The Mariners have spent most of the 2026 season looking like a team that missed its moment. In a wide-open American League and a weak AL West, Seattle had a clear path to make noise. Instead, with the season nearly over, the club is staring at a likely postseason miss and a manager whose future is suddenly in question.
Dan Wilson is squarely in the spotlight, and Andy McCullough of The Athletic laid out why the pressure is building. In his view, Seattle simply hasn’t played clean enough baseball to survive a year like this one.
"The Mariners do not play a particularly crisp brand of baseball," McCullough writes. "Nearly a quarter of their at-bats end in strikeouts. They rank 27th in FanGraphs' metric measuring base-running value and 30th in defensive value."
Those numbers tell the story of a team dragging itself through too many empty possessions. The strikeouts pile up.
The defense has been the league’s worst. The base-running has been among the least effective in baseball.
Put together, it has made Seattle one of the season’s biggest disappointments.
That doesn’t mean every problem lands on Wilson. McCullough points out that players such as Cal Raleigh are struggling for no discernible reason, and that kind of individual underperformance can’t be pinned entirely on the manager. But the broader issues - the sloppy play, the lack of execution, the missing fundamentals - are part of the case against him.
The record backs up the frustration. Entering Thursday’s slate of games, the Mariners were 66-74, a rough mark for a roster with this much talent. And yet, somehow, they were still just 5.0 games behind in the AL West race.
The offense has been a mess too. Seattle ranks second-worst in OPS at .650, tied with the Cleveland Guardians, and the club’s 1,217 strikeouts are the eighth-most in MLB.
"The lack of fundamentals looks more problematic when the talent is underperforming," McCullough writes. "And that does reflect on the manager. Which is why he probably won't be the manager next season."
That’s the heart of the story now. The Mariners have too many avoidable issues, too much underachievement, and not enough clean baseball to make Wilson feel safe heading into 2027.
In Other News...
Mariners Take A Chance On A Former Top Prospect With Upside
The Mariners added a familiar kind of lottery ticket to their pitching depth, signing right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson to a minor-league contract and sending him to Triple-A Tacoma. Once regarded as one of the better young arms in the system, Woods Richardson has already seen the majors with both the Blue Jays and Twins, and his path has taken him through a designation for assignment by Toronto before he elected free agency.
For Seattle, the move fits the sort of low-cost gamble contenders often make when they believe there is still something to unlock. Woods Richardson gives the organization another arm to evaluate in Tacoma, where the Mariners can keep a close eye on a pitcher who made his big-league debut in 2022 and is still young enough to factor if the stuff and command come together again. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Just Created A Connor Joe Question Fans Can't Ignore
The Mariners latest roster shuffle left Connor Joe in a familiar but uneasy spot. After Seattle designated Joe and right-hander Nolan Kingham for assignment to make room for Lzaro Montes and Hoby Milner on the 40-man roster, both players cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma, keeping the move from being the end of the road for either player just yet.
Joe now has a decision to make, since he has the right to elect free agency, and the Mariners have not indicated whether he plans to stay in the organization or test the market. Kinghams path is more straightforward because his service time means he has to accept the assignment, but Joes situation is the one that lingers for Seattle, where every roster spot matters and every fringe move can hint at what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners May Have Found A Better Use For Their Latest Pitching Add
The Mariners added another arm to their system by signing right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson to a minor-league deal and sending him to Triple-A Tacoma. Most of his big-league work has come as a starter, but he has also handled multiple roles this season, which makes him an interesting fit for a Seattle pitching staff that suddenly needs more flexibility.
With rotation depth thinned by an injury, the appeal here is less about where Woods Richardson has traditionally worked and more about where he might help most. Seattle can use pitching in just about any form right now, and his ability to cover innings gives the club another option if it wants to patch a game together out of the bullpen or lean on a bulk reliever while the roster sorts itself out. [Read more 🡒]