Each MLB team’s most important offseason decision

Seattle Mariners - Upgrading the offense

This might sound a little too simplistic, but the Seattle Mariners need to upgrade this offense. It’s that simple. It doesn’t have to be a specific position, they just need someone to level set the lineup. Nine players struck out more than 100 times. There is way too much swinging and missing by this team. The Mariners struck out 1,625 times, more than any other team in the major leagues.

The Mariners had three players in the starting lineup that had a negative WAR, but they did have two utility guys who had 3.2 WAR from the bench (Luke Raley and Victor Robles). Only Robles had an OPS over .800 on the entire team. The Mariners were just inefficient at the plate. They couldn’t get on the same page, and there are a few reasons why this could be true.

We expect Julio Rodriguez to have a better season in 2025. He wasn’t bad in 2024, but he wasn’t a star. The rest of the lineup contributed, but it always felt like it wasn’t enough. 

The Mariners have one of if not the best starting rotations in baseball. Yet, they didn’t make the playoffs. That seems nearly impossible, but the Mariners accomplished that. They need to upgrade the offense, and maybe at multiple positions, if they want to get back to the playoffs and become a legit contender in the American League.