Seattle Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo was being interviewed within the clubhouse following the staff’s Sport 7 loss within the American League Championship Sequence to the Toronto Blue Jays when, immediately, within the background, you’ll be able to hear an anguished scream.
Mariners’ followers perceive heartbreak — they’ll relate to that scream.
For many of the 49-season existence of the Mariners, followers of the membership relied on hope: hope for the primary successful season, hope the franchise did not relocate, hope of creating the playoffs for the primary time, hope to finish a 20-year playoff drought. Hope for a World Sequence. And with one crack of the bat on Monday night time, that hope was crushed.
It did not begin out that approach, although. The Mariners received the primary two video games of the ALCS on the street in Toronto — and groups that received the primary two on the street in a best-of-seven sequence had gone 26-3 in MLB historical past (excluding 2020).
After dropping the primary two video games in Seattle, they received a dramatic Sport 5 on Eugenio Suarez’s grand slam to take a 3-2 sequence lead. The winner of Sport 5, when a sequence was tied, had gone on to win a best-of-seven sequence 69% of the time in MLB historical past.
The Mariners went on to lose Sport 6, taking part in about as sloppy a recreation as you’ll be able to play, after which misplaced Sport 7 on George Springer’s three-run residence run within the seventh inning — solely the second come-from-behind residence run whereas trailing by a number of runs in a winner-take-all recreation in playoff historical past (Pete Alonso hit the primary final 12 months for the New York Mets).
That is a whole lot of qualifiers, nevertheless it hammers residence the despair: That was an particularly tough defeat, eight outs away from the franchise’s first ever World Sequence, a second Seattle sports activities followers will ceaselessly keep in mind, alongside not giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch in Tremendous Bowl XLIX. The Mariners stay the one one of many 30 franchises by no means to play in a Fall Traditional.
The ache will linger. Quickly sufficient, nevertheless, ideas will flip to 2026, as they have to — and Seattle is well-positioned not just for subsequent season, however for the long run.
Whereas the Mariners have simply two playoff appearances up to now 5 seasons, they’re one of the steady organizations within the sport, one in all simply six with successful information each season since 2021 and seventh in wins in that span. They’ve a robust farm system that options eight gamers ranked in Kiley McDaniel’s August high 100 prospects replace, together with shortstop Colt Emerson, the No. 7 prospect, and pitcher Kade Anderson, the No. 3 decide within the 2025 MLB draft, who ranks No. 16.
The Mariners even have a steady group of core gamers: Of the 17 who have been value at the least 0.8 WAR in 2025 — MVP candidate Cal Raleigh led the best way with 7.3 — all besides free agent Josh Naylor and second baseman/DH Jorge Polanco are already signed to new contracts or stay beneath staff management (Polanco has a $7 million participant possibility that he’ll doubtless choose out from).
Each stay good matches within the lineup after sturdy 2025 campaigns, particularly Naylor. Aside from a few stable years from Ty France in 2021-22, first base has been a revolving door — and an issue — for the Mariners ever since John Olerud was traded greater than 20 years in the past. Re-signing Naylor, partly as a result of he additionally supplies some much-needed contact expertise in a strikeout-heavy lineup, feels crucial.
It isn’t an outdated staff both. Polanco (31), J.P. Crawford (30) and Randy Arozarena (30) are the one regulars older than 28 years outdated, whereas Luis Castillo (32) is the one beginning pitcher older than 28. Castillo is signed for 2 extra seasons whereas the opposite rotation members are additionally beneath management for at the least two extra years — Logan Gilbert (2027), George Kirby (2028) and Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller (2029). Having that sort of potential stability within the rotation is an enviable place — with Anderson more likely to transfer quick by the minors and Ryan Sloan, a second-round pick of highschool in 2024 and now No. 43 in ESPN’s prospect rankings, flashing top-of-the-rotation stuff in his first minor league season and likewise able to a fast rise to the majors.
The muse for the staff’s present success will be traced again to the 2018-19 offseason. Jerry Dipoto, the president of baseball operations, took excessive job for the Mariners after the 2015 season. They’d successful seasons in 2016 and 2018, however after the second, Dipoto was apprehensive about the way forward for the group.
“We have been simply coming off an 89-win season,” he informed ESPN through the ALCS. “On the finish of the common season, I will sit down with our house owners and speak by what the plan is for the 12 months forward. I believed the suitable factor to do after visiting with our entrance workplace group was simply to reboot. We have been a bit too outdated, we have been a bit too top-heavy, and we had little or no in the best way of prospect capital. We weren’t going to have the ability to proceed to beat that engine and maintain a aggressive, championship-level staff.”
The entrance workplace produces a flowchart of the group every year that maps out the subsequent six seasons, making an attempt to estimate what these six years will appear like. It did not look good, so the Mariners dedicated to a rebuild. It started with Crawford, acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies for Jean Segura (after the Phillies had first requested for Edwin Diaz, who was as a substitute traded to the Mets), and he is been the staff’s beginning shortstop ever since.
Seattle additionally watched Julio Rodriguez, signed as a 16-year-old in 2017, flourish and turn into a right away star as a 21-year-old rookie in 2022. His incapacity to put off sliders low and away — like the ultimate pitch of the 2025 season — can definitely be irritating, however he is had two 30-30 seasons by age 24 whereas averaging 5.7 WAR. His 6.8 WAR in 2025 ranked fourth amongst AL place gamers.
That he is was a possible Gold Glove heart fielder (he is a finalist for the award this season) is simply an added bonus.
“All of us thought that he was going to wind up being a nook man,” Dipoto mentioned. “And, you already know, between the ages of 19 and 21, he leaned out, was athletic Adonis, and unbeknownst to us, coordinated along with his agent, Ulises Cabrera, and invested in an Olympic working coach. He got here to spring coaching in 2022, and he mentioned, ‘You suppose I can play heart discipline?’ As a result of he made it a purpose of his to be a middle fielder.”
Rodriguez not solely impresses on the sphere, however off as effectively, with Dipoto talking extremely of his star participant’s focus, how he needs to be nice and the way he has studied the careers of nice athletes.
“When Julio is in a quiet area, he is a deep thinker,” Dipoto mentioned. “He’s targeted on changing into as nice as he can change into.”
Possibly there’s much more to return — particularly if Rodriguez can be taught to put off these sliders.
Alongside the best way, with Dipoto on the helm, the Mariners have been drafting pitchers — and doing an awesome job of creating them. In 2018, they drafted Gilbert within the first spherical. In 2019, it was Kirby within the first spherical. Miller was a fourth-round decide in 2021 whereas Woo was a sixth-rounder that 12 months. They acquired nearer Andres Munoz and setup man Matt Brash in two separate trades with the San Diego Padres on the identical day in 2020, giving up no one of main consequence in both deal.
Dipoto credit Scott Hunter, his scouting director since 2016, and Hunter’s workers, in addition to Justin Hollander, who’s now the staff’s common supervisor. It is uncommon to search out rotation stalwarts similar to Miller and Woo at that time within the draft — not to mention two high-leverage relievers in someday.
“Each participant that is been acquired in a commerce or drafted was acquired whereas we have been right here, and that makes it actually particular,” Dipoto mentioned. “This did not occur in a single day. We have bumped our head, we have stubbed our toe, we have put our foot in our mouth. Actually. And also you be taught.
“To see J.P. Crawford on the market since 2019. He is the rock. To see Julio, who we signed as a 16-year-old, standing out in heart discipline, doing issues that actually are on a Corridor of Fame trajectory. To see Cal Raleigh, who we drafted and developed, go on the market and have possibly the most effective catcher season in historical past. To see a beginning rotation that’s 80 % homegrown.”
Dipoto first signed Crawford to a long-term deal in 2022, then Rodriguez later that very same summer time and Raleigh earlier than this season. With J-Rod and Raleigh signed by at the least 2031, the offensive basis in Seattle is there, with that group of prospects on the best way.
The last word key for 2026 sits with the rotation — it struggled within the ALCS with a 6.37 ERA and averaged lower than 4 innings per begin. Its collective WAR took a giant dip from 2024:
Baseball-Reference
2025: 7.8 (nineteenth)
2024: 11.7 (tenth)
FanGraphs
2025: 11.0 (14th)
2024: 14.9 (fourth)
A few of the decline will be attributed to accidents — Gilbert, Kirby and Miller every missed vital time with them — however observe the house/street splits in ERA for Seattle’s starters over the previous two seasons:
2025
Dwelling: 3.30
Highway: 4.67
2024
Dwelling: 2.74
Highway: 4.05
Given the short hooks supervisor Dan Wilson deployed all through the postseason, it appeared he did not precisely belief his starters to go deep both (Woo, the most effective starter within the common season, wasn’t at full power and pitched solely out of the bullpen within the ALCS).
It makes you surprise: Does this staff want an ace? Maybe one like Tarik Skubal, who’s coming into his remaining 12 months with the Detroit Tigers earlier than free company and can see commerce hypothesis observe him all winter if the Tigers do not signal him to an extension. The Mariners have the prospects and the pitching depth to at the least make a critical inquiry into Skubal.
Emerson is more likely to take over at third base in 2025 and can ultimately change Crawford at shortstop in 2027 after Crawford’s deal runs out. Which means letting the favored Suarez, the third baseman who the Mariners traded for on the deadline this 12 months, depart as a free agent. Second baseman Cole Younger (No. 57 on the preseason high 100 prospect checklist) performed 77 video games as a rookie this season and can get one other shot after beginning effectively earlier than slumping to a remaining line of .211/.302/.305. He hit simply 4 residence runs, however he is solely 22 years outdated and there is perhaps extra energy to return (“It’s best to see his BP periods,” Dipoto mentioned). Rookie catcher Harry Ford, No. 65 within the August replace, ought to take over the backup duties behind Raleigh after a robust exhibiting at Triple-A, maybe letting Raleigh take a couple of extra DH at-bats and relaxation these legs after taking part in all however three regular-season video games for Seattle in 2025.
Everybody across the staff says that the oft-mentioned good vibes with the Mariners have been the true deal, with a clubhouse that received alongside and a good-natured group of gamers. The ALCS defeat was disappointing, however the Mariners shall be again.
“Gamers come right here and so they fall in love,” Dipoto mentioned. “They fall in love with the setting. It is an exquisite ballpark. It is the clubhouse. It is the camaraderie. It is the 25 teammates. That is an superior factor that is been taking place right here for plenty of years.”
The muse has been set. Now the group simply wants to determine go one — or, ideally, two — steps additional.