No club in baseball could use the All-Star break more than Seattle right now.
The Mariners came into the season with a real chance to take control of a weakened American League West. Instead, they’re sitting at 48-49, 1.5 games behind the Texas Rangers and just ahead of the Houston Astros. That’s a long way from where this group expected to be.
There’s no shortage of places to look for answers.
A lot of the blame starts with the front office, where practically every move Jerry DiPoto made to upgrade the roster this offseason has gone sideways. Brendan Donovan was brought in to handle third base and provide the kind of high-on-base, low-strikeout presence the lineup badly needed. He’s done that when he’s been available, but he’s only managed 25 games because of injury.
Rob Refsnyder was supposed to give the Mariners a right-handed platoon option against left-handed pitching for the left-handed outfield mix of Victor Robles, Dominic Canzone and Luke Raley. Instead, he hasn’t hit much of anything and is headed into the break on the injured list as the second-worst-hitting player in the majors with over 100 at-bats.
Dan Wilson has also come under the microscope. When Seattle elevated him late in the 2024 season, the team didn’t even conduct a search for Scott Servais’ replacement.
Wilson, a Mariners legend and a member of the 1995 team that became the franchise’s first playoff club, was handed the job full-time after serving as a minor league instructor. His standing with the fan base is obvious, and getting within two games of the franchise’s first World Series appearance should earn him some patience.
But his bullpen choices and his heavy reliance on righty-lefty and lefty-righty matchups have already cost Seattle more than once this year. That creates a tricky situation if the organization decides a change is necessary.
Still, this isn’t just a case of bad additions failing to work out. The 2025 Mariners are not the 2008 version, when the roster looked far better on paper than it ever was in reality.
This team did have a plan, and it wasn’t a bad one. The trouble is that the plan hasn’t held up, and the problems run deeper than the newcomers.
Cal Raleigh’s collapse has been one of the biggest shocks. After last season’s historic run, a step back was always possible.
What Seattle got instead was a free fall. Raleigh is hitting .169 with nine home runs and an OPS+ of 67.
Josh Naylor, brought back to play first base after becoming a key midseason pickup last year, has a WAR of -0.2. JP Crawford is hitting just .218 after shifting to third base because of Donovan’s injuries, which opened shortstop for highly touted prospect Colt Emerson.
Emerson and fellow young middle infielder Cole Young both started strong, then ran into a wall. And the offense as a whole has gone cold nearly everywhere you look.
That’s especially painful for a team built around the long ball. Seattle ranks second-to-last in the American League in slugging percentage, is tied for second-to-last in on-base percentage, and sits second-to-last in batting average.
If the Mariners are going to dig out of this, the answer likely has to come from outside the organization. They may also need to be willing to use their surplus of starting pitching to do it. The catch is that the market doesn’t offer many clean fits.
Taylor Ward of Baltimore is one possibility. The 32-year-old is making $12 million in the final year of his deal, and Baltimore got him from the Los Angeles Angels in the offseason. Ward has been above average in each of the last six seasons, hit 36 home runs last year, gets on base, and is striking out at a rate close to his career low this season.
Willi Castro of the Colorado Rockies is another name to watch. The switch-hitting utility player is signed through next season, doesn’t bring much power, but does offer decent on-base skills and likely wouldn’t take a major haul to acquire.
Then there’s Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, the kind of swing-for-the-fences idea that almost certainly never happens. He has a no-trade clause, roughly $160 million left on his contract, and the Angels share a division with Seattle.
But if the Angels aren’t going anywhere and the Mariners are trying to buy a real shot at October, this is the sort of deal that would force everyone to think big. If Seattle could move fading starter Luis Castillo in the process, it would be a clean win-win.
And with so few right-handed bats available from non-contenders, the Mariners may need to make someone an offer that’s too good to turn down.
In Other News...
Mariners May Have Found Their Next Late Round Draft Steal
The Mariners have made a habit of finding real value in the draft, and not just at the top of the board. Their young core has been built around first-round talent such as Cole Young, Colt Emerson and Logan Gilbert, but the organization has also shown a knack for uncovering contributors later on, with Bryan Woo and Dominic Canzone serving as reminders that Seattle does not need a premium pick to land a useful big leaguer.
That background is what makes this latest group worth watching. Dominic Santarelli, Wyatt Queen and Henry Ford all bring different kinds of upside, from pitching depth to bat speed to the sort of college track record that can make a front office dream on a faster climb through the system. Queens profile in particular gives Seattle another intriguing arm to keep tabs on, while Ford arrives with a resume that suggests he was overlooked longer than he should have been, leaving the Mariners with another potential late-round find to follow closely. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Fans Have Every Reason To Worry About Brendan Donovan
Brendan Donovans season has already been defined by frustration, and the latest update only adds to the unease around his status. Limited to 25 games because of injury concerns, Donovan still hasnt started the minor league rehab assignment that was expected, leaving the Mariners with more questions than answers about when, or even how fully, he might be available again.
For a club already dealing with its share of health issues, Donovans absence matters because of what he has shown when hes on the field. His production has been strong enough to make him a meaningful piece for the second half, but the uncertainty around his return now hangs over a team that could use every healthy bat it can get. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Just Got Beaten To A Bat They Clearly Needed
The Mariners have been hunting for a right-handed bat that can help them handle left-handed pitching, and Jahmai Jones looked like the kind of low-cost option that could fit the brief. Instead, Boston stepped in first, claiming Jones off waivers from Detroit and adding him to its active roster, another reminder that even the smaller roster fixes can disappear quickly this time of year.
For Seattle, the miss lands at a moment when the trade deadline is closing in and the available pool of right-handed help is not exactly overflowing. The club still has some bench depth on the right side, but the broader issue is whether the front office will push hard enough to find a real answer or keep waiting for the market to break its way. [Read more 🡒]