> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Two Notes from M’s First Midweek Scrimmage - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/two-notes-from-ms-first-midweek-scrimmage/ - Published: 2025-10-02T00:22:52.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:18:07.000Z - Author: Callaghan Bluechel - Tags: Analysis, Mariners, Eugenio Suarez, Cal Raleigh, Andres Munoz, J.P. Crawford, Josh Naylor, Emerson Hancock \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1200"\] ![ The Seattle Mariners take batting practice before a scrimmage Wednesday afternoon, where two squads of Mariners simulated game situations over five innings of play. Credit: Callaghan Bluechel/Emerald City Spectrum. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/ms-scrimmage-1-format-original-1.jpg) The Seattle Mariners take batting practice before a scrimmage Wednesday afternoon, where two squads of Mariners simulated game situations over five innings of play. Credit: Callaghan Bluechel/Emerald City Spectrum. \[/caption\] SEATTLE, Wash — The Guardians and Tigers will play a winner-take-all on Thursday to see which AL Central club will travel to T-Mobile Park on Saturday, but for Seattle, they had a bit of a less stressing task: keep sharp. The M’s held their first of two bye round scrimmages on Wednesday, featuring five innings of ball between a team in Northwest Green road uniforms and one in white home uniforms. The rules of the game were pretty loose, given that its purpose was to keep the team in form and keep tabs on everyone’s health. As a general guideline, there were four batters in every inning regardless of the at-bats, though one-two-three innings were an exception to this. Runners, with little heed to what side their uniforms displayed, would trot out to the bases to simulate situations for Mariners pitchers both seasoned and raw, with members of the taxi squad filling the dugout in both colors. Eduard Bazardo and Emerson Hancock were the starters in the five-inning scrimmage, while by the time the final frame had come around, the hill was being trod by Collin Snider and Troy Taylor. “It’s awesome to be able to put different situations in and test out some things, practice what could happen,” manager Dan Wilson said. The batters, meanwhile, were basically all starters, not really playing in a set order but coming to the dish in a few innings to get some reps in. Eugenio Suárez and Cal Raleigh traded home runs in the first inning, though the offense died down after that. The fourth inning battle between J.P. Crawford and Andrés Muñoz was remarkable, Crawford fouling off a full count delivery before taking a walk, stealing second, getting to third on a groundout, and scoring on a wild pitch. Fans occupied the seats around home plate and the dugouts, combining with a full-volume PA system to simulate a game-like environment. The Seattle faithful even got an “MVP” chant started all on their own during one of Raleigh’s at-bats. Still, it was a low-pressure, low-stakes environment where the guys could keep loose. And yet, there were a couple things to keep note of. ### Josh Naylor “Feeling Good” You wouldn’t know it from his stat line, but persistent shoulder pain has plagued Josh Naylor’s time with the Mariners from his second week with the team. He finally got some rest during the final two games of the season after re-aggravating it on Friday’s opener against the Dodgers, and his first game-like action since then was Wednesday’s scrimmage. There might have been something still bothering him during the bottom of the first, as he seemed to uncomfortably shrug his shoulders after a swing early in the count and struck out looking to end his at-bat. If anything was askew, it didn’t present itself in the second inning of the scrimmage, when he lined a one-out single the other way. It was the only hit during his four at-bats, but there wasn’t any visible discomfort the rest of the way through, at least that I could see. Dan Wilson downplayed any concerns about Naylor’s health in the post-scrimmage press conference. “‘Naylz’ is feeling good. The rest, obviously, was something that helped him, definitely helped his body,” Wilson said. “Good to get him out there today, get him several at-bats, and again, make it more game-like so that he’s able to get to that level on Saturday that he needs to get to.” The phrasing of *get to that level* does imply, even if by slip of the tongue, that Naylor might not be 100 percent. However, it must be remembered that no ballplayer is 100 percent this late in the year; it’s all about to what degree the exhaustion and minor injuries affect such a player. In Naylor’s case, he does appear to be back at a game-ready level. ### Emerson Hancock Still Produces Questions I get the sense that the Mariners still don’t know what they have in Emerson Hancock. Is he an up-and-coming starter bound for excellence? Is he a long relief guy that they can trust in the playoffs? Is he only fit for the back of the bullpen? In the long term, those questions will not find their answers in 2025\. But for the ALDS, the M’s will probably look to play it safe when it comes to Hancock. He has oscillated between brilliance and blowups, finishing with a 4.90 ERA overall—but just 2.08 coming out of the bullpen. He gave up 15 home runs in 81 ⅓ innings as a starter but none in his 8 ⅔ relief innings. Part of it was a velocity increase that moving to the ‘pen allowed for Hancock, but the greater part was some incredible location and movement on his sweeper. If anything is the weathervane for Hancock’s success, it is that pitch. Results were mixed on Wednesday. Hancock pitched two innings, but his first frame saw a jam thicken up right off the bat. He allowed a leadoff single from Randy Arozarena and walked Dominic Canzone to bring up Suárez with two on and nobody out. Hancock got away with one sweeper out over the plate, but Suárez torpedoed the sequel, launching it off the out-of-town scoreboard in left center field. Victor Robles took a walk to finish out the first for Hancock. The second, however, was a sight of the September Hancock that has come out of the ‘pen. Hancock struck out J.P. Crawford on a sinker with enough armside run to clip the inside edge, got Arozarena (as I said, the lineups were quite loose) to swing through a changeup, and froze Mitch Garver to strike out the side. Such an outing did not resolve much of anything related to Emerson Hancock. The home run and the walk, his two persistent vices, showed up early in the scrimmage, while the nasty stuff helped him breeze through the order a bit later.