Are Spring Demotions Setbacks for Montes, Morales? Analyzing Mariners Roster Moves
Through the course of Spring Training, there will always be players who impress and players who don’t. It’s quite a small sample in these early games - there’s a reason that farm teams play over the course of a whole year - but it can give a sense of readiness when it comes to facing big league or near-big league opposition. The Mariners made a series of moves on Wednesday, March 11 that indicated how they feel about a number of prospects in their organization, sending five non-40 man players to minor league camp and optioning two more guys to Triple-A.
But what do each of these moves mean for the players involved? Are they significant setbacks in their journey to the Show, or was it something that was bound to happen? As we’ll see, it depends on the player.
Lazaro Montes still has a ways to go before making his MLB entry.
There has been some serious billing for Laz Montes over the years, with occasional comps to premier sluggers like Yordan Alvarez and some very clearly high marks on his raw power.
Four More Mariners Hitting Prospects Looking to Prove Themselves in Peoria
Spring training has started in earnest for the Seattle Mariners, with a few games under their belts and just under a week left in February. Prospects and stars alike have started to get in their reps under the bluest Arizona skies, but with the World Baseball Classic starting up on March 4, some of the hitters further down in the system will get quite a bit of playing time. Now, they’ll mostly be working against prospects and four-A guys from other squads, but their time in Peoria will still give an idea of where they are in their development.
This article is the finale of a series of four discussing some of the Mariners’ notable prospect non-roster invites (NRIs) to Spring Training. The other three can be found here, here, and here.
SS Felnin Celesten, 20 years old, High-A.
When the M’s released their list of NRIs, Celesten didn’t make an appearance, but some play on Sunday during a 14-8 win over the Cincinnati Reds - he went 1-2 with a double - evidently means he got the invite after all.
Three More Mariners Non-Roster Pitching Prospects to Watch in Spring Training
Non-World Baseball Classic pitchers and catchers reported to Peoria on Wednesday, Feb. 11, marking the beginning of Spring Training as the baseball offseason concludes. While much of the news for the Mariners revolved around the additions to the major league team, there are quite a few prospects looking ahead to Spring Training as a showcase of their skills.
This is the third part of a series of four articles detailing some of the non-roster invites (NRIs) that will make appearances in the Mariners’ Spring Training this year; the first two parts can be found here and here. Unlike part two, which went over some of the higher-end pitchers in the Mariners’ system - who are expected to be starters - this piece goes over hurlers further down in the organization’s depth, mostly expected to slot into a relief role.
1. RHP Teddy McGraw, 24 years old, High-A.
McGraw has the stuff to reach the majors in some capacity, but a laundry list of injuries over his time in the minors have made it uncertain whether he is still on track to become a big league starter. In any case, his pitch profile - a running sinker combined with a sweeper and a four-seamer - suggest he might fit best as a reliever.
Three Mariners Prospect Pitchers to Watch in Spring Training
Pitchers and catchers report to Peoria Sports Complex on February 11, 2026, a date that is fast approaching as the offseason comes to its waning hours. The Seattle Mariners are likely all but complete when it comes to the major league roster, but quite a few non-roster invitees to spring training are looking to prove themselves on the mound for a chance to expedite their minor league journeys, or in some cases, punch their ticket to the Show for 2026.
The Mariners’ farm system has a good share of high-end prospects and a fair amount of outside threats, but not a lot of stuff in the middle. This is especially true of the pitchers, where there are two titanic names on Baseball America’s top 100 [1] in Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan and a heap of names with much less fanfare.
Five Mariners Hitting Prospects to Keep Tabs on in 2026 Spring Training
The Seattle Mariners announced 34 non-roster Spring Training invitees on Friday. These are players who are not on the 40-man roster - many of them some of the top prospects in the organization - who will nevertheless be able to compete in Spring Training exhibition games in Peoria as a test of their mettle in a more MLB-like environment. Not all of them are close to making it to the Show, but they will still afford the attention of Mariners-world as to where they are in their development. For guys higher up in the farm system, their performance in Peoria might make the difference between starting the year in Cheney Stadium or T-Mobile Park.
This is the first of a series of four articles going over some of the higher-ranked prospects in the Mariners system who have received the Spring training invite and the first of two covering some of the hitters.
Before we get into the prospects, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the 20/80 scale, which baseball scouts use to evaluate players’ abilities or “tools”. Each tool is rated on the scale, where 50 is MLB average, 20 is about the lowest things get for an MLB player, and 80 is about the highest. In statistics terms, each increment of 10 is one standard deviation from the mean, so roughly 95% of big league batters have a hit tool between 30 and 70. Some systems of scouting differentiate between present grades and projected future grades, while others only give those projected future grades. These analyses give the scouting profiles from FanGraphs (which separates present and future) and Baseball America (which does not).
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