Mariners Double Down on Youth Movement as Suárez Heads Back to Cincinnati
SEATTLE - As news broke that Eugenio Suárez had agreed to a one-year, $15 million deal with the Reds, Mariners GM Justin Hollander was already addressing the elephant in the room: the popular slugger wasn’t coming back to Seattle.
“We love Geno. We really do,” Hollander said during the team’s FanFest. “I think it's unlikely that we're able to get something done with him.”
It wasn’t just a farewell - it was a signal. The Mariners have been clear all offseason: they’re betting on their young core, even if it means saying goodbye to a fan favorite like Suárez.
Seattle’s front office had stayed in touch with Suárez’s camp, but Hollander acknowledged what had become increasingly obvious over the winter. A reunion simply didn’t fit the team’s long-term vision - or its current roster structure.
And that vision? It’s all about giving their young infielders a real shot to prove themselves at the big-league level.
“What we don't want to do is sign somebody who's older but not better,” Hollander said. “We do believe in our young players.
We believe in our veteran players, too. There are likely going to be avenues for us to continue to get better - whether it's over the next week or over the next six months - that we'll explore.
But we do want to give our guys runway to figure out things in the big leagues.”
That “runway” is being laid out for a trio of promising infielders: Cole Young, Ben Williamson, and Colt Emerson. Young, 22, and Williamson, 25, both got a taste of the majors last season. Emerson, just 20, is already turning heads as one of the most exciting prospects in baseball - ranked No. 9 overall by MLB Pipeline - and he’s expected to be a major storyline this spring.
The Mariners did explore adding veteran help. They made a push for Jorge Polanco before he inked a two-year, $40 million deal with the Mets, and they’ve been linked to Brendan Donovan of the Cardinals. But the front office continues to prioritize internal development over external patchwork.
“That’s probably the highest upside version of the Mariners in the short and long term,” Hollander said, “is developing homegrown, star-level players and then ideally signing them and keeping them for a long time. But that doesn’t mean you want to forsake what you think are clear upgrades.
I don’t want to get older for the sake of getting older. Like I said, if we can get better, I think we’re open-minded.”
Young will get every opportunity to win the second base job this spring, while Williamson is in the mix at third. Emerson, who rocketed through three Minor League levels last season, has been working out all over the infield - second, third, and short - and the Mariners are giving him a real shot to force his way onto the Opening Day roster.
It’s not just lip service. President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto went as far as to compare Emerson’s trajectory to a Mariners legend.
“He’s one of those guys who’s not just going to knock on the door; he’s just going to knock it down,” Dipoto said during an appearance on the Mariners Radio Network. “And you know when it’s happening and when you’re watching it. Kind of like Junior in 1989.”
That’s rarefied air - and Dipoto didn’t stop there.
“The difference was - and I’ll say this with all due respect - Junior was an amazing talent, [but] the 1989 Mariners weren’t favored to win the AL West. This version is. And you have to step up and be ready to go, and we trust that if those guys come into Spring Training and do their thing and are ready to go, we’re going to give them their chance.”
For all the optimism, there are still question marks. Young and Williamson both showed flashes last season but lost playing time down the stretch. Young struggled and eventually ceded second base to Polanco, while Williamson saw his role diminish after Suárez arrived at the Trade Deadline.
And as talented as Emerson is, he hasn’t played a single inning in the majors.
Still, the Mariners are playing the long game. They’re not ruling out more moves before Opening Day - Hollander said it’s “very possible” the roster gets another tweak or two - but they’re not going to block their top prospects just to add a veteran.
“This has always been about building steady and developing from within,” Dipoto said. “And build something that lasts for years and years. And the only way that works is if you give your young players reps.”
So yes, the Mariners are saying goodbye to Suárez. But they’re also saying something louder: they believe in the future they’ve built - and they’re ready to let it take the field.