TEREN'S TAKE: Maybe It's Time For Seattle Mariners to Look Inward at Roster Holes

The Seattle Mariners have been among the clubs under the most pressure to improve this offseason.

The Mariners were one win away from the first World Series appearance in franchise history in 2025. The best postseason run in franchise history ended via a 4-3 loss against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Oct. 20.

After coming so close to accomplishing something so great, Mariners executives Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander have been given more leeway to try to get the team over the hump in the American League.

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So far, the two have parlayed that flexibility into a five-year, $92.5 million contract for first baseman Josh Naylor. The club also acquired high-leverage, left-handed reliever, Jose Ferrer in a trade with the Washington Nationals, and signed catcher Andrew Knizner to a one-year deal to backup American League MVP finalist Cal Raleigh in 2026.

These are solid-to-great moves. Naylor will remain on the team for the rest of the decade alongside Raleigh, and superstar center fielder, Julio Rodriguez, and the team’s starting rotation from the past two seasons is still intact. Adding Ferrer also gives the team another set-up southpaw alongside Gabe Speier and Knizner is a decent defensive catcher capable of navigating the pitching staff when Raleigh gets days at designated hitter.

But it’s the moves the Mariners haven’t made (or are yet to make) that stand out. After signing Naylor, it was a poorly-kept secret that the team’s priority was bringing back veteran second baseman Jorge Polanco and running it back in 2026 with almost exactly the same club from ’25.

Instead, Polanco opted to sign with the New York Mets on a two-year, $40 million contract.

Since Polanco chose to leave the Pacific Northwest, Seattle has been engaged in trade conversations with the Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals for All-Star second basemen Ketel Marte and Brendan Donovan, respectively.

Marte, who began his major league career with the Mariners, will likely take near a king’s ransom, if not all of Dipoto and Hollander’s coffers, to bring back to the PNW. The Cardinals have reportedly backed down on their initial asking price for Donovan but are still rumored to be searching for a deal including multiple top 100 prospects, or close to that. St. Louis reportedly has interest in Seattle’s 2024 first-round MLB Draft pick, top 100 prospect and switch-pitcher, Jurrangelo Cijntje.

I opined in a column earlier this offseason that the Mariners’ best option at second base this offseason was Donovan. I stand by that statement. But it shouldn’t come by restructuring the future.

Seattle has carefully positioned its farm system, which featured as many as nine top 100 prospects per MLB Pipeline and Baseball America this past season, to take over for impending free agents. The club currently has several top 100 prospects in place to take over for shortstop J.P. Crawford, left fielder Randy Arozarena and right fielder Victor Robles if the team decides to let all three walk after next season when they are free agents.

The Mariners also have to make tough decisions to make regarding their starting rotation, which features four players drafted and developed by the organization. The M’s have three top 100 pitching prospects waiting.

If Seattle is unable to land Donovan or Marte without blowing up or making a significant dent in its minor league ranks, the answer is simple. Don’t.

Currently, the Mariners’ two biggest holes are at third and second base. The club seems to have already conceded the hot corner to Ben Williamson and/or top prospect Colt Emerson (the latter of whom will likely take over for Crawford at shortstop). Seattle also has options at second: Cole Young, Ryan Bliss and Leo Rivas.

Young was one of the team’s many top 100 prospects in 2025. He made his major league debut in ’25 and had a solid, if not unspectacular, several months before going in a slump in September. He finished the year with 24 runs in 77 games. He also hit seven doubles, a triple and four home runs with 24 RBIs. He slashed .211/.302/.305 with a .607 OPS.

Bliss was the team’s starting second baseman Opening Day 2025 but played only 11 games before suffering torn left biceps, and later, a torn meniscus that kept him out for the majority of the season. He has only 44 major league games under his belt from ’24-25, making it hard to judge his effectiveness as a big leaguer.

Rivas, a bench middle infielder who made his major league debut in ’24 after nine years in the minor leagues, played 48 games in ’25. He scored 19 runs and hit two doubles and two home runs with nine RBIs. He slashed .244/.387/.333 with a .720 OPS. He has just 91 major league games of experience.

Neither of those three jump off the page as suitable options in the stead of a pair of All-Stars. But all three are in respective infancies of major league careers and have shown potential to be quality players in the bigs.

Opting for either of the three allows Seattle to keep its minor league hierarchy intact. If the ’26 trade deadline comes and none of the trio have proven to be solid starters, so be it. The Mariners can look in the trade market, where they originally found All-Star-caliber players such as starting pitcher Luis Castillo, Arozarena and Naylor.

But, the Mariners have less holes going into ’26 than they did going into ’25. They are a better team and coming off the best postseason run in the 48-year history of the club.

pSeattle isn’t a team desperate for a taste of a postseason run anymore. It’s a legitimate contender in an amazing present with a potentially amazing future. One shouldn’t come at the expense of the other.

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TEREN’S TAKE: Maybe It’s Time For Seattle Mariners to Look Inward at Roster Holes

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