Baseball is back in Seattle, but at what cost? After ending yet another season without a playoff appearance from the Mariners, fans are still hopeful the team has what it takes to make an October run. To hear a more in depth analysis of the Mariners 2024 season, read here.
After a long six month off-season, the Mariners front office has been quiet. In January, the club agreed to a one year, 3.5 million dollar contract with infielder Donovan Solano. Along with Rowdy Tellez and Miles Mastobouni, who all made the opening day roster for the 2025 season.
Unsurprisingly, the Mariners front office did not increase their payroll in the offseason, even though it was promised by owner John Stanton. The team still finds themselves struggling offensively, which was one of the main focuses of improvement during the offseason.
Even though the team did not add any big names, they were able to extend their contract with catcher Cal Raleigh, extending him for a six year, 105 million dollar contract, which will guarantee him being a Mariner until 2031. This big announcement was made days before opening day, getting fans excited for the 2025 season.
Raleigh became a voice in criticizing the front office for their stingy use of money towards their players. At the end of last season, he spoke in a press conference, voicing his opinion on the matter.
Raleigh voiced his concerns saying, “We’ve got to commit to winning, we have to commit to going and getting those players you see other teams going out (to get), going for it, getting big-time pitchers, getting big-time hitters. We have to do that to keep up.” The next day, Raleigh apologized for his words.
The Mariners played their first series against the Oakland Athletics, which ended up being a split 2-2 series. Last season, the Mariners had a 9-4 record versus the Athletics in the 2024 season, so a split season between the two clubs became a pleasant surprise to fans.
The club was able to take the first game of the series, coming from-behind to win with a 4-2 score. The team scored three runs in the eighth inning, getting help from Randy Arozarena and Jorge Polanco, who both are in their second season with the Mariners.
They then went on to lose the next two games, (0-7) (2-4), but then came back to pick up a (2-1) Sunday afternoon win in Seattle.
But, don’t be fooled. Seattle still finds themselves struggling offensively, not adding big bats to their roster will cost them tremendously during this season. During spring training, the team said they had a goal to bring down their strikeout percentage, which was one of their biggest problems.
