The Mariners have spent the last half-decade leaning on pitching as their identity. That idea still hangs over everything in Seattle, but this season has put a hard question right in the middle of it: can this staff still be trusted to carry the team?
The offense has already done plenty of damage to the season. Randy Arozarena and Dominic Canzone have had nice years, and Cole Young has shown he can be a regular contributor, but the lineup was too quiet for too long to keep the Mariners in the race.
Entering play on Saturday, Seattle sits at 66-76 with 20 games left. The numbers tell the story in plain language: 29th in batting average at .229, 24th in on-base percentage at .311, 28th in slugging at .376 and 28th in OPS at .687.
And that problem is only going to get sharper this offseason. Arozarena and J.P. Crawford are headed for free agency, and while Crawford could return, Arozarena does not seem likely to be back.
But the more unsettling issue is what’s happening on the mound.
Seattle’s pitching staff owns a 4.22 ERA, which ranks 19th in baseball. Opponents are hitting .252 against Mariners pitchers, also a mediocre mark at 23rd.
The bullpen has taken its share of blame, but the starters haven’t exactly carried the load either: a 4.09 ERA that ranks 13th, and a .246 opponent average that ties for 16th. Since the All-Star break, the entire staff has cratered to a 5.55 ERA, the second-worst figure in the majors.
That leaves the Mariners staring at a bigger offseason dilemma than just fixing the offense. Is this pitching group simply going through a rough patch, or is this what it looks like now?
Logan Gilbert is 29 and has already piled up more than 1,000 innings in a Mariners uniform. He’s also entering the final year of his contract, which puts the front office in a tough spot.
Do they commit long term and accept the health risk that comes with age? Do they move him to help fill other holes?
Or do they keep him through 2027 and hope he stays healthy and effective?
George Kirby, 28, has had an uneven year despite premium stuff. His ERA sits at 4.19, and he has struck out 128 batters in 152.2 innings, a number that points to something needing to be fixed. Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller have also dealt with setbacks.
There have been positives. Emerson Hancock has outperformed expectations, while Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan bring plenty of optimism. Anderson, though, has already found out that the major leagues are a different deal than the minors.
The bullpen has its own set of concerns. Andres Munoz has steadied things, mostly, after a rough first two months.
Gabe Speier has been solid, but he’ll be 32 next season. Jose Ferrer has had frustrating bouts of inconstancy as well.
Matt Brash is working back from a serious lat issue, Eduard Bazardo has taken a big step backward in the second half, and Carlos Vargas looks more like depth than a front-line answer. That leaves the 2027 bullpen with plenty of uncertainty too.
So the Mariners are left with the same central question, only louder now: do they keep building around pitching and reshape the group, or the coaching around it? Do they run it back and hope it all settles into place? Or do they shift toward an offense-first approach because confidence in this staff has started to fade?
Those are the kinds of uncomfortable calls Seattle has to make this offseason.
The Mariners and Athletics will play on Saturday at 6:40 p.m. PT.
In Other News...
Mariners Farm System Just Took A Brutal Hit Before The Offseason
A late-season buzzkill hit the Mariners farm system this week, with top shortstop prospect Felnin Celesten landing on the 7-day injured list at Double-A Arkansas. General manager Justin Hollander said the groin issue is minor, but the expectation is that Celesten will miss the rest of the season, a frustrating end for a player whose progress had become one of the more closely watched items in Seattles pipeline.
The blow is even heavier because outfielder Brennen Davis is also done for the year after an oblique injury sent him to the 60-day injured list. There was at least a small bit of good news elsewhere in the system, with Brandon Eike and Jack Bowery earning monthly awards for their August work, but for a club trying to keep its organizational depth moving in the right direction, losing two minor-league pieces this close to the offseason stings. [Read more 🡒]
Julio Rodriguez Is Giving Mariners A Long Term Problem They Can't Ignore
Julio Rodriguez still brings enough at the plate to keep the Mariners invested, but the larger picture has become harder to dismiss. His offensive production remains positive, with a .708 OPS and a 104 OPS+, yet the steady decline in both batting average and on-base percentage since his rookie season has started to change the way his overall value is viewed.
The concern gets sharper because the downturn has not been limited to offense. Rodriguez went from plus-9 runs saved in the outfield last season to minus-4 in 2026, adding another layer to a trend Seattle cannot ignore. For a player the Mariners expected to anchor the franchise for years, the question is no longer just how high the ceiling is, but how much of that old version is still there. [Read more 🡒]
Julio Rodrguez Got Dragged Into A Viral Yankees Game Rumor
A strange bit of baseball theater followed Julio Rodrguez around during a Yankees game, when a viral video sent social media into a frenzy over a ball that struck a pigeon. For a while, the clip took on a life of its own, with the Mariners outfielder suddenly tied to one of those oddball moments that can swallow a game and leave everyone talking about little else.
Rodrguez and Mariners bullpen catcher Justin Novak later cleared up the scene, explaining that the bird was not killed and had only been concussed. Even so, the moment lingered in the ballpark, where the grounds crew and bullpen members helped care for the pigeon and the crowd even taunted Rodrguez with chants of "pigeon killer" while the game went on. [Read more 🡒]