Why holding onto starting pitchers could be Mariners’ best option

Jason Churchill of Baseball Things discusses the benefits of the M's not trading a starter and potentially opening 2027 with a six-man rotation.

BY SEATTLESPORTS.COM STAFF

Oct 17, 2026, 9:20 AM

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Logan Gilbert (left) and George Kirby of the Seattle Mariners greet each other before a 2025 game in Seattle. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

The question “Is this the offseason the Seattle Mariners trade a starting pitcher?” once again is being asked.

With a bat needed and too many starting pitchers actually turning into a self-inflicted problem in 2026, the team is seemingly closer to doing so. Wednesday afternoon on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, Baseball Things writer and podcast host Jason Churchill stated that is not the direction he would prefer to see the team go.

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“It’s a great question, because everybody just thinks trade one of those arms for one of those great bats out there that’s available, and I just still haven’t heard a great suggestion beyond maybe trying to convince the Baltimore Orioles to give you Gunnar Henderson for George Kirby in some sort of manner,” he said.

While they may have the numbers when it comes to starters, Churchill sees many questions surrounding the Mariners’ rotation heading into 2027. Ultimately, provided other moves are made, he sees the extra starter perhaps holding a higher value to the Mariners than many would think.

“I’d be concerned about trading one of the healthier pitchers,” he said. “Where is Bryce Miller right now? Where is Emerson Hancock? These guys are starting to break down. You only have one more year of control over Logan Gilbert. What’s his status beyond 2027 right now? There isn’t one. He’s a free agent. So how’s that going to look? How much of a workload are you going to give to Kade Anderson? Where’s Ryan Sloan in this process?”

Churchill offered a way to buy some time to find some of those answers.

“I would be completely fine with just bringing everybody back (and) planning during the offseason, let’s just start the season with a six-man rotation, telling every single one of those guys we’re going to go with six for a while,” he said. “And if you can go to spring training and plan for that, I think all those arms will be better for it.”

Churchill emphasized the planning and communication of running with six would be key in avoiding some of the problems that surrounded the in-season change to the piggyback and six-man rotation last season. He also stressed that the goal would be to get back to five at the appropriate time.

“Let it be part of the plan and run with it and let everything else play out,” he said. “See where the injuries are. See where the opportunities are in trading one for a bat. But that all comes down to going back to, can they get the offense they need without actually trading one of those starters?”

Offense isn’t the only area that would need shoring up before holding onto all six starters. A much-improved bullpen would also be required in order to facilitate a six-man rotation.

“If I’m Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander, it really truly might be my number one goal – maybe not necessarily the most important individual acquisition or acquisitions – but my number one goal to bring that bullpen back to dominance,” Churchill said. “I need to get back to when they basically had two closers, when they had five setup men, when they could play matchup down there and after the sixth or seventh inning, the game was over most nights. Get back to that and the whole six-man rotation thing is easier.”

Churchill noted Dipoto in his time with the Mariners has preferred not to spend on bullpen acquisitions. Coming off a season when nothing seemed certain if a starter failed to get to the sixth inning and no help came from the farm system, this would be the year to do it.

In years past, Dipoto and Hollander in particular have been opposed to a six-man rotation to start a season. Players generally don’t like it because it means fewer starts, which can result in fewer dollars. Teams don’t like it because it can mean less bang for their buck, with fewer starts from their best pitchers. If a lockout-shortened offseason fails to yield a healthy market for a Mariners starter, however, Churchill lays out a solid case for going with six – or at least planning to go with six to start the season with an open expiration date.

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.