The sting hasn’t worn off quite yet.
“We’re still in grief mode,” said Mariners team president Jerry Dipoto at today’s end-of-season media availability. Across the room, Justin Hollander also became overwhelmed with emotion while talking about the end to a Mariners season that came just short of a World Series run. Dan Wilson, true to form, was dry-eyed but solemn in his corner, displaying the steady demeanor that was so integral to this team’s deep run into the postseason.
Whether they want to or
not, the Mariners will now shift into off-season mode, focusing on augmenting their young core with external reinforcements at the infield corners and the bullpen, while also evaluating their in-house options.
One of those upgrades seems like a no-brainer: retaining the services of first baseman Josh Naylor, who was an instant sensation after coming over to Seattle at the trade deadline.
“Obviously it’s a priority,” said Dipoto about a potential deal with Naylor, while cautioning they would have discussions with the player before anything was made public, but said he “couldn’t have been more impressed” with Naylor over his brief (so far) tenure as a Mariner.
“Just a quality human being,” said Dipoto. “You know, he’s got the snarl on the field, but he’s a wonderful guy, incredibly smart, high baseball IQ, good teammate. He checks just about every box and couldn’t have performed any better for us.”
As for Naylor, Dipoto hopes he was impressed with the ballpark, city, and especially the fanbase, calling the environment at and around T-Mobile Park “the best recruiting tool we have.”
Another player who could be on the move is Jorge Polanco, who has a player option after reaching 450 plate appearances for the Mariners and will almost certainly test free agency. But with Mitch Garver likely departing after a disappointing tenure in Seattle, Polanco would be an easy fit to slide into the DH role, although that would necessitate the Mariners either finding a backup catcher or hanging on to Harry Ford, one of their best trade chips this offseason.
And the Mariners likely will be active in the trade market this season, as they won’t be shifting off their draft-and-develop model. However, Dipoto says he’s “comfortable” with the resources he’s been given by ownership, specifically at the trade deadline.
“The resources we’ve been given put us right about in the middle from a league perspective and payroll. We’ve been very aggressive at trade deadlines to push in when it’s our time,” said Dipoto. “We did push this summer in a way that maybe we didn’t quite push before, but part of our roster building model is to really lean into what we can access in July and lean on our city, our ballpark, our fanbase and our atmosphere to really help seal the deal.”
That’s the hope with Naylor, who hopefully enjoyed his tenure as a Mariners as much as the fanbase enjoyed having him. It follows a precedent set with Luis Castillo, who was traded to the Mariners in a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline in 2022 and signed a five-year extension that September, citing the “camaraderie” among the group as an influencing factor. Castillo, and J.P. Crawford before him, might have come over in trades, but both chose to commit to the team long-term after experiencing the culture here. Those players join homegrown players signed to extensions like Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez, part of the core that the Mariners hope will spark a run of consistent playoff appearances for Seattle.
“I’d like to win more than 90 games and not have to squeak through,” said Dipoto, acknowledging that development isn’t linear. “But this year we charged through, and to do it with players that you’ve known since they were 16-17 or maybe 20 years old, it’s an amazing feeling, when you’re walking around the clubhouse and they feel like family.”
Drafting and developing is such a key part of the Mariners’ philosophy that club personnel from scouting and player development, like Scott Hunter and Andy McKay, traveled with the team during the postseason. But it’s not just a top-down model—something Dipoto is especially proud of is the way players lend a hand to the players behind them, from J.P. Crawford taking Cole Young under his wing to Logan Gilbert reaching out to the Mariners’ first-round draft pick this year, Kade Anderson.
“Our top draft picks welcome and invite the next group of top draft picks. Those players will be on the phone talking to minor league players that are in our system today that they may never have met, to sing the virtues of the High Performance camp and the things that we do because of the impact that it’s had on their career. That’s Woo. That’s Bryce. That’s Cal. That’s Logan. That’s Julio. They do it all the time, and they do it without being asked, and that’s when you know your culture is good.”
Accordingly, some of those off-season reinforcements will likely come from players already in the system. Dipoto had praise for two rookies, noting that both second baseman Cole Young and third baseman Ben Williamson contributed at some point in the season before running into slumps. Williamson was optioned to Tacoma after the team re-acquired Eugenio Suárez at the trade deadline, where he showed an improved ability to lift the ball after making a swing change while retaining his excellent plate discipline. Both players were on the taxi squad or with the team during the playoffs, witnessing Mariners history firsthand.
But maybe the most exciting prospect update regarded shortstop Colt Emerson, who the team challenged with a late-season promotion to Triple-A Tacoma to help with the playoff push there. At just nineteen years old, Emerson more than held his own in the Texas League, but his brief six-game tenure in the PCL was luminary.
“Colt Emerson will play a part in our season in 2026,” said Dipoto. “I’m certain of that. His rise has been quick.”
And it’s not just Emerson; there’s a cluster of players in the upper levels of the minors who are nearing the beginning of their big-league journeys—although with a consistent core on the field that’s come up together, the job openings are becoming more scarce, and Dipoto said they’re going to have to be “choosier” with how they implement young players. But that’s a good problem to have for a club that wants to focus on becoming perennial threats in the AL West.
“This train’s been moving for a while,” said Dipoto. “First time in our organization’s history we’ve had five straight winning seasons. We’ve won 90 games three of the last five years. We’ve been to two of the last four postseasons. We’ve now won a division title. We’re just checking off boxes.”
“And now there’s two big boxes for us to check off: one is to be the American League champs, and the other is to win a World Series.
