Mariners Pre-Spring Training 26-Man Roster Projection & Preview
Mariners infielder J.P. Crawford stands at shortstop.
Pitchers and catchers are set to report on February 12 for the Mariners and after an unusually quiet offseason hampered by the organization’s self-imposed reported budget of $16 million, Seattle’s roster looks roughly the same as it did when it wrapped up the 2024 regular season against the Athletics on September 29. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander have left the door open for further moves before the team opens the 2025 campaign on March 27, but have simultaneously alluded that the roster constructed at the time of this writing will be the same roster that will take to the backfields of the Peoria Sports Complex in less than a week. Furthermore, Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reported back on January 31 that the Mariners’ roster was “effectively set” following the signing of veteran infielder Jorge Polanco.
If that’s true, then it’s as good of a time as ever to take a swing at how Seattle’s initial 26-man roster of the 2025 season could shape up.
Starting Pitchers (5): Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller, Luis Castillo, Bryan Woo
After months of trade rumors primarily revolving around Castillo this winter, the Mariners wound up keeping the greatest strength on their roster completely intact. Barring injury, Seattle’s starting rotation will be made up of the five returning arms. The only questions that remain are: which order will they be deployed in and how many of them are going to wind up getting Cy Young votes by year’s end?
Relief Pitchers (8): Andrés Muñoz, Gregory Santos, Collin Snider, Trent Thornton, Eduard Bazardo, Tayler Saucedo, Gabe Speier, Hagen Danner
Judging by the way the Mariners have operated since rosters expanded to 26 players in 2020, they would probably prefer to roll into the season with more than 13 active pitchers, but that is the maximum MLB’s rules allow for. Going down the list, Muñoz, Santos, Snider, and Thornton are locks. Bazardo is also likely safe after impressing during his final call-up to the majors this past September; additionally, he’s now out of minor-league options, which further gives Seattle reason to at least carry him on its roster out of camp. Saucedo and Speier are both coming off lackluster and injury-marred seasons, but the Mariners chose to tender them contracts this winter and brought in very little competition for the team’s left-handed relief roles, so it stands to reason the two southpaws will be in Seattle for Opening Day.
That leaves the eighth and final spot in the Mariners’ bullpen, which seemingly had Troy Taylor’s name written all over it, but a lat strain suffered during offseason workouts will delay the 23-year old’s start to Spring Training. If Taylor is unable to make it back in time, there are a plethora of arms that could take the job in his absence. The team’s current 40-man roster presents six potential options: Hagen Danner, who was a waiver claim from Toronto this winter; Blas Castano, who was a fairly surprising Rule 5 draft protection this past December despite less-than-stellar numbers down in the minors, though the Mariners might view him as part of their starting rotation depth instead; Carlos Vargas, who was a prominent returning piece in the infamous Eugenio Suárez trade to Arizona an offseason ago but failed to crack Seattle’s major-league roster during his first year with the organization; Will Klein, who appeared in the 2023 Futures Game but has bounced from the Royals to the Athletics and now the Mariners over the past few months and has struggled to throw strikes; and Casey Legumina, who Seattle acquired from Cincinnati via a minor trade earlier this month.
While Danner gets the nod on this list, primarily due to the intriguing underlying numbers his slider presents, the last spot in Seattle’s bullpen could go to any of the aforementioned names—or none of them. The Mariners have also compiled a fascinating group of minor-league relief signees and have developed a reputation for hitting big on these types of arms from time to time. This year’s crowd includes some notable names with big-league experience such as Drew Pomeranz, Shintaro Fujinami, and Neftalí Feliz. It’s possible someone like Fujinami could get a trial run to start the season if he’s unwilling to accept a Triple-A assignment and Seattle wants to shoot for upside. Two other names to keep an eye on are Dauris Valdez and Adonis Medina, the latter of which could offer the Mariners a different look out of their bullpen with a refined changeup that has turned some heads over the past few months.
Catchers (2): Cal Raleigh, Mitch Garver
Not much to go over here. Raleigh is arguably the best player at his position, coming off a year that saw him become the Mariners’ first-ever Platinum Glove winner while slugging 34 homers and driving in an exact 100 runs. Garver, meanwhile, will look to bounce back from a nightmarish first year in Seattle, carrying far less pressure and much, much lower expectations into the season than he did a year ago. He’ll be Raleigh’s backup—an incredibly expensive one at that—unless the Mariners shockingly call an audible and decide to run it back with Garver as their primary designated hitter right out of the gate. In that case, Blake Hunt could make the roster after being reacquired from the Orioles this offseason, though the former Rays farmhand has yet to make his major-league debut and is coming off an abysmal year down in Triple-A. For now, however, it seems highly unlikely Garver will receive any sort of consistent playing time barring a Raleigh injury or a significant offensive turnaround from the one-time World Series champion.
Corner Infielders (3): Luke Raley, Donovan Solano, Jorge Polanco
The Mariners entered the offseason looking to address at least two infield spots and wound up doing so, but not in exciting fashion after hitting several dead-ends in their search. The end result marks the arrival of Solano, an underrated, high-average hitter at the ripe age of 37 years old, and the return of Polanco, who had his club option declined by the Mariners at the start of the offseason following a brutal first season in Seattle filled with lower-body injuries.
Polanco, who underwent patellar tendon surgery during the offseason, is going to get the first crack at playing third base for the Mariners, a position he’s appeared at in just 180 innings of his 11-year big-league career, replacing the departed Josh Rojas. Solano may also get some run at third over the course of the season, but for now he appears set to platoon with Raley at first base. Raley started 33 games at first in 2024 and will likely see that number significantly increase this season, though some DH days and the occasional start in the outfield are also on the table. Expect Raley to almost exclusively feature in the lineup against right-handed pitchers while Solano primarily sees time against lefties. Solano also possesses a 107 wRC+ against righties since his breakout in 2019, so he and Raley could co-exist in the same lineup often.
Austin Shenton could also factor in here either come Opening Day or sometime later down the road. The 2019 fifth-round pick of the Mariners was reacquired from the Rays near the start of the offseason after spending the past three seasons in Tampa Bay’s minor-league system. He posted a .214/.340/.405 slash line (120 wRC+) in 19 major-league games with the Rays in 2024. Tyler Locklear is also still present on Seattle’s 40-man roster, but concerns about his ability to get to pitches on the inner-third of the plate and a 40.8% strikeout rate during his brief stint with the big-league club this past season have severely lowered his stock.
Middle Infielders (4): J.P. Crawford, Dylan Moore, Ryan Bliss, Leo Rivas
While the corner infield spots present plenty of uncertainty, middle infield is the biggest mystery on the Mariners’ roster. Crawford is locked in to be the team’s starting shortstop for the fifth consecutive season, though he, like many other Mariners, will be looking to bounce back from a massively disappointing 2024 campaign.
Second base is where things are truly up in the air, though, at least until top prospect Cole Young is ready to test his might in the majors. Moore, who enters the season as the Mariners’ longest-tenured player, appears set to handle starting duties at second to kick things off, but while he’s proven to be one of the more valuable utility players in baseball, he’s shown signs of overexposure in the opportunities he’s gotten to play every day over the course of his career. Having Moore play regularly at one specific position also takes away a significant part of the value he brings to the table. It’s possible he could eventually see time at third base, especially if Polanco struggles to adapt to the position, which would open the door for Bliss to establish a larger role with the team.
It remains to be seen what exactly the initial plan is for Bliss, who had an up-and-down debut season with the Mariners highlighted by a pair of big series in Cleveland and Miami last summer. At the very least, with Young still seemingly a ways away from making his major-league debut and no real outside competition brought in during the offseason, there is nothing—nor no one—standing in the way of Seattle exploring what it has in Bliss at the moment, whether it be in a part-time role or something more.
If Moore is indeed the starter at second base, then the Mariners will likely need someone on the bench who has the ability to fill in at shortstop. That’s where Rivas, who provided some solid contributions during his rookie season in 2024, comes in. Rivas could also get the nod as a late-game defensive replacement and should see more opportunities as a pinch-runner. Additionally, he appears to be a prime position-player-pitching candidate for those into that sort of thing.
Outfielders (4): Julio Rodríguez, Randy Arozarena, Victor Robles, Mitch Haniger
If not catcher, this is the strength of the Mariners’ position player group. The only potential question mark here is Haniger, who posted a -0.6 fWAR in 2024 and is objectively an unideal fit for the way Seattle’s club is currently constructed, but may be forced onto the roster nonetheless due to his $17.5 million salary. Moore and Raley are more than capable of handling themselves in the outfield whenever Rodríguez, Arozarena, or Robles need a day off, so Haniger’s opportunities to stand out on the grass will—or at least should—be minimal, much like the scenarios in which it will make sense for him to see the lineup in general. It’s likely that if Haniger does make the roster, those chances will primarily come against left-handed pitchers, though he was uncharacteristically awful in those matchups in 2024, posting a 45 wRC+ in 145 plate appearances. Interestingly, he was slightly above-average versus right-handed pitchers (106 wRC+), but it’s difficult to envision Seattle giving him the nod over really any other option they have whenever a righty is on the bump.
Given the organization’s well-documented payroll habits, the safe bet is that the Mariners will try to get something for their $17.5 million before cutting bait on Haniger. In the event they don’t, Dominic Canzone is the only other true remaining outfielder remaining on their 40-man roster at the moment. But with Moore and Raley on the roster, Seattle could instead opt to go with another infielder such as Shenton or a third catcher in Hunt. Miles Mastrobuoni, who the Mariners acquired for cash considerations in a small trade with the Cubs this offseason, also has experience both in the infield and outfield.
