The Mariners have had plenty of 90-win seasons in recent history, but they haven’t been to the ALCS since 2001. They’ll be looking to build off of a fantastic 2025 campaign, with much of this winning roster already under contract.

A Bright Spot
I mean it’s obviously Cal Raleigh who appears to be neck and neck with Yankees OF Aaron Judge for AL MVP. The 28-year-old is under contract for 5 more years, $94M, giving Seattle one of the best two-way players in baseball at under $19M per year.

A Big Concern
How to proceed. When teams instantly find themselves this close to the finish line, we’ve seen front offices sit on their hands and hope it’s completely repeatable, throw money at a wall and try to buy their way to the trophy, or land somewhere in the middle. Seattle’s roster decisions this offseason should include aggressively trying to re-sign their free agents, trading a few notable players (both for baseball and financial purposes), and of course, bringing in/up a little fresh blood. It’s much much easier said than done.

Related Links
2026 Mariners Financials
MLB Offseason Guides

Pending Free Agents

Naylor should be a priority as he became an instant fit for this group, and fills an immediate positional need. Bringing back Suarez for the stretch run was a great story, but continuing on at a veteran price tag probably doesn’t make sense.

PLAYER MARKET VALUE
Josh Naylor (1B, 28) $16.5M
Eugenio Suarez (3B, 34) $15M
Caleb Ferguson (RP, 29) $3.5M

Option Decisions

Exercising the Munoz salary will be one of the easier decisions Seattle gets to make this Fall. Declining the Garver option won’t be far behind. Polanco’s option escalated to $8M thanks to his big season, but the 32-year-old will be seeking both a raise, and a multi-year guarantee on the open market. As a full-time starter, he’s a 3 year, $45M player in our system.

PLAYER OPTION SALARY
Jorge Polanco (2B, 32) $8M player option ($1M buyout)
Andres Munoz (RP, 27) $7M club option
Mitch Garver (C, 35) $12M mutual option ($1M buyout)

Arbitration-Eligibility

Here’s where things start to get interesting. Seattle likely needs to move on from a bat in order to restock the bullpen and/or resign the likes of Naylor and/or Polanco. Look for serious Arozarena trade talks to heat up around winter meetings, as the 31-year-old enters his final year of team control. Kirby should be strongly considered for a contract extension this offseason.

PLAYER PROJ. ARB SALARY
Randy Arozarena (OF, 31) $16M
Logan Gilbert (SP, 29) $11.5M
George Kirby (SP, 28) $6.5M
Trent Thornton (RP, 32) $3M
Bryce Miller (SP, 27) $2.5M
Matt Brash (RP, 28) $1.75M
Gabe Speier (RP, 31) $1.75M
Luke Raley (1B, 31) $1.75M
Tayler Saucedo (RP, 33) $1.25M
Gregory Santos (RP, 26) $850k

Guaranteed Salary

Castillo has 2 years, $45.5M remaining on his deal and should be brought up in trade discussions (once again). With the exception of Robles (who still needs to prove he can be a consistent MLB hitter), Seattle is garnering a ton of financial value with these contracts.

PLAYER CBT SALARY
Luis Castillo (SP, 33) $21.6M
Cal Raleigh (C, 29) $17.5M
Julio Rodriguez (OF, 25) $17.4M
J.P. Crawford (SS, 31) $10.2M
Victor Robles (OF, 29) $4.8M

Team Tax Projections

The Mariners posted a franchise-high $191M CBT payroll last season, and were certainly rewarded for their spending. They enter the 2026 league with a projected tax payroll just under $150M, but could very well find themselves over the $200M mark before it’s all said and done.

Spotrac's 2026 MLB Offseason Previews