We break down some of the key roster takeaways as the Mariners prepare for Game One of their AL Championship Series versus the Blue Jays.
Executive Vice President and General Manager of Baseball Operations Justin Hollander has announced the Mariners’ 26-man roster which will face the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS. Game One takes place on Sunday at Rogers Centre, with first pitch scheduled for 5:03 p.m. PT.
There really is no time for the Mariners to rest, following on from Friday’s 15-inning slog and emotional 3-2 win versus the Detroit Tigers. Here are four things which stand out from the announcement of the 26-man ALCS roster, which will carry 13 position players and 13 pitchers:
1) Bryan Woo returns
Undoubtedly the biggest news is that Bryan Woo is back on the roster, after being relegated to the taxi squad for the ALDS due to his right pectoral inflammation. Of course, this leads to the question of when he can expect to be used during the ALCS?
We know that Bryce Miller “and friends” (as Jerry Dipoto put it) will start Game One on Sunday evening in Toronto. While not confirmed at the time of writing we suspect that Luis Castillo will get the nod for Game Two on Monday, with him having only thrown 15 pitches in Friday’s ALDS decider and his previous start being last Sunday in Seattle.
As such, we predict that Woo will either start on Wednesday or Thursday for Game Three or Four back in Seattle, in what will effectively be a mini rotation with Logan Gilbert. Then pending how far the ALCS progresses, we have George Kirby starting Game Five, Castillo again in Game Six and then either Woo or Gilbert in Game Seven.
2) A couple of pitching question marks
It makes sense that the Mariners would go with 13 pitchers for the ALCS as opposed to the 12 arms they selected for their ALDS roster. The pitching was certainly stretched to its limit during the five-game series versus the Detroit Tigers, specifically the winner-takes-all decider on Friday.
However, we are somewhat surprised that Logan Evans was not added to the roster given the situation with the starters, i.e. three of them being used on Friday night. Evans might have his limitations, but proved useful as effectively a seventh starter during the regular season and he could have pitched a long relief outing as one of Miller’s “friends” on Sunday in Toronto.
Similarly, we do wonder about the inclusion of Caleb Ferguson on the ALCS roster, despite the fact he’s the only southpaw option with any real experience aside from Gabe Speier. Ferguson was an absolute disaster when he came in to close out Game Three in Detroit, giving up three hits, a walk and three earned runs while recording no outs and forcing the M’s to turn to Andrés Muñoz to finish things off.
3) Interesting positional player swap
Luke Raley has been sent to the taxi squad and had his spot on the Mariners roster taken by Miles Mastrobuoni. This just continues what has been a tough season overall for Raley, in stark contrast to the best campaign of his Major League career last year.
Raley did see action in four of the Mariners’ five ALDS games versus the Tigers, but always as a substitute and with him recording no hits in four at-bats. The thinking is that Mastrobuoni offers more defensive options for the Mariners, having played at all four infield positions as well as both of the corner outfield spots during his four years in the Majors in Tampa Bay, Chicago and now Seattle.
This year was Mastrobuoni’s first with the Mariners and saw him set some single-season bests, including 76 games, 12 RBI, 17 walks and a .250 batting average. Although keep in mind that he only produced a .620 OPS, and has appeared in just five games since the beginning of August.
- Mariners back at full strength heading into first road trip of 2026
- George Kirby sees dominant start vs. Yankees come undone in 6th
- Mariners experience 2 positives and 1 negative on a busy Tuesday
- Mike Macdonald,” We are a different team.”
- Nikola Petkovic suffers season ending knee  injury
4) Other Mariners roster notes
Harry Ford remains on the roster as the third catcher, but again will only be used in an emergency situation behind Cal Raleigh and Mitch Garver.
Garver is one of three Mariners on their ALCS roster who have experience of winning the World Series (Texas Rangers in 2023), along with VÃctor Robles (Washington Nationals in 2019) and Luke Jackson (Atlanta Braves in 2021).
Third baseman Ben Williamson being removed from the roster is something to keep in mind, just because of Eugenio Suárez’s continuing struggles.
Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography
Is there anything else which stands out to you about the Mariners roster to face the Blue Jays? Either way, what is your prediction for who will advance to the World Series, and why? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
