, get as many good ones as you can and hope that it worked that enough of them have a good year that you can, you know, have some success. Let’s wrap this one up with uh pick a wild card for this team next year. Somebody who you are counting to be on it and I think we’ll probably do this again. You can’t answer Josh Naylor anymore, Mike. you’ve got the wheels turning your entire school like oh you know and we will you know in the weeks to come we’ll get into we can get into some names some things that can happen along I think we’re setting a good foundation here but when you look at this team wild card to be an absolute impact player for this a difference maker for this team next year well I got two I got one um Logan Gilbert getting back to 2024 I feel like how what did you’re a pitcher how what I’m not going to sit here and say I know this is something he’s he’s going to try and work on a little bit of that safety net where he gets some sort of movement on that fast ball to get weaker contact in between all the swing and miss and the six pitch at bats. I just feel like there’s something there with him. Um the way he goes back into the year and say man I threw a ton of pitches to get guys out. It’s an easy fix. It’s a lowhanging fruit for me with him. Um and then and not to mention the fact missing the time. I’m not saying you know you never know, knock on wood be healthy. The other one is too if Julio, this goes without saying, second half player, you feel like each year he’s cutting into that first half faster and faster. He’s cutting out the noise in regards to what his approach should be back and forth. If you can see him, if you if he can figure that out, whatever, have a cold April, but figure that out may say, “No, no, this is who I am. I’m old enough now. I’ve been here at this level. They’ve I’m counteracting whatever they’re doing against me.” He could have a monster. What if you get 50 home run Julio, right? 50 home run, 30 bags. Like that’s not out of the line. I love your answers. I kind of want to steal both of them. So, I’ll go because I really like both of Ryan’s. I think Logan Gilbert, does he could he throw more of a two seamer, more of a cutter, something? He can’t throw a cutter. That’s the problem. He just can’t in regards to how he is on the ball, but like that’s something he’s messing with though right now. Just something. Yeah, I love that thought. Um, all right. If those two were not available to me as options, my wild card for the off season would have been JP because I just think that how you choose to handle JP gives you a lot of other options and how you want to use some of your young players. If you’re looking for a potential impact player next year, for me, the two guys offensively would either be Randy because he’s capable of it. He just needs to put it together for a longer period of time. And he’s just so multiple. I mean, just his ability to run and hit and hit for power and get on base. Like, I just love him so much as a player. I just Randy, let me love you. Like, just do it more consistently so you can be my favorite player. I know. And then, you know, the guy who just had a completely lost season. And I’m not banking on him, I think, is is is Ro, right? I mean, it was such a lost season. He didn’t do anything. He was hurt all year. Credit to him for even coming back at all. You know, that right field one is another one where you’re looking at it like, okay, you were banking on roleplays. Am I the only one who thought Dominic Kzone was a 4A player and now I’m like, oh, wait, maybe he’s actually a major leaguer. And then I watched the postseason, I was like, oh, maybe he’s not more than just a 4A player. I don’t know. So, like I I could name any you could really name almost anybody, but I’ll give you those two. Randy and and Robas as possibilities to be to have a lot more impact than they did this past year. I think Randy just on Randy too he hurt his hamstring early shut him down because he was I was like man okay just keep stealing these bags you know keep being wreak havoc on the bases hurt his hamstring early and that kind of you know there was that period I don’t remember that. Yeah, he he only like Yeah, I think he only had two games off at that he shut down on the the running he shut it down and I was like man because he coming out of April I’m like man he is just that is the challenge that’s when he wasn’t leading off at that point but he was still I’m like I love the fact when Ry’s getting on base but then he he heard his hamstring was still playing but he shut down the running I was like man that could have been even more of an impact but the roadl one’s a good one for sure. Yeah. I mean, when he’s doing what he does at his best, he’s like their perfect player, right? He’s got a little bit of pop. He can run around. He plays great defense. He’s You talking Ro? Well, I guess it’s either of them, but yeah, I was talking specifically about Ro because he was your lead off hitter and you lost that, especially Yeah, especially those last couple months. Yeah. And they need a leadoff hitter. Yeah, they do. They, you know, that that’s on the list. That was pretty clear in the postseason that they didn’t really have a lead off hitter to go out and do that thing. And Ro is supposed to be that guy. I mean, you really want to think big, there is a right fielder available in free agency this off season. If you really want to go get get, you know, make your team great. I know Lyall’s brought this up a few times, but Kyle Tucker’s pretty good. Oh, man. He’d be pretty good in Rightfield. Yeah. Well, we’ve got time to talk about that, guys. I appreciate it. Mike, go take your nap. And you’re going to Disneyland apparently. Yeah. Isn’t your whole life Disneyland? No, it was Imagine Ryan just living a Disney life. It was a last minute thing. Amanda got these tickets from Costco months ago and she goes, “Oh man, we got to use these.” Although I’m like, “Really?” So now it’s flights are through the roof. I’m like, “All right, I guess we got to do it this weekend.” So there we go. Off to Disneyland. What’s your favorite ride? No, I want to do the There’s a Star Wars one I haven’t done that everyone else has done apparently. Apparently it’s epic. It feels like you’re actually on the cars one. I like the Cars ride. Yeah, it’s always fun. All right. I’m a big Cars fan, guys. Thank you. Thanks, Shannon. Thanks, Shannon.

Mariners Insider Shannon Drayer, Mike Salk (Brock & Salk) and Mariners Broadcaster Ryan Rowland-Smith sit down to discuss the biggest offseason needs and potential wildcard players for the team in 2026.

Catch part 1 here: https://youtu.be/N6x88lTy2EQ?si=6J1gnRv3kxy2k1L2

Complete coverage & more interviews at SeattleSports.com.

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0:00 – Offseason Needs
5:30 – Would you Trade For Tariq Skubal
7:51- Jorge Polanco’s Impact on the Offseason
10:45 – Expectations for Cal Next Season
12:50 – Does The Roster Need To Look Different?
15:03 – Balancing Pitching and Hitting
19:20 – Wildcard Players for Next Season

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