Why 2026 is important for Logan Gilbert

For the second time in as many years, Logan Gilbert is set to toe the rubber when the Seattle Mariners open their season.

It will kick off what will be an important season full of expectations for the Mariners. It will also start what ESPN’s Jeff Passan believes will be a key season for Gilbert’s career.

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When discussing the Mariners’ starting rotation on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Wednesday, Passan detailed why 2026 could have a major impact on the right-hander’s future, whether that’s in Seattle or he eventually goes somewhere else.

“Logan Gilbert (is) two years from free agency now, and I think that he understands having a big season this year is going to go a long way to getting him paid the way that he wants to get paid,” Passan said. “Whether that’s with the Mariners or not, I don’t know. There have been discussions there. They haven’t, frankly, gotten all that close to a deal coming together. But at the same time, I know Logan Gilbert would like to stick around. I also know that the lure of free agency as those arbitration years go by grows and grows for players.”

Gilbert, 28, has established himself as a top-of-the-rotation arm during his five seasons in a Mariners uniform. The 2018 first-round pick has a career 3.58 ERA and 1.058 WHIP with a 47-36 record and 884 strikeouts over 835 1/3 innings in 146 starts. He’s also proven to be durable with only one stint on the injured list since making his major league debut on May 13, 2021.

His best season came in 2024 when he earned an All-Star nod and finished sixth American League Cy Young voting. Gilbert led the league with 208 2/3 innings pitched and a 0.887 WHIP while posting a 9-12 record, 3.23 ERA and a career-high 220 strikeouts.

Gilbert is set to be the first of the homegrown starters who dot the Mariners’ rotation to hit free agency. Passan believes he also fits the modern archetype of a starting pitcher more than any others from the group.

“You see (George) Kirby up to 99 (mph), frankly he was sitting 98 to 99, with the pinpoint-accurate command that he’s got. It’s extraordinary to watch. (Bryan) Woo is just so efficient, and I love watching Bryan Woo pitch just because it’s easy, it’s simple, it’s repeatable and the way he keeps hitters off balance is great,” Passan said.

“But if you were to build like an archetypal modern pitcher, Logan Gilbert is right up there with the best of them. He’s got the size, he’s got the pitch ability, he’s got the confidence not just to throw his stuff but to learn new pitches and unleash them in game, and he is always evolving. That’s a sort of a new thing over the last decade or so.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Why 2026 is important for Logan Gilbert

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