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 RodrÃguez 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
Analysis: What Exactly Makes Strong Rob Refsnyder Season Quite Likely for Mariners?
When he went up against a right-handed pitcher between 2022 and 2025, Red Sox outfielder Rob Refsnyder hit .235 with an on-base percentage of .315 and a slugging percentage of .355. Few people in baseball talk about those numbers, because that’s not why the Mariners paid him $6.25 million in December or why the rest of the league is waiting with baited breath to see what the 35-year-old has in store at T-Mobile Park.
Refsnyder’s slash line against lefties in those four years? .312/.407/.516. Against all pitchers, just four players have maintained a .924 OPS or better since 2022: Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, and Yordan Alvarez. Obviously, Refsnyder isn’t quite in their league (since he’s just doing this against left-handers), but that’s the whole point of a platoon. When it comes to splits versus lefties, Refsnyder’s last four years have been the seventh best among guys with 250 or more plate appearances spread among the past four years.
Diving deeper into the data, we can see even more evidence that Refsnyder sees the ball very well when he has the platoon advantage: he walks 12.8% of the time when a southpaw is on the mound, around the rate that Nick Kurtz drew free passes during the 2025 season. His .407 on-base percentage against left-handers is the third highest since 2022, only less than Judge and Paul Goldschmidt.
Mitch Garver Returns to Mariners on Minor League Contract; Will Big League Team See Him in 2026?
When the 2024 season took flight, Mitch Garver was fresh off one of the best seasons of his career. In 87 games as a catcher and DH for the Texas Rangers, he slashed .270/.370/.500 for a 138 OPS+ (where 100 is league average) with 19 homers, 11 doubles, and 50 RBIs. But the real crown jewel of that season came on Nov. 1, when his Rangers sealed their first World Series victory.
The Mariners wanted a piece of that action. Ever short a bat and needing a reliable backstop to complement burgeoning star Cal Raleigh, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto dished out the then-largest free agent hitter contract of his tenure, a two-year, $24 million deal with a $12 million mutual option for a third year that had a $1 million team buyout.
Things didn’t quite go according to plan. Over 201 games in 2024 and 2025, Garver slashed .187/.290/.341 for an 85 OPS+. A decline in batting average on balls in play from .313 in 2023 - an unheeded warning that he was due for regression - to .236 over the next pair of summers took a lot of the wind from his sails, concurrent with a decline in line drives and an increase in grounders. The M’s took the buyout and Garver took heed of his options, but in the end, he returned to Seattle on a minor league contract. Will he find his way back to the big league club, or will any value from Garver in 2026 be more organizational?
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?
Mariners Quiet After Refsnyder Deal - But Moves Around League Offer Slightly Clearer Signal of 2026 MLB Environment
Things have been remarkably quiet in Mariners world since Rob Refsnyder signed with the team, but there is still plenty to be gleaned from some action - or in some cases, lack thereof - around MLB during Christmas week.
Rob Refsnyder Adds Right-Handed Hitting Depth to Mariners Lineup
The Seattle Mariners got a platoon righty in Rob Refsnyder on Monday, but will he finally be the answer against lefties that many others couldn’t provide? Perhaps more importantly, will the Mariners continue to build their offense over the winter?
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