How BIG will #Mariners Roster Changes Be in ’26? | #SeattleSports

How BIG will #Mariners Roster Changes Be in ’26? | #SeattleSports

I am curious if you have have taken a look at all at the free agent list. I think Jim Bowden put together kind of some numbers for different deals for different players and most important to us I think here in Seattle and I think I said this to you last week. I can’t imagine 2026 and beyond without Josh Naylor is the first baseman of the Mariners. So I think Bowden had four years 90 million is kind of the the structure of a deal for Naylor which obviously all of us say absolutely sign off do it get it done now but more curiously how many other suitors do you think there will be bidding for Naylor’s services along with the Mariners? That’s the thing about it. Uh first baseman in free agency they don’t do great. We’ve seen this with Pete Alonzo. We’ve seen this with Freddy Freeman. The reason Freddy Freeman is a Dodger is because of the industry aversion to signing first baseman to long-term contracts in Major League Baseball. Now, here’s why I think Baylor’s a little bit different or or at least should be treated a little bit differently. His age, like we’re still talking about a guy who’s 27 years old and Freeman when he signed with the Dodgers had gone into free agency. I think he was 31, might have been 32, but went into free agency after the Braves did not want to resign him and couldn’t really find an offer all that substantive and he, you know, he he almost defaulted to the doctors, which in this context is is kind of hilarious to think about this guy who had a game winning home run uh this year in game three of the World Series in an 18 in game. He had a game-winning grand slam last year in game one of the World Series. The you know the the notion that this guy would have difficulty finding a home was just illogical. But that’s you know that’s where the the Blue Jays or rather the the Mariners are right now. I I think that they understand as great as Josh Naylor was, first baseman’s markets in free agency just aren’t all that immense. And so four for 90, yeah, I guess it’s it’s certainly more than the three for 52 and a half we talked about last time, right? But I think the 352 and a half was also before the postseason that Josh Naylor had and and the the proof that he belongs in this lineup. It’s not that they they would like him. It’s not that they would need him um in free agency. It’s that if they don’t have him, it’s going to feel empty. And after a year like this, that’s not something the Mariners want to be doing. The other uh choice along those lines is Palano, who’s going to get a raise after what he just did, especially in the postseason, but even throughout the regular season. You want to spend money on Palano’s what age 31, two, and three season? Depends. Um maybe. And I say maybe because the thing about free agency, guys, is that it is always important to look at the universe surrounding what’s going on as much as you’re looking at little little granular things. And a lot of this is is ultimately going to come down to how much money Jerry Dotto and Justin Hollander have to spend. Um, you know, if if they were to go, I’ll turn this around on you. If they were to go out there, resign just about everyone and try to run it back, uh, how would you feel about that? Um, I I don’t know. That’s a good question. I’m sure it’s I wouldn’t feel comfortable. I want to give Runway. You’re a draft, develop, and trade team. That’s who you are. That is what you are. I want to give runway to the deepest farm system they’ve had. And I want to give runway to the Cole Emersons and maybe some of the others and give them an opportunity to be different. And I want to talk about JP Crawford, not necessarily today with you, but in general, I want to talk about JP Crawford and whether that’s the right fit and whether or not Colt Emerson is coming or maybe he plays third or maybe he’s a second baseman and do I want do I, you know, do I what what did I just see from Palano and can I sustain it year after year? And if I can as a DH and maybe plays a little second base at the beginning or on fine. You know, what’s Cal’s future? Is he going to DH more often as Harry Ford is playing more? Does that mean that you don’t want to spend as much money on a DH? Or maybe Palano is the perfect DH because he can also play second base when Cal, you know, takes over that spot. So I I don’t know. Just re just rerracking it doesn’t feel quite right. I get that. But at the same time, man, what they had this October, I know they didn’t get him to the World Series, so maybe I’m just misreading this a little bit, but I thought what they had this postseason was really good and is worth trying to to run back or at least run back the greatest faximile of it that you can. I don’t think anybody wants to to blow this up. That’s for sure. It’s just a matter of how can you sort of do the tweaks in order to just get over the hump. Yeah. Yeah. I will say this, Mike. Um if the Mariners for for any reason were to start Colt Emerson, particularly at shortstop, uh if not at the beginning of the season, then toward the beginning. That tells you the amount of faith that they’ve got the kid. And I I could tell you with my words, they they adore him. They think he’s going to be a star. They um you know they they want to find a way at some point this year to integrate him into that lineup. But when you’ve come within one game of winning the first pennant of your career, right, when you’ve come that close in this organization that has been around for half century now, um is right on the cusp of doing something that it’s never done. It’s kind of hard to run out the next year with somebody who’s absolutely an unproven commodity on the big league level and go into the season thinking that this is going to be your solution. Uh I just think it’s a it’s a risky thing to do. Has it happened? Sure. And and will it happen again? Yeah. But to me, if you have a farm system as good as the Mariners do, uh, your demand, your mandate is to try as best you can to win right now while integrating in guys slowly, but no, no band-aid rips unless it’s absolutely necessary. like 2026 needs to be your focus right now. It needs to be the main focus. It needs to be the target of everything. You have reached a point if you’re the Seattle Mariners right now. I was, you know, I was talking with a with a a GM who I have a ton of respect for around the trade deadline and and he puts he put something in a in a really interesting way to me because I felt like there was a little bit of of paralysis by analysis when it came to non-mariners organizations using their models to validate not making trades. And you know, I was like, when is it right to use a model for decision making? And and the way that this person explained it to me is early on when you’re just doing a rebuild or starting to get good, you should go darn near 100% model because the model is going to it’s going to think and it’s going to show you what to do. And models, they’ve proven to be pretty right over time. But once you start winning, that calculus changes and you have to start doing things that are a little irrational and you have to start getting a little bit out of your comfort zone. And I think too many analytics based teams have and not to suggest that that the Mariners are that, but they have a good a good robust analytics department. I think too many analytics based teams haven’t made that transition smoothly. I mean to me what organiz what separates good organization from great organization is the knowledge of when you do that the timing of it and the execution of it. Is Cal Raleigh going to be the MVP in a week or two? I don’t know. I you know I I would not be surprised at a tie. I don’t think it’s going to happen just because the math doesn’t say it. But let’s put it this way. Is anyone else getting a first or second place vote aside from him and Aaron Judge? No. No. And so now you have a situation where a 155 tie is a realistic thing. Um, I’ll say this, in talking with people, I think there there’s quite a bit to Raleigh’s narrative that is really hitting home this, you know, this season. Like, I think people love him. They They love watching. They love talking about the power that he has and how great he is defensively and all the things that you guys and I have have known for a long time now. But if you have to push me yes or no, I I would say uh yes. How long is the nap going to be when this phone call ends? We’re looking at 3 4 hours. What do we got to do? We got to get to just going back to bed. Do we get up and get to get the day going? Did that make sense what I was just saying? Mostly. Yeah. You got you you became more coherent as the interview went on, which was good. We were we were impressed at how you woke yourself up. No, I seriously Jeff, I was thinking about you last night. I was and read your game story that you wrote and everyone in the world is sharing it and for good reason. It is phen it absolutely captures last night perfectly. It’s a great piece of writing. Uh you should be very proud. But I was thinking of you and the rumors that came out last year. Maybe Jeff Pass is going to go try to take WoJ’s, you know, open job and and cover basketball. And maybe that would have been fun and maybe you would have been great at that too. But I was really glad last night specifically that you didn’t get or take that job because it was that was meant for you. It it was just great having you cover it, write about it and I hope you thought about it a little bit too. I hope that that was like Yeah, I’m really glad I’m still covering baseball because it was pretty sweet last night. What’s the NBA? Yeah, exactly. Thank you. Just like it’s just some league where they gamble. It’s not a big deal. Jeff, just go back. It’s all It’s like the WWE except it’s a little less fixed. Yes. And on that note, lay your head on the pillow thing. We love you. Appreciate you, man. On that on that on that note, if I may, um we we’ve reached a a point, I fear, in professional sports where the decision makers uh and and the people in charge of the games and the owners and even the players need to start showing some courage and understanding not just what they are doing to um to the to the sports world uh into their own games. Uh but to a generation of kids to whom gambling has become normalized, I did not used to be this way until I saw it with the younger generation that my children know. Um but we’ve put casinos in their pockets and we’re acting like all of this is normal. Somebody with courage and with the spine needs to step up and say that a mistake was made when gambling was legalized the way that it was in the fashion that it was with the lack of regulation that it has and that we are only going to find more of these cases the longer this goes on. Appreciate you Jeff. Really do and great work last night and enjoy the rest of this series. Been a blast to watch and uh obviously we’ll uh check in throughout the offseason. Appreciate it, man. Gentlemen, I love you, boys. A look at that. Jeff did have a lot to drink last night. Wow. He’s saying I love you. That’s a

ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passan joins Brock Huard and Mike Salk (Brock & Salk) to share an early offseason look for the Mariners in 2026 and why Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge could be co-MVP winners.

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0:00 – Josh Naylor’s future?
3:05 – Jorge Polanco getting a raise?
4:10 – Giving runway to prospects?
5:30 – How M’s get over the hump
8:00 – Using models in decision making
9:10 – Cal Raleigh win MVP?
11:15 – Gambling in sports

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Listen to The Brock & Salk Show weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on Seattle Sports 710 AM or on-demand wherever you listen to podcasts.
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https://sports.mynorthwest.com/category/brock-and-salk/