50 in 50: Mariners' Historically Ugly Defense Raises Equally Ugly Questions
The Mariners' 2026 defense was utterly horrific, one of the very worst in recent memory across MLB. Was even one player incontrovertibly good?
Fundamental baseball eluded the 2026 Mariners in plenty of ways, but perhaps none more so than on defense. From left field to third base to shortstop to nearly every position in between, the team couldn’t make difficult plays, couldn’t throw out opponents, and couldn’t get out of their own way as they gave up one unnecessary run after another.
Every method of evaluating the Seattle defense - defensive runs saved (DRS), fielding run value (FRV), and the good old eye test - says the same thing, more or less: it sucked.
The team name itself seemed an anchor that drew down the abilities of good fielders to the mediocre, of mediocre fielders to the bad, and bad fielders to the utterly atrocious.
Take FRV, for example. Not counting COVID-shortened 2020, a full 300 team seasons have been played since its introduction in 2016; the 2026 Mariners were the fifth-worst out of all of those with -59 fielding runs - only outdone by the following series of veritable dumpster fires: the 2019 Orioles (54 wins), 2024 White Sox (41 wins), 2021 Orioles (52 wins), and 2022 Nationals (55 wins).
Using the basic napkin-math conversion of nine runs to one win, the Mariners lost roughly six and a half wins to their defense according to FRV. Add six or seven wins to the team’s 76-win total this year - doesn’t matter which way you round - and they’re an above-even team that makes the playoffs.
It would take an eon to list all the players who disappointed with the glove, but who among the 2026 Mariners was an above-average defender according to the ways of analysis I laid out?
The answer is nobody.
