As the regular season gets underway, fans in Seattle enter the year on the heels of an offseason that didn’t see the Mariners make many significant changes to the roster, with veteran infielder Donovan Solano standing as the club’s most notable addition. Even after that quiet winter and missing the postseason in both 2024 and ’23, however, the team still remains in good position to compete in 2025 thanks primarily to an elite starting rotation that features four young, homegrown arms with front-of-the-rotation abilities: Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller, and Bryan Woo. Seattle resisted overtures from clubs all around the league regarding their top starters this winter, and Adam Jude of the Seattle Times indicates that the club could have an eye on keeping those young arms in town long-term.
“Frankly, I’d love to see all the four young pitchers stay here,” Mariners chairman John Stanton told Jude. “It takes an interest on the players part and an interest on the organization’s part. But I think we, as an organization, are real believers in having a core group. There’s some symmetry … in keeping a group together that is as talented as our guys are, and I feel great about that.”
Stanton’s comments track with the club’s organizational philosophy of prioritizing extending their in-house talent rather than signing players in free agency. Julio Rodriguez, Luis Castillo, and J.P. Crawford are among the current Mariners who have signed lucrative extensions with the club after either being developed by the club or acquired via trade. Just before Opening Day, the Mariners added another player to that list when they locked up star catcher Cal Raleigh on a six-year extension that will keep him in Seattle through at least the end of the 2030 season. The $105MM pact, which comes with $99.4MM in new money, locks up Raleigh after a three-season stretch where he emerged as one of the best offensive catchers in the sport and on the heels of a Gold Glove winning 2024 season.
Raleigh’s strides behind the plate have been such that he’s been nearly universally lauded among the Mariners’ pitching staff, with Gilbert in particular offering effusive praise for his longtime battery mate. Jude relays that the right-hander noted that the club’s decision to extend Raleigh “definitely” gives him further reason to stay in Seattle long-term, though it’s clear that Gilbert has interest in an extension even outside of continue to work with Raleigh.
“[The Mariners] know where I stand,” Gilbert said, as relayed.by Jude. “Seattle has become like home for me, and I’d love to be able to finish my career here.”
It’s less clear where Kirby, Woo, and Miller stand on the possibility of signing with the club long-term, but Gilbert’s desire to stick around is surely encouraging news for Mariners fans. The club’s ace has been among the most reliable pitchers in baseball since his breakout 2022 campaign, with a 3.36 ERA (112 ERA+) and a 3.50 FIP since then. He’s combined those solid results with durability that’s become rare in today’s game. In each of the past three seasons, Gilbert has posted between 32 and 33 starts, and his 208 2/3 innings of work in his first career All-Star campaign last year led the major leagues and helped him to a sixth-place finish in AL Cy Young award voting.
With two seasons of team control remaining after this one and his 28th birthday approaching in May, it seems as though Gilbert is entering a phase of his career where an extension could make plenty of sense for both sides, guaranteeing the righty significant money through his early-to-mid 30s while extending the Mariners’ window of control through the rest of Gilbert’s prime.
All this being said, it doesn’t appear likely that a deal is around the corner. Gilbert acknowledged to Jude that it’s been “a while” since the Mariners approached his camp about the possibility of an extension, and added that he would be hesitant about opening up extension talks during the season. Those comments would suggest that, if an extension between the sides were going to come together, it would most likely wait until the coming offseason, when Gilbert will be preparing for his penultimate trip through arbitration.
Of these: Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller, and Bryan Woo
Who do M’s fans(or anyone) think will end up having the best career?
My money is on Kirby
George seems a bit more salty than the rest of the group. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the first one to bail.
That said, he is absolutely incredible and his upside probably does surpass the other guys. In today’s game to be able to get outs whatever way he needs, while THROWING STRIKES, he’s so dang impressive. Need a ground ball? You’ll get the heavy sinker. Need a k? He’ll whip that yakker right at your knees and then get you to chase 98 up top. It’s beautiful to watch him pitch.
Agreed, I think Kirby isnt that loyal to the M’s and would rather go to free agency to see if he can go to an east cost team like the yanks or Red Sox
I do think we will resign Gilbert and Bryan woo
Kirby will be a Yankee. Love him and hope we keep him but I think it is what it is.
My money as well….. Except he’ll be wearing Yankee pin stripes. Out of the 4 Kirby is the most likely to leave imo.
I can see Logan, Woo and Miller sticking around. Maybe Emerson if he can get it together.
I like Easy E. He’s got good enough stuff and a good enough arsenal and he just needs to put it all together. Hopefully he makes it happen
@Bigthin, Kirby and Woo have the best arsenal. Kirby biggest drawback is Kirby. He’s way too uptight, can’t get over bad calls or rough innings. He’s also the softest of the 4 homegrown.
He’d be this one to trade for the M’s, they would get a haul and they could focus on the signing Miller and Woo.
Miller and Gilbert are besties and seem to be less jaded about the org than the others. They will be extended. The others will be traded before they reach FAs.
I laugh when I hear a player not wanting to be distracted which in my view is agent talk except on your last year. Especially starters who have off days. If the discussion seems to be moving forward I’d prefer it. The obvious problem though is determining what is fair to both sides. Security has a value but at some point, the superstar player should already have lifetime security. If you’re not in that class is when compromise becomes important as one injury or unexpected horrendous season and the player loses the leverage he thought he built up. Having security has a value of its own.
Raleigh was jaded to the max but even he had a price…
His interviews leading up to the extension. He clearly wanted to stay and loves it in Seattle. Now Gilbert is saying the same thing. I think a big part of this is the org fixing the minor league development team. Players especially pitchers are crediting the org for their success. The rule of reciprocity demands a return favor. Not surprising to see home grown players extend and define a positive culture
I think Raleigh is just the locker room leader, a la Munson. When something needs to be said publicly for the boys and the fans he says it.
Best career: Kirby. When the power fades as he gets older he’ll still have the control and the brains to pitch well into his 30s.
Love them all, what a triumph of talent and development.
People don’t give this current Mariners administration for developing that pitching. All they want to talk about is their lack of hitting.
Meh, it’s what’s between the ears is his biggest detriment.
Gilbert has the highest ceiling, I think. He’s got the physical build and raw stuff to take still one more step into Cy Young territory. And it’s not like his control is all that less impressive than Kirby’s. And as good as Kirby is, his stuff is a notch below Gilbert’s, and he throws too many strikes. Yes, there is such a thing. He reminds me of Roy Oswalt — a great pitcher, to be sure, but never an elite one. No shame in a Roy Oswalt Career trajectory.
Honestly, keep Gilbert and Miller. We can’t be greedy and needs bats. Trade Woo and Kirby when the time is right for bats…we need to leverage the talent we have now for bats, since it’s unlikely we will ever sign a legit FA hitter.
2 front end starters, sign a mid-rotation guy in free agency, and hope 1 or 2 in the minors develop into back-end rotation guys. Dipotos been holding on hoping our hitting develops/improves and it hasn’t.
You’re still a sarcastic furball, LOL
Logan and Cal are best buddies since their early minor league days. This doesn’t surprise me at all and in fact I bet they have had discussions about both of them staying and what that could look like.
Didnt know that. I knew they were roomies in Seattle at one point. Thats awesome.
Bro has gotten comfortable in T-Mobile. He needs to bring back his gnarly stache
Breaking news… player wants to guarantee himself a sizeable contact. Insaneeeee
If I’m Stanton, I’m insisting that Hollander or Dipoto stay on the phone with his agent until it’s done. Screw negotiating, just sign him for whatever he wants. When Gilbert gets on board, Woo, Miller, and even Kirby will jump on as well. If they’re never going to spend on a free agent hitter, then they need to throw every last dime into these four. Then just worry about a new 5th starter later.
7 years, $160M ($22.8M AAV).
I believe that once Castillo is traded next year, and Haniger’s and Garver’s money is off the books, the M’s will have more than enough to sign Gilbert and maybe Miller also to long term extensions. This is why I don’t think we’ll see anything during the season.