State of AL West: Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners are looking for an encore after ending their long postseason drought in 2022.

Major League Baseball is dark the final week of the year, but Inside the Rangers has updates on each of the Texas Rangers’ American League West rivals entering 2023.

Seattle Mariners

2022 Record: 90-72, second place, AL West (16 games behind Houston); beat Toronto Blue Jays in AL Wild Card series; lost to Houston Astros in AL Division Series.

Manager: Scott Servais (528-504, seven seasons with Mariners, seven seasons overall)

Free Agency Losses: OF Mitch Haniger (signed with San Francisco Giants), P Matt Boyd (signed with Detroit Tigers), 2B Adam Frazier (signed with Baltimore Orioles), 1B Carlos Santana (signed with Pittsburgh Pirates), C Curt Casali (signed with Cincinnati Reds), P Matt Koch (signed minor-league deal with Colorado Rockies), OF Derek Hill (signed minor-league deal with Washington Nationals).

Free agency gains: P Trevor Gott (from Milwaukee Brewers).

Trades: OF Teoscar Hernandez (acquired from Toronto Blue Jays for P Adam Macko and P Erik Swanson); C/OF Cooper Hummel (acquired from Arizona for OF Kyle Lewis); 2B Kolten Wong (acquired from Milwaukee Brewers for LF Jesse Winker and 3B Abraham Toro); Cash considerations (acquired from Washington Nationals for 1B Francisco Tostado).

Remaining free agents: C Luis Torrens, OF Marcus Wilson, C Brian O’Keefe, P Roenis Elias, P Ashur Tolliver, 2B Alen Hanson, P Pat Light.

Projected Lineup in Field: 1B Ty France, 2B Kolten Wong, SS J.P. Crawford, 3B Eugenio Suárez, C Cal Raleigh, DH Dylan Moore, OF Jarred Kelenic, OF Julio Rodriguez, OF Teoscar Hernandez.

Projected Starting Rotation: Robbie Ray, Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, Marco Gonzalez, George Kirby.

Note: Lineup and rotation projection based on MLB.com depth chart.

Outlook: The Mariners are the team most likely to give the Astros a run in the AL West (though the Mariners won 90 games and finished 16 games behind the Astros). The Mariners reached the postseason for the first time in 20 years and won a series before the Astros swept them. So, now the goal is to not only get back to the playoffs but give the Astros a more competitive series, should they meet. On paper, the Mariners have a rotation that can match up with the Astros, and it’s locked in for at least the next two years. Trading for Hernandez and Wong helps fortify their order further and makes up for the loss of Santana. Seattle is a prime candidate to make it back to the postseason.

What’s left? The Mariners have a lineup that is basically set and quite versatile. The Mariners should be looking for more bullpen help and cultivating an additional starter in the event of an injury to its top five starters. The designated hitter position is also a question. Santana hit there quite often last season. Moore is a placeholder right now. MLB.com listed Suárez as a starter at both third base and DH. The fact is the Mariners could run several players through their because of that versatility. But don’t rule out signing a bat that can take that position as spring training approaches, depending upon what has slipped through the cracks of the free-agent market.

Previous AL West updates:

Los Angeles Angels | Oakland Athletics

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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