Mariners Release Opening Day Roster; Crawford, Miller Notably Absent with Injury
With opening day right around the corner for the Seattle Mariners - at 7:10 p.m. Pacific on Thursday against the Guardians - the team has released its first 26-man roster for the 2026 season. The top of the depth chart, of course, is very much all over the M’s roster, from returning superstars in Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez to new additions like Brendan Donovan and Jose A. Ferrer.
But of course it is not all sunshine and roses for the defending AL West champions. Longtime shortstop J.P. Crawford is out for the beginning of the year with a shoulder injury while Bryce Miller is working through an injury of his own, leaving holes in the middle infield and the back of the rotation. Leo Rivas is going to get some playing time at short in the meantime (and perhaps Cole Young might swivel over to that spot as well) while the fifth starter role is likely Emerson Hancock’s, at least for now.
On the other side of the roster are Casey Legumina and Ryan Bliss, who are in the Show to start the year but who are likely first off the roster upon the returns of Miller and Crawford. Bliss still has two minor league options remaining, so the pressure on him is a touch lighter, but for Legumina (who is out of minor league options), it’s all but make-or-break while he’s still on the roster - at least concerning the Mariners, as he has some solid underlying stats that could bode well for a change of scenery.
The full roster is as follows:
Starting Pitchers:
RHP Luis Castillo;
RHP Logan Gilbert;
RHP George Kirby;
RHP Bryan Woo.
Relief Pitchers:
RHP Eduard Bazardo;
RHP Matt Brash;
LHP Jose A. Ferrer;
RHP Casey Legumina;
RHP Andrés Muñoz;
LHP Gabe Speier;
RHP Carlos Vargas.
Long Relievers/Back-end Starters:
RHP Cooper Criswell;
RHP Emerson Hancock.
Infielders:
2B Ryan Bliss;
1B Josh Naylor;
INF Leo Rivas;
2B/SS Cole Young.
Outfielders:
LF Randy Arozarena;
RF/DH Dominic Canzone;
RF/CF Víctor Robles;
CF Julio Rodríguez.
Infielder-Outfielders:
3B/2B/LF Brendan Donovan;
1B/RF Luke Raley;
1B/RF/DH Rob Refsnyder.
Catchers:
C Mitch Garver;
C Cal Raleigh.
In addition to these 26 players, the roster also has a few players on the IL: RHP Logan Evans (60-day), RHP Bryce Miller (15-day), SS J.P. Crawford (10-day), and INF Miles Mastrobuoni (10-day).
It is one of the strongest Opening Day rosters in quite a while for Seattle; there’s a reason Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA gives the team a 12.4% chance to win the World Series, the highest in the American League and the highest of any team not named the Los Angeles Dodgers. Last year’s opening day roster featured such names as Rowdy Tellez and Donovan Solano with relievers like Collin Snider and Trent Thornton who didn’t work out as hoped. The floor for a lot of the guys on the roster is quite a bit higher than it was last season, and so although there’s always going to be some players who take a step back, the team is in a very good spot.