Seattle Mariners Manager Dan Wilson Compliments Cole Young After Recent Roster Move

Wilson spoke highly of Young after the news broke Sunday that the Mariners re-assigned the prospect to their minor league camp.

American League Future infielder Cole Young singles against National League during the MLB All-Star Futures Game on July 13 at Globe Life Field. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

PEORIA, Ariz. — The second base job was the only one up for grabs when spring training started for the Seattle Mariners.

Gold Glove utility player Dylan Moore was penciled in as the starter at the beginning of camp. Ryan Bliss, Leo Rivas and the Mariners' No. 3 prospect as ranked by MLB Pipeline, Cole Young, were expected to be in the running for the position.

Any chance of Young being Seattle's Opening Day second baseman in 2025 became nil on Sunday with the news he and third baseman Ben Williamson were re-assigned to minor league camp.

Spring Training Roster Moves:

Re-assigned to minor league camp:

🔹 Ben Williamson, INF
🔹 Cole Young, INF

The @Mariners Spring Training roster is now at 43 players (34 on 40-man + 1 60-day IL + 8 NRI)

— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) March 16, 2025

Young would have needed an outstanding camp to win the starting job. But a sore arm restricted him to being a designated hitter/pinch hitter for the first portion of Cactus League play. He hit .190 (4-for-21) with one RBI during his stint in major league camp.

Young's spring didn't end under the bright lights at T-Mobile Park, but Mariners manager Dan Wilson was complimentary of the 21-year-old in a news conference Sunday.

"Cole is a complete player," Wilson said. "He swings the bat very, very well from the left side. He's a very good defender, as well. Can run a little bit. He is what you want. He's still young and still learning the game. He has progressed very, very quickly, as well," Wilson said. "With a lot of our young guys and a lot of our young position players, they've progressed quickly and it's just a matter of fine-tuning some of the dials on them. They're close. He is certainly a guy that has played well, deserves to be where he's at and just continues to turn the dial."

Young spent 2024 with Seattle's Double-A affiliate, the Arkansas Travelers. He hit .271 with nine home runs, 57 RBIs and 23 steals.

49th ranked prospect on @MLBPipeline ‘s top 100 list Cole Young (2024 Peoria Javelinas) drives in Spencer Packard (2022 Peoria Javelinas) to give the Mariners the lead in Peoria pic.twitter.com/PdUBvvTUyS

— MLB's Arizona Fall League (@MLBazFallLeague) March 1, 2025

Young will likely begin the season in Triple-A with the Tacoma Rainiers. The top 100 infielder (No. 49 MLB Pipeline, No. 56 Baseball America) is expected to make his major league debut at some point this season.

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