The Seattle Mariners: A Month Into the 162-Game Abyss

 

Mariner fans begging the beast from the baseball abyss for mercy as the baseball gods ignore their cries due to their arrogance and lack of faith. 

By Stevil, 26 April, 2026

Slow starts at the plate, sloppy defense on the field, and some odd decisions with relievers sums up most of what was, or is, wrong with the Mariners' start to the season. As I've mentioned a few times, some of this could possibly be due in part to the WBC sniping so many players away from spring training. Keyword: some. But at some point, the excuses wear thin and things have to click. I'm not as worried about the offense as most, but the defense and use of relievers...

Most of the talk regarding an offensive spark, or miracle, has been centered around Emerson's eventual promotion. Emerson is currently ticketed for third this year, despite having only played two games there as of 20 April, which would allow Donovan to play, well, nearly anywhere when healthy. Fans are already speculating over Arozarena sliding into the DH role, which seems unlikely, but Emerson's promotion would mean someone's demise and that's the bigger issue. They aren't going to option Rivas without another infielder on the bench who can play short and it's worth noting that JP can't play third or second. At least not right now. There is no rational argument to bench JP, anyway. Canzone has an option, but he's hitting quite well, so forget either of those ideas. I'll get back to JP in a minute.

Raley, Robles, and Refsnyder are owed a bit more cash and can't be optioned, but could one of them be traded? Should one of them be traded? Crucified? I swear, some fans would tar & feather any Mariner hitter struggling for more than a few games if given the chance. 

Refsnyder can't realistically be moved before mid-June and I doubt Seattle is even thinking about that. He's going to have plenty of rope given his salary and history (and projections), and there aren't any prospects knocking down the door, so I wouldn't anticipate any additions to the outfield cast in the near future, but perhaps there will be a subtraction. 

With Robles on the IL and not yet ready to even resume throwing, a transfer to the 60-day IL seems at least feasible. That wouldn't necessarily clear a path for Emerson, though. They probably want to maintain a pair or RHHs to balance their platoons with Canzone and Raley. Then there's the team's sub-.500 record. It probably wouldn't be wise to promote a prospect and play him every day while trying to climb out of a hole in the standings. It's probably more likely that Joe will stick around a little longer and Wilson will be optioned in favor of Donovan when he returns from the IL. In other words, I don't think it's likely we'll see Emerson anytime soon. 

Getting back to JP, he's coming off a solid 2025 at the plate. He's the team leader. There's a reason the front office has made it clear the plan is to keep him at short this year even if it would have been wise to get him familiar with second. I'm not convinced his defense is unplayable, either. Perhaps I'll feel differently by the deadline, but probably not, and right now it's probably best to keep the faith regardless of how you feel. For the record, I'm not worried about JP. I'm more worried about an extension. 

The point with all of this is that changes wouldn't come easily and Seattle should give their active roster every chance to prove themselves. I worry about some of the hitters like anyone else, and the ready-now starter depth makes me nervous as well, though considerably less as Kade Anderson continues to dominate AA opponents. That said, the rotation is one of the best in baseball and the offense has been warming up. 

A slow start is always going to fuel speculation about changes. Some players are going to take heat more than others, whether they're deserving or not. Fanatics will be fanatical. Rather than looking for scapegoats or demanding a head on a platter, patience should be exercised. There's really no choice. The talent's there and we're less than a month into the season as I write this. Things probably as bad as they seem.

But it can't hurt to speculate a little over deadline moves that could address possible needs this season and beyond. We know Crawford, Arozarena, and Robles are on expiring contracts (Robles has a team option that is unlikely to be exercised unless he's healthy and returns to 2024 form). How should Seattle deal with that and the many other players with limited control? How about those out of options? Could that play a role in deadline deals? Can Seattle win a World Series without having a true ace, or do they need one? Do they really need another middle-innings reliever and a right-handed leverage arm as I've suggested? It wasn't long ago that they believed they were indeed short and went out and acquired Gregory Santos. They never replaced him.

These are things we should be asking and taking note of.