Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo (22) signs a fans ball before the game against the Chicago White Sox at T-Mobile Park on Aug. 7. Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

ESPN MLB Insider Discusses What Roster Priorities For Seattle Mariners Should Be

Originally posted on Seattle Mariners on SI
By Brady Farkas | Last updated Aug 15, 2025 11:00 AM ET

The Seattle Mariners enter play on Friday at 67-55 with four games to play. After a disappointing series loss against the Baltimore Orioles, the M's now travel to New York for a series with the slumping New York Mets.

Despite the losses in Baltimore, Mariners fans are generally excited about the team's prospects in the now, but they are also excited about the team's ability in the future. Seattle has nine Top-100 prospects, per MLB Pipeline, and has the contracts of Mitch Haniger, Dylan Moore, Donovan Solano and Mitch Garver coming off the books, so there is (conceivably) room to add this offseason.

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

With that in mind, Mariners fans have a long wish list of things they'd like to see the front office accomplish in the looming offseason. Could the M's bring back free agents Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor? Could they extend Randy Arozarena, who is slated to be a free agent after 2026? Or do they need to look elsewhere?

According to ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney, the team should first look at keeping its starting rotation together. He said that on the most recent edition of the Refuse to Lose podcast:

I'm just making sure I keep the pitching together. If you're the Mariners, that's your distinct advantage. And so the priority is keeping the pitching together. Look, the Kansas City Royals, leading up the trade deadline, their general manager, J.J. Piccolo, was telling other teams 'that's what our focus is, is keeping the group of starting pitchers together.' And look, you can't expect that they're going to be able to do that for a long period of time. At some point, someone's going to hit free agency and you're going to think about trading them, and maybe you graduate somebody from your farm system into the rotation, and so you take advantage of trade value. But first and foremost, when you're talking about having assets to use financially, my focus is on keeping the pitching staff together, if that makes sense.

The pitching future

Luis Castillo: Under contract through 2027, with a vesting option for 2028. Set to make $24.1 million in each of next two seasons, and has a no-trade clause that expires Jan. 1, 2026.