All but 1 of Mariners’ arbitration-eligible players agree on ’26 salaries

Jan 8, 2026, 6:48 PM

Mariners Insider, Seattle Sports

With Thursday the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to exchange arbitration figures for the 2026 season, the Seattle Mariners have agreed to one-year contracts with six of their seven eligible players.

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Randy Arozarena, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Luke Raley all reached agreement with the team Thursday, leaving Bryce Miller the only player to not agree to terms with the Mariners. Miller filed at $2.625 million and the Mariners filed at $2.25 million.

Miller presents an interesting challenge in assessing his arbitration salary after a season that was significantly impacted by injury. In 2025, Miller made just 18 starts in the regular season, posting a 5.68 ERA, 3.4 walks per nine innings, 1.406 WHIP and 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings, all career worst. In the postseason, however, Miller turned in two critical performances against the Blue Jays, both in Toronto.

In Game 1, Miller gave the Mariners six innings of one-run ball after an 18-inning marathon against the Tigers in the Game 5 of the Division Series wiped out most of the pitching staff. And in Game 5 of the ALCS, Miller helped the team to a 3-2 series lead with another one-run performance.

A hearing will be scheduled for shortly before spring training, with a three-person arbitration panel deciding which salary, the Mariners’ offer or what Miller filed, he receives for next season.

The hearing is an avenue Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto historically has been averse to, with the team having taken just one player, Diego Castillo in ’23, to arbitration in his tenure. Teams and players can negotiate on a contract for ’26 up until the hearing. In total, 18 MLB players exchanged arbitration figures with their teams Thursday rather than agreeing to a salary.

Of those who agreed to terms, All-Star left fielder Randy Arozarena sits at the top of the list in terms of dollars in his fourth and final year of arbitration. Arozarena has agreed to a contract of $15.65 million for the upcoming season, a significant bump from the $11.3 million he earned in ’25. The contract was the largest in baseball agreed to on deadline day.

In addition to Arozarena’s deal, salary numbers for Mariners starting pitchers Logan Gilbert and George Kirby have also been reported, with Gilbert to earn $10.927 million in his third year of eligibility and Kirby agreeing to a deal worth $6.65 million in his second. Their salaries alone represent an increase of $6.7 million over the $26.4 million the seven arbitration-eligible players earned in ’25.

The Mariners currently have 10 players under signed contracts, the six who agreed to terms Thursday, 24 pre-arbitration eligible players, and the one remaining arbitration-eligible player (Miller) on their 40-man roster, which is full.