Mariners enter All-Star break with a win, but also plenty of concerns

The Mariners avoided a sweep versus the Rays with an 8-2 win, but this is a team which must use the break to do some serious soul-searching.

Sunday saw the Mariners bats break out, resulting in an 8-2 win versus the Rays. J.P. Crawford led the way with three hits, while Randy Arozarena had a three-run blast against his former team. However, even in victory, the M’s enter the All-Star break with plenty of concerns about how this season has played out so far.

That the Mariners are in a wild card spot is a minor miracle, given their losing record of 48-49. Similarly, that they are only 1.5 games behind the Rangers at the top of the AL West. However, this merely reflects that the AL in general is poor this season, while their division specifically is arguably the weakest in the majors.

While it was refreshing to see the offense light it up on Sunday, this can’t hide the fact they have had a nightmare road trip in Florida. Prior to Cole Young’s second inning single which loaded the bases, the Mariners had 27 consecutive hitless at-bats in RISP situations. And it’s not as if this is a recent issue, with the M’s ranking last in the majors this season in batting average with RISP.

Emerson Hancock apparently avoids a serious injury

Sunday was also noteworthy for highlighting another season-long issue, with injuries. Emerson Hancock was forced to leave the game in the bottom of the second, one inning after taking a sharp comebacker off his pitching hand. X-rays came back negative and the belief is he has avoided a serious issue, but based on the way things have gone so far in 2026, no one is taking anything for granted.

If there was ever a time for a starting pitcher to come out after just 1.2 innings, it may as well have been the final game before the All-Star break. At least this way, Mariners manager Dan Wilson knew he could go all-out with the bullpen, with no concern about the following day. And the six relievers he used gave a sterling collective effort, combining to allow just four hits, three walks and two earned runs in 7.1 innings, while striking out six.

Wilson was understandably happy that the Mariners were able to salvage a win at the end of what was a rough six-game road trip. He was also particularly grateful for the efforts of the bullpen on the day. He said:

“You know with Emerson kind of exiting early, you really had to rely on the bullpen here for a lot of innings, and they all delivered. I thought they all threw the ball extremely well and got us where we needed to go. We had all the arms that we needed ready to go, and they stepped up and filled a huge void for us.”

Mariners urgently need to regroup during All-Star break

This time last year, a dominating sweep of the Tigers in Detroit sent the Mariners into the All-Star break on a positive note and with something tangible to build on. This time around, they are going to have to use this break to do some serious soul-searching. Despite the number of injuries they have had to contend with, there is still no excuse to have a losing record at this point of the season, not with the overall talent the roster has.

Cal Raleigh has been a shadow of himself this season. No matter how much his oblique issue hindered him early on, he’s been back and healthy for effectively a month now. And yet he’s still struggling at the plate, as evidenced by batting .185 with just two home runs and a .620 OPS in 24 games.

The Mariners will be hoping Julio Rodríguez does his usual second-half act following the All-Star break. Even allowing for him missing the last 10 days due to undergoing concussion protocol, he hadn’t been having a great year. As of right now, he’s projected to set career-lows with a . 259 batting average, .323 OBP, 113 OPS+ and 115 wRC+.

This is an M’s team capable of so much more than what they’ve shown

As for the rotation, while no one doubts their collective potential as the best in the majors, they’ve been far too inconsistent. Luis Castillo remains the weakest link despite his recent improvement, and sooner than later the Mariners need to either move him to the bullpen or trade him. Not that this is all on him, with Bryan Woo going from staff ace to not being able to pitch on the road.

We could go on, but the reason for seemingly being so harsh, is just because we know this team is better than what they’ve shown thus far. And as much as having a healthy Brendan Donovan and Matt Brash back will help, the Mariners still need some help in the trade market. We’re talking a quality right-handed bat who can hit lefties and a relief arm, with the M’s having more than enough assets to make this wish list become a reality.

This is a good baseball team; one which came within eight outs of a first World Series berth last season with much of the same nucleus. However, it’s going to take everyone stepping up their game, whether it be Josh Naylor playing like he did last season, or Arozarena making more of an effort on defense and so on. Otherwise one of the most memorable campaigns in franchise history is going to be followed by arguably the most disappointing.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

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