If the Mariners end up letting Randy Arozarena hit the market, they’ll need a fallback that doesn’t feel like a downgrade in every direction. That’s where Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki starts to look awfully appealing.
Arozarena remains the obvious name if Seattle wants to keep the current setup intact. But the fit isn’t perfect, and the source of the concern is clear: the ideal version of that reunion would require Arozarena to bring better defense with him and sign on a team-friendly deal. Neither of those outcomes feels likely, which is why Seattle has to keep its eyes open for a cleaner alternative.
One path would be to hand the corner-outfield jobs to Lazaro Montes and Michael Arroyo next season, whenever next season begins. That would bring plenty of upside, but also plenty of nerves. Starting both young players alongside Julio Rodríguez would leave real questions about how they’d handle major league pitching and whether the defense would hold up.
Suzuki offers a different kind of answer. He’s around the same age range as Arozarena, has delivered a comparable offensive season, and brings something the Mariners badly need: steadier work in the field.
On offense, he’s right there. Suzuki already has more home runs and RBI than Arozarena, plus a better slugging percentage and OPS.
And this has been the best all-around year of his big league career, with a career-high 4.6 bWAR. His previous best was 3.5 in 2024.
The defensive gap is what really changes the conversation. Seattle has been a mess on that side of the ball this season, finishing last in the majors in team Fielding Run Value. Arozarena’s play in left field has been part of that problem, and it has clearly worn on people around him and on the fan base.
Suzuki, by contrast, has been excellent. He sits in the 87th percentile for Fielding Run Value, along with the 95th percentile for Arm Value, 88th percentile for Range (OAA) and 86th percentile for Arm Strength. He’s also eighth among all major league outfielders with 12 DRS.
Then there’s the money, and this is where Suzuki starts to look even more like the smart play. Arozarena is likely headed for a hefty payday, possibly nine figures. Suzuki is still attached to the five-year, $85 million deal he signed with the Cubs in 2022, and that makes him easier to imagine fitting into Seattle’s plans.
The outfield market won’t exactly be overflowing with options, but Suzuki stands out in a class that looks thin. Arozarena has given the Mariners plenty, but he also comes with volatility and frustration.
Suzuki would bring more balance, more reliability, and less of the baggage that has come with the Arozarena experience. If Seattle decides to move on, he looks like the kind of Plan B that could make a lot of sense.
In Other News...
Mariners Face A Bigger Dan Wilson Decision Than Fans Expected
The Mariners disappointing season has already pushed Dan Wilsons future into the center of the conversation, and now one of the sports most connected voices is adding more fuel to it. On the Fair Territory podcast, Ken Rosenthal said he is fairly confident Seattle will move on from Wilson after the current season, a sign of how quickly the discussion around the manager has shifted as the club has fallen out of playoff contention.
Wilsons position has become part of a larger organizational question for Seattle: if the Mariners decide he deserves another year, they cannot treat the offseason like a waiting game. Rosenthals point was plain enough, and it speaks to the pressure facing the front office now. Either the club makes a clean change, or it commits fully to Wilson and gives him the kind of support that matches the decision to keep him in place. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Prospect Buzz Now Comes With One Big Timeline Twist
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For a farm system that has drawn plenty of buzz, the interesting part is less about the names themselves than the timing attached to each of them. Seattle is trying to balance near-term needs with longer-range planning, and that creates very different tracks for prospects like Sloan, Anderson, Arroyo and Lazaro Montes. The early look suggests some of the future core is still on the way, some of it is already here, and some of it may end up being more versatile than originally expected. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Could Finally Chase The Infield Upgrade This Winter
The Mariners have spent much of this decade in a familiar spot, young enough to dream on and incomplete enough to keep looking for the next fix. After another season of uneven results, the front office has reason to consider the kind of infield change it has long avoided, especially with recent prospect call-ups giving the roster a different look and a little more room to imagine what comes next.
Seattles infield has flashed in stretches, but the bigger issue has been whether it adds up to enough over a full season to push the club deeper into October. If the Orioles are weighing the possibility of moving from surplus to subtraction in their own infield, the Mariners may be headed in the opposite direction, searching this winter for a real upgrade that can sharpen the lineup and make the playoff path feel less fragile. [Read more 🡒]