GM: Where Mariners stand on Logan Gilbert contract talks

Along the Seattle Mariners’ road to becoming one of the top contenders in the American League, they have been locking up key players on long-term contracts.

Cal Raleigh: The Mariners have become ‘what we wanted to build’

When looking at the current roster, you can see it started with shortstop J.P. Crawford, who Seattle signed to a five-year extension in 2022. Perennial All-Star center fielder Julio Rodríguez followed shortly after, inking a huge deal toward the end of his breakout rookie season that same year. Not even a month later, starting pitcher Luis Castillo signed a five-year extension of his own.

Then last year, before Cal Raleigh even hit the first of his 60 home runs, the Platinum Glove-winning catcher signed on for a six-year extension. And following the team’s division title and run to the American League Championship Series, first baseman Josh Naylor agreed to stay in Seattle by re-signing on a five-year contract.

Well, who’s next?

The obvious candidate is 28-year-old starting pitcher Logan Gilbert, a 2024 All-Star who is set to hit free agency for the first time following the 2027 season. And the Mariners aren’t shying away from that fact.

“We would love to do something with Logan long-term,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said Friday to Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. “He knows that. We’ve had multiple conversations over the years, would love to get something done.”

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Gilbert was the picture of durability through his first four seasons in the big leagues, and even when he landed on the injured list for the first time in his career last season, he missed just three weeks with an elbow flexor strain. Though he had a few less-than-stellar outings in the months following his return, he finished the regular season strong, running a 2.52 ERA with four quality starts over his last seven games.

He was also good in the postseason, particularly in Seattle’s AL Division Series win over the Detroit Tigers where he allowed just one earned run on seven hits, one walk (which was intentional) and a hit batter over eight innings, which included a six-inning start in Game 3 and two scoreless frames in the 15-inning Game 5 marathon in his first career relief appearance.

It seems eventually signing Gilbert to an extension is a priority for Hollander and Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto.

“I don’t think anything’s imminent, but Logan knows how we as an organization feel about him. He knows how Jerry and I feel about him individually,” Hollander said. “He’s a Mariner. He represents all of the good things about this org, the way he conducts himself in the clubhouse, on the field, the kind of teammate he is, the way he approaches every offseason, and his deep desire to get better and find ways to improve. He’s really unique.

“I would love Logan to be a Mariner for a long time. He knows that. So beyond that, I think it’s silly to talk about it on the air, but Logan knows exactly how we feel about him, and when he’s ready to talk about it, sign me up.”

Hollander also spoke about the importance for the Mariners to retain their homegrown players.

“I don’t think we should take for granted how hard it is to draft and develop a pitcher as good as Logan, George (Kirby), Bryce (Miller) or Bryan (Woo). Like, that’s a sort of a once-in-a-player-cycle hit, and for us to have done it four times, you want to be able to keep those guys,” he said. “It’s not often that you draft Cal Raleigh, one of the five best players in baseball, or sign Julio Rodríguez, for us unquestionably the best center fielder in baseball.

“You want to have those guys for a long time, and I think locking up Cal and Julio for a long time, extending J.P. after we acquired him, it’s important to develop continuity with a core of players that you really believe in. You shouldn’t take for granted how good those guys are and how tough it is to go just plug someone else in.”

Hear the full Brock and Salk conversation with Mariners GM Justin Hollander in the podcast at this link or in the player below. Catch Brock and Salk from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

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