If theres one standout trait about the Mariners headed in 2025, its their elite rotation; Seattle has the most impre sive collection of young, cost-controlled starting pitching talent in the majors right now. , , , and combined for more than 700 innings of 3.18 ERA baseball in 2024. Gilbert, who turns 28 in May, is the oldest of the group and the quartet has a combined 17 seasons of team control remaining. That crop of talented young starters is the envy of the rest of the league, but if theres a second standout trait about the 2025 Mariners its their questionable offense. is among the best offensive catchers in the game, but the lineup offers little certainty outside of him. has superstar upside but didnt show it for much of last year as he entered July hitting just .247/.297/.327. managed an excellent 11.7% walk rate down the stretch after being traded to the Mariners midseason, but hit just five home runs in 54 games and was worth just 1.9 fWAR overall last year between his time in Seattle and Tampa. The trio of Raleigh, Rodriguez, and Arozarena all project to be above average hitters in 2025, but the rest of the lineup is well below average. enjoyed a career year after joining the Mariners midseason last year, but his elite performance in Seattle was carried by a .388 BABIP. Between that extreme good fortune with batted ball luck and his career .236/.311/.356 (81 wRC+) slash line prior to joining the Mariners, its hard to expect more than league average production from Robles in 2025. and both posted solid numbers in 2025 but are platoon players who cant be relied on in everyday roles, while , , and were all well below average hitters in 2024. The clubs only addition to the offense to this point has been , who posted solid numbers in 2024 but figures to join Moore and Raley as another part-time player. A combination of Moore, Raley, and Solano seem likely to be capable of handling first and second base, but the clubs lineup still has a gaping hole at the hot corner after non-tendering and declining s club option. MLBTR the third base market as it pertains to the Mariners earlier this month, but none of the free agent options that fit their budget and lower-level trade candidates available are particularly inspiring. The Mariners have been hesitant to trade from their excellent rotation, only listening to offers on pricey veteran and seemingly shutting down discu sions regarding their young core of arms entirely. But shopping a cost-controlled, elite starting pitcher could open up new po Vic Law Jersey sibilities for the club to add impact talent that wouldnt have been available otherwise. The Red Sox dangled an impact youngster in first baseman in exchange for either Miller or Woo earlier this winter, and its easy to imagine rotation-needy clubs offering similarly impactful talent in exchange for a young arm of that caliber. Dangling Gilbert or Kirby would surely land the Mariners an even more enticing package in exchange given their solid track records of front-of-the-rotation work in the majors to this point. The Orioles, for example, have a deep group of positional talent but are in need of an impact starter. Its not impo sible to imagine Baltimore being willing to part with an established young talent like as the headliner in a package for someone like Gilbert, perhaps packaged with a le s impactful cost-controlled arm like to ease the blow to Seattles rotation. Turning away from the Orioles, of the Mets and of the Reds are among the other high-end, cost-controlled third basemen who the Mariners could theoretically seek as a headliner in a package for one of their top starters, though neither is quite as valuable as Westburg. Of course, such deals are easier to propose than actually execute. While a team like Cincinnati packaging McLain with one of their own rotation arms like in order to land an elite talent like Gilbert could make sense on paper, the injury history of both players could give the Mariners plenty of pause about giving up one of their most valuable a sets for little in the way of certainty and the Reds may be equally hesitant to offer up two established players with All-Star upside in exchange for one. Thats just one example, of course, but its equally difficult to imagine the Mariners lining up on the right trade package for a player as valuable as Gilbert or Kirby with the vast majority of rival clubs. High-end, cost-controlled starting pitching is the single most desirable a set in the sport, and while fans of rival teams have long dreamed of their GM working out a trade with Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto to bring one of the Mariners young aces to town theyd surely start feeling queasy about the po sibility upon seeing just how much their team would need to part with in order to land such a coveted talent. If you were in the Mariners shoes, how would you approach the situation? Would you take the same course Dipoto has and simply refuse to seriously entertain offers for your elite group of young pitchers, looking to upgrade the team in other ways like by dealing Castillo? Would you listen to offers while holding firm on a high asking price? Or would you compromise on the value of one of your top a sets in order to help bolster an offense in desperate need of impact? Have your say in the poll below: How Should Seattle Handle Its Young Starting Pitching? Listen to offers, but only trade one if another team makes a huge offer. 59.76% (3,160votes) Hold onto the whole group and build around them. 24.94% (1,319votes) Shop them aggre sively and work out a deal that improves the lineup no matter the cost. 15.30% (809votes) Total Votes: 5,288 Terrence Ross Jersey