The Seattle Mariners have a great opportunity ahead of them this season, but they have to take advantage of the situation. Entering the final days of May, Seattle finds itself with a strong 30-23 record under first-year manager Dan Wilson. While Wilson played for the M's during their glory days in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he should know all too well how hard winning in Seattle can really be.
It is a franchise that has to travel more than any another in MLB, due to Seattle's isolated geography from the rest of baseball. While the Mariners are best remembered for their big bats during their glory days, this team's recent revival has been led by its pitching. This again looks to be a strength for the team — but what Seattle really needs is for its best player to take flight here soon.
There is really no other way around it: Seattle is only going to go as far as centerfielder Julio Rodriguez's bat takes them. The 2022 AL Rookie of the Year may be a two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger recipient, but he is a notoriously slow starter, with a first-half OPS (.741) more than 150 points lower than his second-half mark (.903). And 2025 has been more of the same so far, as the outfielder is slashing .244/.318/.432 this season. That's fine, fine is not good enough for a team trying to keep divisional rivals at bay in the suddenly wide-open AL West.
Seattle's offense was one of baseball's pleasant surprises in April, but the bloom has come off the rose in a big way of late. If the Mariners are going to scrounge up enough runs to support that pitching staff and get back ot the postseason, it's imperative for Rodriguez to be as productive at the plate as he was in his first two seasons.
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Julio Rodriguez's bat needs to come alive to keep Seattle Mariners afloat
Seattle currently holds a 1.5-game lead over the 29-25 Houston Astros in the AL West. This is a team that was expected to finally circle the drain after trading away Kyle Tucker and losing Alex Bregman in free agency, but that has not entirely been the case just yet with Houston. Right behind the Astros are the Mariners' real threat in divisional play in the Texas Rangers. They are 27-29 on the season and 4.5 games back of Seattle with plenty of room for improvement.
What people need to realize is Seattle moved on from long-time manager Scott Servais last year because the Mariners were absolutely miserable at the plate. This is a team that has tasted the AL postseason recently; with a star player like Rodriguez entering his prime, you have to take advantage of what you have. Look no further than Seattle eventually letting another Rodriguez leave more than two decades ago.
The good news is Rodriguez might be finding his stride again. He hit a home run on Tuesday, his third in his last seven games, and he has an .861 OPS over the last two weeks. The Seattle offense was off to a good start to begin the season but has unfortunately regressed to the mean in recent weeks; for the month of May, their .696 OPS is 19th in baseball, and hot starters like Jorge Polanco have begun to cool off. We have to wonder if Wilson can help reignite the fire in this team we saw a few weeks ago. That starts with Rodriguez's bat finally coming alive.