The Seattle Mariners have spent the last several years leaning on their starting rotation as the backbone of the roster. This season, though, that strength has cracked badly - and the second half has made the problem impossible to ignore.
Since the All-Star break, Mariners starters have been among the least effective in baseball. Over more than 40 games, the group has posted a 5.41 ERA, which ranks 29th, along with a .271 batting average against, 28th in the majors.
They’ve also thrown the 27th-fewest innings among all starting staffs. That lack of length has spilled over everywhere else, forcing more stress onto an offense that has struggled, a bullpen that is thin, injured and struggling, and a defense that has been one of the worst in baseball this season.
So as Seattle heads toward the offseason, the big question is how much faith the organization should still have in its rotation.
One possible path is a major roster shakeup. Logan Gilbert, George Kirby or Bryce Miller could be moved this offseason, especially with Logan Evans returning from Tommy John surgery and Ryan Sloan moving up to the big leagues.
Another possibility is a broader pivot away from building around pitching and toward offense. But the most important issue, at least from this perspective, is something else entirely: whether the Mariners need a change in the way their pitching is being coached and deployed.
The belief here is not that the starters suddenly lost their ability. The belief is that the message, the strategy, or both may need to change. That doesn’t necessarily mean singling out pitching coach Pete Woodworth, pitching strategist Trent Blank or bullpen coach Austin Nola, but it does point toward a different approach.
There’s still plenty in this group that looks like major-league quality stuff. George Kirby throws 98, 99 miles an hour.
Bryan Woo throws 97 with a nasty 2-seamer. Logan Gilbert throws 99 with a nasty splitter.
Emerson Hancock has the ability to ride the top of the zone. Bryce Miller, when he’s right, can throw 97, 98, and Kade Anderson has the pitchability that was discussed on Friday.
That’s why the concern isn’t really about raw talent. It’s about whether the Mariners are using that talent in the best possible way.
Some of the regression this season, in this view, feels avoidable if different levers were being pulled. Kirby isn’t throwing the changeup or splitter as much as he used to.
Woo, in this opinion, isn’t leaning enough on the sweeper and changeup, though he did show more of it on Sunday and was dominant over eight innings. Eduard Bazardo still brings 97 mph velocity, but he now looks like basically a 2-pitch pitcher.
Pitch mix, tinkering and sequencing all sound like areas that need attention heading into the offseason.
Any changes in the pitching room are probably tied, at least in part, to what happens with manager Dan Wilson. He’s on the hot seat as the Mariners sit at 67-77 and six games back in the American League West with 18 games left.
Seattle opens a three-game series against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night at 6:40 p.m. PT.
In Other News...
Mariners Still Waiting As Brendan Donovan Hits A Recovery Roadblock
Brendan Donovans recovery from the concussion he suffered Aug. 22 in the batting cages has been slower than the Mariners would like, with symptoms such as dizziness and nausea continuing to interrupt his progress through the concussion protocol. Donovan has been monitoring the process with a wearable device, and he confirmed he was not wearing a helmet when the injury occurred, a detail that underscores how routine work can still turn into a long absence.
For Seattle, the latest update from general manager Justin Hollander leaves Donovan still on the shelf and not yet ready to return to play. The Mariners are left waiting on a player whose timeline has been pushed back by a roadblock that is hard to predict and even harder to speed up, especially when concussion symptoms keep lingering instead of clearing. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Suddenly Have A 2027 Problem They Cant Ignore
Matt Brashs latest shutdown is another reminder that the Mariners have spent much of this season managing not just a roster, but a series of health questions that keep changing shape. Right lat inflammation has taken him out of the mix again, while Brendan Donovan is still only inching forward from the concussion he suffered on Aug. 21, leaving Seattle to piece together both bullpen help and lineup depth around two players it had reason to count on.
The immediate concern is obvious, but the longer view may be even trickier. Both players have already missed significant time this year, and the uncertainty around when they can be counted on again forces the Mariners to think beyond the present standings race and into 2027 planning. A team can survive one injury cluster, maybe even two, but not when the question lingers over whether these pieces will be stable enough to build around at all. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Fans Have A New Prospect Debate Worth Watching
The Mariners have already moved several top-100 prospects into the majors in 2026, but the next wave is starting to come into focus too. Ryan Sloan, Boston Smith and Jonny Farmelo are the names drawing the most attention now, with each sitting in a different stage of the development track and each carrying a timeline that points toward a possible debut either late in 2026 or sometime in 2027.
What makes the discussion interesting is that there is no official promotion date attached to any of them, only the kind of growing anticipation that comes when a system keeps feeding the big club. Their current minor league performance and overall progress are giving Seattle fans plenty to watch, and the debate now is less about whether these players belong on the radar than which one might be first to force the issue. [Read more 🡒]