The Mariners won Wednesday night, but the bigger story was who didn’t play.
Michael Arroyo and Lazaro Montes stayed on the bench while Seattle rolled out Taylor Ward and Weston Wilson, and the result was a reminder that a September game can still be wasted even when the final score says otherwise. The Mariners beat the Angels 7-2, but Ward and Wilson combined to deliver nothing at the plate, while the two Top 100 prospects never got a chance to step in.
Ward went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. He did reach on an error, forced Julio Rodríguez out at home on another ground ball, and left two runners in scoring position with two outs before ending his night with a called third strike while Rodríguez was standing at second.
Wilson finished 0-for-3 with a walk. He grounded into a double play in the fourth and then lined into another in the seventh, when Josh Naylor was doubled off third. Together, Ward and Wilson went 0-for-8.
Meanwhile, the offense that actually carried Seattle belonged to Cal Raleigh and Josh Naylor, who drove in five runs between them. The bullpen also did its part, covering 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
Seattle led by five runs after the sixth inning and still never found a plate appearance for Arroyo or Montes. Brock Rodden also sat.
That was the part that stood out most, especially with the Mariners already at 71-82 and only nine games left. They remain 6 1/2 games out of the final AL playoff spot, with an elimination number of five.
Even a perfect finish would only get them to 80-82.
The lineup choices made the priorities pretty clear. J.P.
Crawford led off, Randy Arozarena hit second, Ward played right field and the 31-year-old Wilson started at third. Crawford, Arozarena and Ward are the three pending free agents in the lineup, but the larger issue is that Seattle already has 153 games of evidence on those players.
The team knows what it has there.
What it still needs to learn is how Arroyo and Montes handle the major-league level right now. Arroyo’s bat-to-ball skills and defensive home are still open questions.
The Mariners need to see whether he fits at second base, left field or somewhere else. Montes needs real reps in right field and against pitchers who can attack the holes minor-league arms couldn’t.
Wednesday should have been a useful test. The Angels started left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, and Montes bats left-handed.
That is exactly the kind of matchup Seattle should be studying at this point. If the goal is to figure out whether he can become an everyday hitter, shielding him from lefties doesn’t answer much.
The Arroyo situation is even harder to explain. He bats right-handed, yet Dominic Canzone started at DH.
The favorable matchup was sitting there. What exactly are they saving these kids for?
Or what are they protecting them from?
There is still value in bad September baseball if the team uses it correctly. It can show whether young hitters adjust once the league starts making life harder.
It can reveal defensive issues before those problems spill into next year’s plans. It can also tell a team how a prospect responds after an ugly at-bat or a rough night.
That matters more than squeezing out another win to get to 79 or 80.
Seattle already knows the book on Crawford, Arozarena and Ward. Arroyo and Montes are the unknowns, the players who could shape how the Mariners approach left field, right field and DH this offseason. Every start handed to someone else cuts into the information they need when those decisions come due.
And for fans, it cuts into the reason to keep watching. Nobody needs fake urgency around an elimination number of five.
The standings already say enough about this season. What fans might still want is a look at Montes launching another ball into outer space or Arroyo grinding through an at-bat.
Instead, the Mariners kept the same hierarchy in place on another night when the future was available and the present had already run out. If they are going to bury 2026, they can at least stop putting 2027 on the bench.
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That expectation alone has become a central part of the debate around the franchises direction, especially with manager Dan Wilson not expected to return and more roster movement on the horizon. The Mariners have reached the point where the conversation is no longer just about one lost season, but about how much of the current structure stays intact and how boldly the front office chooses to reshape it. [Read more 🡒]