The Seattle Mariners are staring at an offseason that could finally force some real change, and there are practical ways to shake up a core that has gone stale. If they want to move forward in 2027, they’ll have to make decisions first on Jerry Dipoto and/or Dan Wilson, and then use the trade and free-agent markets to attack obvious holes.
The front office should have some room to work. Randy Arozarena’s free agency would clear a $15.65 million salary, and J.P.
Crawford is also headed to the market at $12 million. That gives the Mariners a path to add at least two bats, with third base and left field standing out as the biggest needs.
A late-inning reliever belongs on the list too, because the bullpen has been rough all season.
One route starts with the trade market, where Seattle can lean on its surplus of starting pitching and possibly one or two of its top prospects. A deal with the Cubs makes a lot of sense on paper.
Chicago will need pitching this winter, and Logan Gilbert figures to draw interest before his walk year in 2027. But George Kirby looks like the cleaner trade chip for Seattle, even if he’s still a talented arm with club control through 2028.
The Cubs reportedly had interest in him before the deadline, and that could resurface.
The return would be Matt Shaw, a 24-year-old third baseman who was a top prospect just last year. He’s already shown he can handle the position with his glove, which matters for a Mariners club that owns a -11 Defensive Runs Saved mark at third, the worst in the American League.
Shaw’s bat is still coming along, but he has a 121 wRC+ since last year’s All-Star break after a slow start to 2025. Seattle would be buying time until 2031 to keep unlocking that offense.
Free agency offers a different kind of fix, and Ian Happ fits the idea of a sensible, if not flashy, addition. He’s not likely to headline many lists of this winter’s top 10 free agents, which could make him a relative bargain in a weak class.
Happ, 32, has been a steady source of power throughout the 2020s, with 20-plus homers coming almost by habit, and he’s in position to win a fifth Gold Glove this year. That kind of profile would fit a Mariners team that has dealt with shaky defense in left field since Arozarena arrived in 2024.
Happ and Shaw wouldn’t be asked to carry the offense by themselves. The bigger idea is to improve the run prevention, because the Mariners’ defense has become a real structural problem.
Any actual offensive jump in 2027 would still have to come from the players already in place. Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, Josh Naylor and Brendan Donovan would need to be better, while the organization would be hoping for more from Cole Young, Colt Emerson and Lazaro Montes.
For the bullpen, the Mariners could try the same kind of bet they’ve made before: take an underachieving reliever and try to turn him into a weapon. Orion Kerkering is one name that fits.
The Phillies right-hander arrived with a prospect reputation in 2023 and looked like he had put it together in 2024, but his production has slipped. He has a 4.12 ERA this year and a career-worst 1.97 K/BB ratio, and Jonathan Bowlan has effectively passed him as Philadelphia’s main setup arm.
That creates a plausible opening for Seattle to pounce before Kerkering reaches arbitration eligibility in 2027. He’s 25, throws a 97.0 fastball, leans on a nasty sweeper and has added a splitter this season. That’s the kind of pitch mix the Mariners could try to sharpen into something more reliable in the late innings.
In Other News...
Mariners Now Have A First Base Problem They Can't Easily Fix
Josh Naylor gave the Mariners exactly the kind of early jolt they hoped for after joining Seattle, putting together a strong start and piling up hits. But as the season has worn on, the bigger picture has become harder to ignore. He leads the club in hits with 142 through Sept. 11, yet most of those have come as singles, and the lack of damage has left his slugging percentage at .359.
For a team that needs more from the middle of its lineup, that creates a real problem at first base. Naylors power production has faded badly in the 2026 season, with just 10 home runs in 137 games, and the Mariners are left trying to reconcile what they expected from the spot with what they have actually gotten. It complicates both the offense and whatever they had in mind for the position beyond this year. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners May Need A New Manager For One Frustrating Reason
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Nothing has been decided, and there is no official change on the horizon, but the possibility of a reset is hard to ignore when a season starts feeling like a referendum. If Seattle does move on, the next manager will likely need to bring a firmer strategic presence and a clearer command of the game, because the Mariners seem to be weighing not just results, but whether the current approach is the right fit for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Trade With Rays Just Got Tougher To Defend
The deal that sent Randy Arozarena to Seattle looked cleaner for the Mariners when it was built around long-term upside, but Tampa Bay keeps finding ways to make its side of the trade look smart, too. Brody Hopkins is now being called up and added to the Rays 40-man roster after a role change from starter to reliever turned his season around, a reminder of how often Tampa squeezes value out of pitchers other clubs might have given up on.
Hopkins has flashed a fastball that has touched 102 mph, and the results in relief have been much better than what he showed as a starter, with his ERA and WHIP both moving in the right direction. For Seattle, Arozarena has been a productive bat since arriving, but the bigger picture still tilts toward Tampa Bay, which has already locked up a playoff berth while the Mariners have spent the year fighting for ground in the standings. [Read more 🡒]