Drayer: What the Mariners’ roster brings north for 2025 season

Mar 25, 2025, 3:39 PM

Mariners Insider, Seattle Sports

Six weeks ago, pitchers and catchers reported to Peoria, Ariz., and preparation together as a team for the 2025 Seattle Mariners season began.

The Seattle Mariners who stood out in spring training play

While the opening camp roster included 74 players that had to be whittled down to 26, there was not a huge amount intrigue as to who those 26 would be. At opening day Thursday at T-Mobile Park, there will be just four players that run down the magenta carpet during introductions who did not appear in a game with the Mariners last season. This alone could make for a very short annual “What they are bringing north” post since it is so familiar in appearance.

That said, there were moments in camp that didn’t hit as familiar, and that starts at the top.

Manager Dan Wilson finally had quality time to set a foundation for what is now his team. It is natural to look for what is different when there is a new manager in place after nine years of another voice leading the group. That voice remains a part of this team’s DNA, most notably in clubhouse culture and players trusting that they can be who they are.

That is not changing, but this is now Wilson’s team, and the overriding feel from this camp was a sense of ease. There was work to be done, but ample time to do it and get personal work in as well. There were meetings as there always are, but not as many as in the past. There was messaging, but from what could be seen on the outside – and the question was asked – it was not measured in terms of daily individual scores.

The messages were simple.

“Throwing strikes, taking care of the ball on defense. It includes using the whole field, fighting with two strikes, all those little things we talk about and many more,” Wilson said. “I think we all realize the little things matter. That’s really where it all begins. When we can prepare ourselves to do the little things, do them well and do them consistently, we’re going to find ourselves in a good spot.”

Does Wilson give the M’s something previous skipper couldn’t?

We’ve heard these things over and over since Wilson became manager late in the 2024 season, and to be honest, they make for incredibly boring answers to questions asked different ways in an attempt to get more in-depth answers. At some point, however, the realization sinks in. The simplicity is what it is about. How you get there may not be simple, but the daily ask is.

A key component to this is identity – each player knowing who they are both as a person and player, and how they fit on the team – again – as both a person and player, particularly on offense. How can you best help push a run across the plate? Easier said than done, but it is a focus.

“We can hit the ball out of the ballpark, but we can also steal the base, we can also get the runner over,” said Wilson. “We’ve seen that a ton down here (at spring training). We can hit the sac fly.”

Can the offense continue to do that and more as the season begins? The team approach perhaps can help take pressure off a group with bounceback candidates up and down the lineup. Perhaps the biggest failure last year was the sheer number of hitters who played below not just their career numbers, but their personal expectations. Without major additions this offseason, the help will have to come from themselves.

The Seattle Mariners at the plate

Hitting is a tough read in spring training. The numbers good or bad mean very little once hitters get on the plane. Perhaps one of the biggest surprises was Jorge Polanco looked locked in from the start. Ditto for Cal Raleigh from the left side. Julio Rodriguez got caught off balance a few times but largely looked in control at the plate.

Randy Arozarena appeared slow to get going but midway through games you started to see the ball jump off his bat. Mitch Garver made adjustments to his offseason routines after the disappointment of last season and got off to a nice start before getting hit by a pitch on the wrist. He appeared to take a step back after missing a few days but seemed to rebound toward the end of camp.

Luke Raley was fairly consistent throughout, which after the spring he had last year has to be reassuring to him. J.P. Crawford struck out more often than we are accustomed to seeing him do so in the spring – I’m not sure what to make of that, nor with what we saw from Victor Robles, who I would really like it if he got hit less often.

Notable with the new and new-er players, Miles Mastrobuoni made the most contact, and Ryan Bliss, perhaps leaning into knowing himself offensively a bit, likely earned a starting role at second base. Veteran Donovan Solano looked exactly like what you would expect from his past numbers, serving the ball to all fields and even sneaking in a home run. By the end of spring training, first baseman Rowdy Tellez looked comfortable at the plate, and in truth that is what is most important for all hitters this time of year.

In the field and on the mound

Of course, that group is also going to have to play in the field, and infield defense has been suspect. Raley spent a ton of time working on first base this winter then barely played there after the arrival of Tellez, a minor league signing who was added to the big league roster Tuesday. Raley will, however, get the most at-bats at first and some in the outfield as he, Moore and Mastrobuoni all can spell a starter there.

A big question will be how much the Mariners can play Polanco at third. He did not get a lot of reps there this spring with Wilson admitting there were things he hadn’t seen at the position as of yet. Will the Mariners need to go to a defensive replacement early in close games? How will they use Solano? And who will not just get the most of their at-bats at designated hitter but perhaps need to be put at the position? Will this be a “choose your adventure” lineup day to day, or will Wilson try to go with something more permanent, allowing for time for individuals to settle in?

Fortunately there are fewer questions on the pitching side, but Wilson will not be completely off the hook there – at least not early. How do you get the ball to top reliever Andrés Muñoz? A healthy Gregory Santos had some good moments, but would he benefit from some soft landings to start the season? Gabe Speier appears to have returned to form and will be a higher leverage option, as will Collin Snider. Taylor Saucedo and Trent Thornton should follow.

After that, assuming there is not a late addition, not much experience with Eduard Bazardo and Carlos Vargas further down the bullpen bench. Their spots are perilous as Matt Brash, returning from 2024 elbow surgery, is due in Tacoma shortly to begin rehab outings, as is Troy Taylor, who had a lat strain going into spring training. With Trevor Gott and Jackson Kowar further off but likely to be a factor in the next few months, the bullpen should look very different before long.

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As for the starters, there has already been a wrinkle as George Kirby will start the season on the injured list after a bout with shoulder inflammation. Having just restarted throwing days before camp broke, he will not be rushed. When ready, he will need multiple outings to get his pitch count up to around 80 in a game and it is anticipated he will miss most of the first month.

Emerson Hancock, pressed into action once again, will take his spot. He’s a year older, with experience with the big club both early and late last season, and a new sweeper which adds some much needed east/west to his north/south bread and butter of a fastball and changeup. Hancock appears better equipped than ever to step into the Mariners rotation, a group that looks ready to pick up from where they left off last year.

Spring training gives you little more than a hint of what could come over the regular season and where it will end. Regardless of how familiar the faces are both to the public and each other, this is a new year, with a new manager, and the Mariners are still finding their identity as a team. This is a starting point.

“This has been a preparatory phase, and I think we are at a point where we are ready go and become who we are going to become,” Wilson said. “I don’t think you can put (who the Mariners are as a team) into words yet. I think it is still forming. It is still in the opening stages, but I’m really excited to see what that looks like as we get into the season.

“It’s a really good group and they are really excited. They’re really coming together. It’s a great team, and I am curious to see how it all turns out.”