This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer’s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
SEATTLE — Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander have taken center stage as the offseason opened its first notable event this week at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas, where the sport’s most prominent decision-makers descended on the desert to begin scoping their plans for 2026.
For Dipoto, the Mariners’ president of baseball operations, and Hollander, their general manager, this week will be about laying the groundwork toward what they hope will be a second straight American League West title — and going even further than their berth in the AL Championship Series that went the distance.
We’ll have more coverage later this week, but here are five storylines to follow in Seattle:
All eyes on Naylor
Josh Naylor will be the most talked-about topic in this region until the first-time free agent signs. Hollander was already asked about the slugging first baseman last week in an interview with MLB Network Radio, and he boldly doubled down on the Mariners’ intent to bring Naylor back.
However, it’s unlikely that anything substantial materializes in the Naylor sweepstakes this week.
Free agency among the top of the market has typically not accelerated until closer to the Winter Meetings — which take place in Orlando from Dec. 8-10 — and sometimes even later. And that will only build anticipation between the two sides who have a very strong mutual interest — but also now have the other 29 teams in the mix to negotiate as well.
Don’t forget about the rest of the infield
Dipoto and Hollander outlined at the end of the season that, beyond Naylor, they’d like to bring back Jorge Polanco, who has since declined a $6 million vesting player option and become a free agent. There’s mutual interest with the second baseman and designated hitter, too, but the 32-year-old will be seeking a multiyear deal — and he’ll likely generate much interest from other teams.
Aside from Polanco, third base appears to be the Mariners’ most murky position, as a reunion with fan favorite Eugenio Suárez, on paper, doesn’t seem as logical as Naylor or Polanco. Suárez will be 35 next year, and he too should net a costly, multiyear deal. That, and the Mariners could eye No. 1 prospect Colt Emerson as their longer-term answer at the position.
Expect Dipoto and Hollander to provide more specifics about their needs in this area this week.
Surveying the relief market
The Mariners haven’t been able to unearth that unsung, unheard-of reliever in recent years as they did with Paul Sewald, Drew Steckenrider, Justin Topa and Gabe Speier more from 2021-23, and part of that might related to two instrumental figures on the Minor League side — pitching coordinators Max Weiner and Matt Pierpont — leaving the organization over the past two years.
There could certainly be other factors in play, but maybe now is the time to spend more boldly on proven relievers to fortify the back-end group of Andrés Muñoz, Matt Brash, Speier and Eduard Bazardo. They clearly could’ve benefited from such an arm down the stretch and into the postseason.
Filling a fresh front-office void
Just as Dipoto and Hollander settled down in Las Vegas, news broke that their third-in-command — assistant general manager Andy McKay — was leaving the organization after 10 years to become the Guardians’ field coordinator. There, he’ll be reunited with Stephen Vogt, who is entering his third season as Cleveland’s manager after a one-year stint as the Mariners’ bullpen coach.
McKay has long aspired to be on a big league coaching staff and was positioned to fulfill that opportunity in Seattle in 2022 before other front-office moves leading into that year’s Spring Training prompted him to remain on the player development side.
He’ll now get that opportunity in Cleveland — and because of it, the Mariners all of a sudden have a notable void in their front office, one that was instrumental in their Draft process.
Keeping tabs on the coaching staff
The Mariners don’t have any notable coaching voids — last year, they were still sorting out Edgar Martinez’s permanent role that blossomed into director of hitting strategy, and in the process of hiring Kevin Seitzer as hitting coach.
Yet, beyond McKay, with a whopping eight managerial changes across the sport — and the Rockies as the ninth, still seeking a new skipper — there have already been ripple effects on coaching staffs across the league, and there could be even more coming.
The Mariners typically haven’t announced their coaching staff for the following season until later in November but before the Winter Meetings.
