Mariners are left to wonder who will sell at trade deadline

It hasn’t been the start to the 2026 season that the Seattle Mariners expected or wanted.

And yet even with a 24-27 record during a day off Thursday, the M’s found themselves just a game out of a playoff spot and two games back of the AL West lead thanks to an American League where just five of 15 teams have a winning record.

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On the one hand, that makes the Mariners a bit lucky as they deal with a deluge of injuries to key players and inconsistency on the field.

“I’d like to get a little bit of traction, but the weirdness of the American League right now is just, it’s quite unusual,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto told ESPN’s Buster Olney on an episode of the Baseball Tonight podcast that published Wednesday. “And I don’t remember a time like it.

“… It’s probably the most I’ve ever looked at a scoreboard in May, because it’s just kind of fascinating when you’re watching it. And when you drop three straight to San Diego and you look up at the board and you’re really not losing any ground, you just think, wow, we’re really fortunate.”

There’s a flip side to that reality, though. Because when all but one team in the league is within five games of a playoff spot, that means the market come trade deadline time could be quite crowded.

“I do think that this year’s trade deadline is probably going to be very difficult to muddle through simply because of where we started when talking about the American League. It’s so hard,” Dipoto said.

Olney then interjected with what will be the big question in July: “Who’s selling?”

“Who could?” Dipoto responded. “… We’re three games under .500 (and) we’re a game out. You know, that’s pretty unbelievable. And I know that’s unusual. At some point, there’ll be some traction and teams will get hot. You’re going to experience a sensation where there’s probably not going to be a lot of teams that are natural sellers because the league has allowed them to stay in.”

The Mariners aren’t the only AL team coming off a postseason run in 2025 that is dealing with similar problems. The Toronto Blue Jays, who beat the Mariners in seven games in last year’s ALCS, entered Thursday with a 22-27 record. That’s the same mark as the Boston Red Sox, who were a wild card team in 2025. And the Detroit Tigers, who the M’s beat in five games in the ALDS, are tied with the Houston Astros for the second-worst record in the AL at 20-31.

How will any of these teams that have underachieved thus far rise out of the pack?

“Right now the league is just hovering, and I think that bodes well for the more talented groups, provided you get healthy,” Dipoto said. “And whoever gets healthiest the soonest and converts it to wins, wins the league. That’s the way it’ll be.”

More on the Seattle Mariners

• What we know about J.P potentially moving to 3B for Mariners
• Which Mariners prospects could be traded this year?
• Passan: Seattle Mariners’ infield duo has potential to be MLB’s best

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