Mariners preseason capsule: Pitching-rich Seattle in search of runs

Seattle Mariners

2024 record: 85-77 (2nd place, AL West)

He gone: RHP JT Chargois, RHP Yimi Garcia, OF Sam Haggerty, INF Josh Rojas, INF Justin Turner, RHP Austin Voth.

New faces: INF/OF Miles Mastrobuoni, INF Donovan Solano.

Biggest question entering Opening Day: Does the Mariners' brass lack commitment, or do they think one playoff berth in 23 seasons is sufficient? Seattle missed the playoffs by one game last season and two games in 2023 but punted the offseason away with their biggest addition being 37-year-old utility player Solano. Time could be running out on general manager Jerry Dipoto, who proclaims the goal is winning 54 percent of your games. Has the GM realized he's at just 11.1 percent (1 of 9) in reaching the playoffs? Seattle has a stellar pitching staff but will need its GM to get another bat or two before the trade deadline if it wants to be part of the postseason fun.

Top prospect: 2B/SS Michael Arroyo could be a midseason arrival if things go south and the Mariners deal 2B Jorge Polanco. The native of Colombia belted 23 homers across two Class-A stops last season despite being just 5-foot-8. Arroyo, 20, displayed good baserunning instincts by stealing 18 bases in 24 attempts. Keeping Arroyo in the minors until 2026 might be more prudent due to his youth.

Breakout player: RHP Bryce Miller has gone 20-15 with a 3.52 ERA over his first two seasons and could be ready to deliver an All-Star season this year. Miller has struck out 290 and walked 71 in 56 career starts and had a solid 2.94 ERA in 2023. But what really points to a breakout campaign is that 1.89 ERA and 0.841 WHIP over the second half of the 2024 season. And he's Seattle's projected No. 4 starter.

2025 outlook: A strong starting rotation that includes RHPs Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Bryan Woo and Miller is what makes the Mariners a tough team to face. If Seattle can find enough offense to go with its stellar arms, it will be in the mix for a wild-card berth. The player the Mariners need to bounce back is OF Julio Rodriguez (20 homers, 17 doubles, 68 RBIs), who averaged 30 homers, 31 doubles and 89 RBIs over his first two seasons. Gold Glove C Cal Raleigh (34 home runs, 100 RBIs) is a bona fide slugger with 91 homers over the past three seasons.

--Field Level Media