Stock Watch: Who’s Hot, Who’s Not After Mariners Sweep Astros
The Seattle Mariners seem to have finally righted the ship after a very rough start. Following a four-game sweep of the rival Houston Astros, they sit at 8-9, right back in the thick of things in the AL West.
For that turnaround to happen, several players had to step up at T-Mobile Park over this past weekend. Let’s highlight three players who are on a hot streak right now, and three who still are waiting for things to thaw in the early stages of the 2026 season.
Naylor Bombs, Kirby Strikes Finish Mariners’ Four-Game Sweep against Astros
How quickly things can turn around for a baseball club. Just four days prior, the Mariners took a badly-needed rest day as they came off a five-game skid to round out an opening baker’s dozen contests where each series had been worse than the last: a four-game split, a three-game series loss to a good team (the Yankees), a three-game series loss to a bad one (the Angels), and a three-game sweep at the hands of the Texas Rangers.
And then an odd thing happened: the M’s got handed a get-right series by the Houston Astros of all teams. The same Astros that had tyrannized the division for a decade, with a philosophy of a never-ending window and an organization that seemed to churn out All-Stars like butter. But early in April, Houston’s arms have been either banged-up, straight-up bad, or both.
With that and a bit of mental fortitude, a Mariners offense who had scored 40 runs in their first 13 games finished up a 29-run four-game set with a 6-2 victory over their rivals on Monday, completing as big a sweep as an April series can offer.
Josh Naylor finally broke through his early-season slump, mashing two homers and knocking in five.
For much of the beginning of the year, even during the sparse games when the offense put up strong numbers, the bulk of the production had been coming from the bottom of the lineup. Even in the turnaround game on Friday and the thunderous comeback on Saturday, it was Randy Arozarena and bottom of the order that got the party started.
Familiar Culprits Waste Kirby Complete Game as M’s Drop Fourth Straight
The Mariners fielded their first full top-depth lineup of the 2026 season on Tuesday, but it didn’t lead to much production on the offensive side of the ball. The defense - this time, even standout defender Cole Young, though through positioning and not bad glovework per se - continued giving away runs to the Mariners’ opponents on the way to a one-run loss thanks to said baffled bats.
Kirby worked very efficiently early in the game, but yet more hibernating hitters and letdowns on defense gave him his first career loss to Texas.
Brendan Donovan hit a home run on the very first pitch of the game. Cal Raleigh had an excellent two-out piece of hitting against a top-edge fastball, driving it into center for an RBI single. That was the only hit with runners in scoring position, bringing the team’s RISP slash line down to .216/.327/.371.
But with a guy on the mound with a career 1.04 ERA against the Texas Rangers, those two runs still gave them a shot.
Sluggish Mariners Start Hitting Late, Drop Series to Yankees
Things won’t usually go well when you are scoreless for 16 straight innings and score one run in the span of 23 innings. Seattle dealt with quite a lot of those stretches in 2025, and even with a bolstered offense for the new year, it looks like that issue won’t go away, even if it’s the heart of the lineup in the doghouse this time.
Seattle made it interesting in the late innings, but too many mistakes on all sides of the ball gave Cole Young, one of the M’s riding a hot streak, the unfortunate task of being the final out.
George Kirby deals through five but gets some dear punishment from Paul Goldschmidt after walking two in the sixth.
If “Furious George” had forgotten how much he hates walks before Wednesday’s action, his second start of the season surely reminded him. All three batters Kirby walked came around to score, starting in the first inning as Cody Bellinger walked and stole second before Ben Rice scorched a double down the right field line for New York’s first run.
Mariners Turn Three Hits into Five Runs, Tie Opening Guardians Series
The Seattle Mariners still haven’t hit a single through the first two games of the season. That didn’t matter on Friday night.
Cleveland Guardians starter Gavin Williams may have spun good enough stuff to punch out seven Mariners, but he also walked six, and timely round-trippers from Cole Young and Luke Raley put the M’s far ahead of the visitors and brought the team to its first win of the year.
“Furious George” deals with early homer and puts together a quality start to begin his 2026.
Chase DeLauter’s prospect stock is about as high as can be right now. After mashing two home runs in his regular season debut on Opening Day, day two hurler George Kirby became the third Mariner to foolishly leave a pitch on the lower inside part of the plate, exactly where the 24-year-old rookie likes it.
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
Mariners Reportedly Go with Garver for Backup Catcher; Right or Wrong Move by Dipoto?
Mitch Garver already returned to the Mariners organization thanks to some advice from Cal Raleigh, but with Spring Training nearly in the rear-view mirror, it’s being reported that he’s going to make the jump back to the bigs for another year. With this decision, it’s likely that Andrew Knizner - who signed a $1 million guaranteed contract in the offseason - will be designated for assignment, though he can be outrighted to Triple-A if he clears waivers. Jhonny Pereda, who is on the 40-man roster, will probably also return to Triple-A to start the season, though this would mark his last minor league option.
Garver was quite appreciative of Raleigh’s efforts to bring him back, according to MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer.
“It means a lot that he would want me to come back and be there for him whenever he needs to take a breather,” Garver said. “So, I'm happy to do it. Happy to just put on the gear and catch guys when they need me the most and couldn't be [happier] to be where we're at.”
Bringing Garver up was a $2.25 million dollar decision, financially, as that’s what Garver was guaranteed to make if he made the MLB roster at any point. So what went into the decision to bring him back for another year?
Mariners Repeat or Astros Return; Who is AL West’s Deadliest Warrior? Analyzing Division as 2026 Season Approaches
Ever since the Mariners’ dramatic September sweep on Houston’s home ground that all but sealed the division, 2026 has shaped up to be a close rematch between the two teams. Which team, if any, has the edge going into the season?
WATCH: Top 5 Offseason Priorities For Mariners After Re-signing Josh Naylor
After locking up their sweet-swinging first baseman long-term, the Mariners still have plenty of work to do with the offseason just getting underway, including figuring out the next move at second and/or third base. What options could they pursue to check off their biggest remaining boxes?
Good Season, Peppered with Bad Starts? Analyzing George Kirby’s Mixed-Messaged 2025 Campaign
Injury derailed George Kirby’s season early, and although he mostly got back to form, he still dealt with the recurring blowup here and there. What was leading to all these bumps in the road for the Mariners starter?
WATCH: Revisiting Cal Raleigh, Mariners’ Historic 2025 Season
Falling in Game 7 of the ALCS, the Mariners ultimately came up short of their goal of snapping the franchise’s World Series drought, but 2025 proved to still be a historic one for Cal Raleigh and company.
Heartbreak: George Springer Ends Mariners Season in Game 7 of the ALCS
The Mariners couldn’t get it done. That much is not new; it has been true 48 times before. But the way it happened in 2025 was one that brought the city of Seattle closer than they had ever come—and that is why it stung the hardest.
‘All Hands on Deck’: Mariners Face Blue Jays in ALCS Game 7
For the very first time, the Mariners are playing in a Game 7, but it will be in hostile territory as Toronto looks to punch their own World Series ticket in their friendly confines. Do the M’s have what it takes to reach the Fall Classic?
Rapid Reaction: Blue Jays Obliterate Mariners in Ugly 14-3 Game 3 Rout
It all went wrong for the Mariners on Wednesday night, with the Blue Jays putting up a baker’s dozen runs in a blowout in front of T-Mobile Park’s home fans. Why did Toronto’s bats wake up in Game 3, and what made the M’s response so lackluster?
Three Massive Managerial Moments that Decided ALDS Game 5
Many of the memorable moments of ALDS Game 5 came from the players on the field, but some of the biggest keys of the game resulted from the battle of wits between A. J. Hinch and Dan Wilson. How did Wilson and the Mariners triumph on the managing front?
Final Thoughts: Mariners Found Long Path to Victory During Instant Classic Game 5
A 15-inning epic, a long-awaited return, an instant classic. The Mariners’ marathon win over the Detroit Tigers defied logic and expectations, but perhaps that was the only way such a victory could occur.
Rapid Reaction: Polanco’s Walk-Off Single Propels Mariners Past Tigers in 15-Inning Thriller to Clinch ALCS Berth
In a near five-hour baseball extravaganza with over 500 pitches thrown and 15 pitchers used, the Mariners advanced to the ALCS for the first time since 2001 with a 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers in 15 innings thanks to a walkoff single by Jorge Polanco.
Primetime Playoff Pitching Duel Looms in Game 5—Does Edge Belong to Skubal or Kirby?
There are no other MLB games on Friday night, and the Tigers-Mariners matchup features two young strike-spinners with a few October starts under their belts. Which one has the edge in the month that lives forever?
Mariners Bounced Back Many Times in 2025 Regular Season—Can Kirby, Mariners Do So Again?
It was all over about four times during the 2025 regular season, as the Mariners repeatedly went on the verge of crashing out completely. But repeatedly, they roared back—can they do it when there is truly no other option?
WATCH: Can Seattle Mariners Beat Tarik Skubal-led Tigers in ALDS Game 5?
The Detroit Tigers went to town on the Mariners bullpen on Wednesday afternoon, forcing a winner-take-all ALDS Game 5 in Seattle. Can the M’s defeat the best pitcher in the AL and punch their ticket to the ALCS?
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