How #Mariners STAY in Contention for 2026 w/Jordan Shusterman | #SeattleSports

How #Mariners STAY in Contention for 2026 w/Jordan Shusterman | #SeattleSports

Uh let’s start with the work they need to do. Uh as part of this question, I do want to know your thoughts on Jorge Palano headed to the Mets. Um uh but what do they do, the Mariners, their options at the infield now? >> Yeah, it’s a great question. I’ve been uh texting with some people about it today. I think that where the price tag got with Palano, you know, I think we were wondering if it was going to end up being, you know, there was some reporting that he was seeking a fourth year, which I’m not sure anybody was willing to give him. And I understand if the Mariners thought they were going to be able to to find a compromise just because of how much he he liked being in Seattle, but 20 million AAV uh even over two years is is is a is a heck of a deal for Palano. And I can understand why the the Mariners were maybe uncomfortable matching that. I I think obviously awesome for Palano to get that. You know, his body of work just this past season offensively was incredibly productive and incredibly convincing. I think that Seattle ultimately looked at him and especially with the roster fit being a little bit less ideal with his declining defense and kind of DH only fit. I I think it was kind of hard to justify going to that number for him, but now they definitely need to add another bat. It’s no secret they’re chasing Brenda Donovan, who maybe doesn’t have the offensive upside of Palanco, but the floor is much higher when you consider what he brings defensively, his versatility, and how well he fits the roster. So, we’ll see if they’re able to get that across the finish line. >> Do you think Palano can somewhat repeat what he did last year? It’s just hard for me to to believe it, but what what are your thoughts? >> Yeah, it’ll be really interesting. I think, you know, how where he fits into the Mets lineup, a Mets lineup that like it’s really hard to even say what that lineup is fully going to look like besides, you know, the obvious Lindor and Sodto components because of how much offseason is left and how much work they still have to do. I think that the point I made on our pot about Palano is he he really hasn’t had two good healthy seasons in a row. Uh he’s had, you know, two good seasons in a row, but has missed some time. He’s had two healthy seasons in a row, but, you know, not necessarily the full production. And so that’s really what he’s going to have to prove is that he can, you know, play 120, 130 games in multiple years in a row. And maybe playing less defense will help him do that. But that also if he is a DH only all the time, that, you know, that that raises the the bar for what you’re expecting from him offensively. So like I said, I mean, everything he was able to do, switch hitting, cutting down strikeouts, was really impressive. I think he’s a really good hitter, but the overall value I think is is going to be interesting to see where it kind of ends up when if he really is only playing DH and possibly a position at first that he really has never played before. >> Uh I wanted to ask a question about how teams in a World Series window, especially one uh that feels a little smaller than a team that spends a ton might approach trades differently. So, for instance, the Mariners 5 years ago were very much still in that like building up mode. And the idea of trading uh a current MLB guy or like a starter was not super intimidating if you were like, well, we’re offloading some salary and this guy’s young and he’ll come up with Julio and it’ll make sense. Um, but when I saw Lancelin on Cardinals territory say, oh, a trade for Brandon Donovan would probably take Bryce Miller, I thought, well, the Mariners are in a different place. they clearly are not going to want to trade a starter. So, A, how do you kind of navigate trades when you’re trying to contend now? And and B, would it be a horrible decision for the Mariners to trade a current starter? >> I don’t really see a scenario where they trade a current starter. I think that would be a much more reasonable thing to consider when talking about Catel Marte. Um, but even still, I I just it’s hard for me to see them definitively getting better in 2026 by trading a current starter. One of the funny dynamics we really see in trade conversations, and this applies to whether it’s former major leaguers trying to construct trade packages or fans, is that everybody believes that the guy that they want to get, in this case, you know, Mariners fans talking about Brendon Donovan, isn’t actually that good and then isn’t actually worth the amount of prospects. But then of course it’s just always this disconnect. You’re almost trying to argue that the player you’re getting is worse than he is just so that you can argue that the prospects you should be giving up aren’t as good as you would like. [laughter] And so it’s very strange back and forth and I think in Lance Lynn’s case I think if anything that’s a mystery of where the Cardinals are at because I understand Bryce Miller has a lot of years of control left but they’re still thinking I think a lot more long-term bigger picture than getting a major league ready starter right now. I think they need as much upside as possible and I think in Brennon Donovan’s case, I think that sure they want guys that are close to the majors, not a bunch of aball prospects, but I think they’re looking for the highest possible upside and if that’s, you know, Gerangelo and and pieces that might be more valuable to them than a Bryce Miller. >> What moves keep this team um considered being considered as contenders? because you see everything that’s going down and this baseball is so hard for me man because um you know I try not to look at the first month and panic yet we all do that. I try not to look at moves that are made or not made and try not to panic um you know because in football it’s more straightforward like we got this running back went for 1500 last year we should be good you know in baseball it’s just different. So what moves need to be made or haven’t made and and do you still feel like these guys can be contenders? >> I mean I think the team right now is still pretty good. I think that I loved the Ferrer move. I think that that’s an impact reliever that that they desperately needed, especially from the left side. I think Naylor clearly was the priority. They acted on it. He acted on it and he fits the roster and just moving forward in a way that that really Palano uh didn’t in that same way. So, I think Naylor was was the most important thing. We shouldn’t just move past that. Um, obviously the lineup still looks a little bit short right now. And so whether it’s Donovan, whether it’s another maybe right-handed DH type, I mean, that’s what’s going to be really interesting is if they do get Donovan or if they don’t, how aggressive are they in pursuing another hitter, even if it’s whether it’s trade to free agency, if they’re not willing to spend that much, would they rather just leave the financial room for a move in July and let the kids basically play, whether that’s Cole Young, Cole Emerson, Ben Williamson, and so on, or would they add another another hitter? I mean, Donovan just compliments the roster in so many ways. I know we’ve all been talking about them for weeks now. Um, and I do think that they have the pieces to get it done, but you could also read it as if they haven’t got it done yet, you know, maybe the Cardinals have better offers elsewhere or they’re or they’re really holding out. So, we’ll see with that one. I I still think that even right now their their roster is the best in the American League West. Uh, but there’s definitely still more to more work to be done to be considered, you know, on that Toronto New York level. >> Uh, speaking of Toronto and New York, that was going to be my next question for you. Let’s expand uh and and lean on your knowledge looking at the entirety of the American League so far for some of these offseason moves. Uh what are some of the teams that are making those big splash moves? I can guess where you’re going to go. Uh and uh and those are the ones. And why are they the ones Seattle probably should keep an eye on? >> I mean Toronto, right? I mean it’s hard not to to start there. You could argue that they have already added the most of of any team. Um when you consider what they paid for CE, you know, adding to the bullpen. Cody Pon I think is is a sneaky little signing and the fact that they seem to be the favorites to get Kyle Tucker and or Bo Bashette. So they have probably at least one more move in them and we obviously saw what they were capable of last year. So uh it’s going to be a little bit of a different looking team especially if Bashette leaves but still a lot to like about Toronto moving forward. Although I do think that there are some questions about the rotation relative to kind of how it’s being hyped up at this stage. And I think Baltimore is another team to to keep in mind, right? I mean, that’s a team that really just fell off so hard. But going into last year was considered in the mix as as a team to take seriously in uh in the American League. And if if they can find some impact pitching, that is going to be a heck of a lineup to deal with if if some of those younger guys bounce back. I I’m I’m like the highest on Pete Alonzo. So even though that fit maybe wasn’t quite as obvious, I I really love that aggressive move for them and and I think that is going to make a big difference. So uh Baltimore is definitely the other one to watch. But otherwise, Toronto is the only American League team that has really made nearly as many moves as the Mariners, right? When you say who’s gotten better or who’s gotten closer back to what they’ve done, like Seattle’s been been right there with any of these other American League teams besides Toronto in terms of how active they’ve been, how much they’ve spent. >> Few years back, um, you had JRod and and Kelnik that supposed to be the future of this franchise and everyone’s leaning towards Kelnik and it it flipped. when you look at some of these young guys, um who are the two that you’re looking at and do you see a flip um happening in those situations? >> Yeah, man. I’ve I’ve talked about the just how we all felt about Kell and Julio, and honestly, you know, it’s easy to say this now. If you talk to the right people, even when those guys were in the minors, you would understand that Julio was was the one that that had a better chance of being special. Kellnik felt like the safer option. Um that said, right now we don’t really have as many guys that we’re kind of lumping together as like these are the two. I guess you could say Cole Young and Cole Emerson, but Young obviously already has debuted. Emerson is just going to be one of the biggest stories of spring training. Whether they add someone or not, it really does seem like, you know, he’s going to show up to spring training having gotten to Triple A, still only 20 years old. And I think if they don’t add another infielder, especially, they’re going to give him every chance to win the job. Now, that’s a lot to expect of the kid. Uh but he seems to have the right makeup um on and off the field to really make something like that happen because yeah Emerson is one of the best prospects in baseball. I know we don’t really talk he’s not really getting quite the national hype that that a Julio or a Kelnik did but I think by this time maybe even by the middle of spring training. He could be talked about in that way and it’ll be really interesting to see where he’s at by the time we get to opening day. >> There are some teams that have leaned heavily on veteran talent, especially really expensive veteran talent. The Dodgers obviously a very uh key example. And then there are teams that ended up uh getting a lot from younger players, even a rookie. Boston was a playoff team and arguably didn’t end up going further because they didn’t have that rookie uh in the postseason. If you’re the Mariners, how do you balance that youth movement with still trying to remain deeply competitive? Because there are teams that do actually get a lot from rookies even though I just kind of go in expecting bumps and bruises. But what do you think? Yeah, I mean the way that they talk about Emerson, the way that they talk about Cole Young and even Williamson to a degree, like they believe in them and so they think they’re a part of their long-term future, you even the run to do so. Even if you have you’re taking some lumps earlier on in the season, that that’s where having someone like Donovan or even if they can get another veteran bat in there um at the top of the lineup, you’re not counting on those guys to hit in the middle of the lineup. They’re, you know, they’re batting seventh to eighth or ninth. So, I think you have to have that blend and I think that Seattle’s in a good spot where you do have a good mix of like veteran, you know, contributors and and offensive producers, whereas, but if you have those young players, especially for a team like Seattle where we know have necessarily the financial flexibility or willingness to to go out and push push push from a payroll standpoint in terms of adding veterans, you got to have those young guys that are pre-ARB or or, you know, not making a lot of money because that’s just what that’s what makes the whole roster come together. Um, and so that’s really what you’ve seen in across the league in a lot of cases. And that’s kind of the model that teams that aren’t just blast 200 million or or beyond, of course, in Toronto’s case, but even teams like Toronto, you saw what they were getting from from rookies on the mound like Savage and some of their younger players like Barger and so on, who aren’t necessarily, you know, the Vlad juniors of the world.

Senior MLB Analyst for Yahoo Sports Jordan Shusterman joins Michael Bumpus and Stacy Rost (Bump & Stacy) to discuss the Jorge Polanco exit and what that means for the team, what moves keep the team in contention, and what the “story of spring training” will be.

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0:00 – Jorge Polanco’s exit
1:26 – Can Polanco repeat ’25 in New York?
2:40 – How teams in World Series windows approaches trades
4:56 – What moves keep the Mariners in contention
6:50 – Looking at the American League teams offseason
8:28 – Colt Emerson will be story of spring training
9:51 – Leaning on veteran talent

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Listen to The Bump & Stacy Show weekdays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. live on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle Sports App, or on-demand wherever you listen to podcasts.
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