Seattle Mariners have a spring plan with WBC looming

Dan Wilson has a bit more on his plate for his second spring training as Seattle Mariners manager. That’s because 16 players from the organization are taking part in the World Baseball Classic next month, with another two potentially joining their home nations in the later rounds.

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The M’s have a bunch of key players set to leave the team for an extended period to compete in the WBC – including catcher Cal Raleigh (USA), center fielder Julio Rodríguez (Dominican Republic), first baseman Josh Naylor (Canada), left fielder Randy Arozarena (Mexico), closer Andrés Muñoz (Mexico) and reliever Gabe Speier (USA). As a result, the Mariners need to be ready to turn to prospects and other players hoping to make the roster more often than usual.

Wilson said Monday at the team’s complex in Peoria, Ariz., that the Mariners have entered spring training with a plan in place for weathering the WBC.

“We’ve done a good job. Hats off to the training staff and the (high performance) staff to kind of put together the programs,” Wilson said during his morning media session. “You kind of have to tailor them individually so guys are ready to go. We’ve kind of mapped out games and I think we feel pretty confident that our guys will be ready to go.”

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The Mariners have the largest contingent of players taking part in the WBC, but the good news is they also have one of the stronger farm systems in the game. When you have top prospects like Colt Emerson and Lazaro Montes in line for plenty of opportunities in Cactus League play, it’s not the worst thing.

“I think the silver lining is that we have a lot of prospects in our organization that are going to get a chance to be seen and get opportunities here in spring training that maybe they wouldn’t have, or they maybe wouldn’t have gotten as many,” Wilson said. “And so I think that’s a really cool thing and I’m looking forward to that part of it when we start playing games.”

Even with as many players as they have in the WBC, the Mariners could make it to opening day on March 26 without a single member of their starting rotation throwing a pitch outside of Arizona. The only M’s starting pitcher who has a chance of playing in the WBC is Luis Castillo, who was included in the designated pitcher pool for the Dominican Republic, making him eligible to join the team if it makes it past the initial pool play.

Bryan Woo, a first-time All-Star in 2025, said last week he turned down an opportunity to pitch for the USA after he missed time late last year and into the playoffs due to a pectoral strain.

Wilson shared his thoughts on Woo’s decision and had a positive impression about his status.

“Obviously you want to leave these decisions up to each guy and I totally respect either way that you go. I think coming off of the injury that he had late and the season going so late, I think in terms of a starter, that’s a difficult decision,” Wilson said. “I’m glad that he’s decided to do what he did, and I think he’s well on his way to being prepared here for this year.”

Seattle Mariners have a spring plan with WBC looming

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