A reunion with Polanco and/or Suárez still appears to be on the table, but second and third base are open for now. What options do the Mariners currently have in the system? Let’s look at the possibilities.
Cole Young
Young is a former first-round pick, with the M’s drafting him 21st overall in 2022. He came in as a consensus top 100 prospect in 2025. He was promoted to the big league at the end of May and played mainly at second base. He ultimately made 257 trips to the plate, but produced a tepid .211/.302/.305 line, which translates to a wRC+ of 80.
That’s clearly less than ideal, but there are some reasons for optimism. Young’s 10.9% walk rate and 18.3% strikeout rate were both strong. His batting average of .247 on balls in play was more than 40 points below league average. His average exit velocity of 80.6 miles per hour was sub-par, but his maximum exit velocity of 112.1 miles per hour was among the top 10% of Major League hitters. Maybe he can utilize that premium velocity a bit more as he gets more exposure to big league pitching. He hit .277/.392/.461 for a 120 wRC+ in Triple-A prior to his promotion, so perhaps his uninspiring major league debut was just a blip.
Foal Emerson
A year after taking Young, the M’s selected a later pick in the first round. They used the 22nd overall pick in 2023 to grab Emerson. He had a big rise in 2025, playing 90 games in High-A, followed by 34 in Double-A and six in Triple-A. Between those three levels, he made 600 trips to the plate and slashed .285/.383/.458 for a 129 wRC+. He also stole 14 bases while playing mostly at shortstop, plus a few games at third.
Emerson is now a consensus top 15 prospect in the entire league. His Triple-A experience is still minimal and he’s only 20 years old, but the Mariners would likely have at least some willingness to put him on the Opening Day roster. MLB teams are generally more willing to do that with top prospects these days because of the PPI benefits. The M’s carried a 21-year-old Julio Rodriguez on their roster through 2022. When he won Rookie of the Year, it gave the M’s an additional pick in 2023. This allowed them to select outfielder Jonny Farmel just seven picks after taking Emerson.
The M’s probably won’t just hand a job to Emerson. He’ll have to earn it in the spring. Theoretically, he could take over third base in 2026. Crawford is scheduled to be a free agent in a year, after which Emerson could potentially move to short. It is also possible that Feln’s Celeste is more of a factor by then. Celesten is considered a better shortstop defender than Emerson, but he hasn’t reached Double-A yet.
Ryan bliss
Bliss was a second-round pick of the Diamondbacks who came to the Mariners in the 2023 deadline deal, which Paul Sewald to the desert. His 2025 season was marred by injury. First, a torn left bicep required surgery in April. He began a rehabilitation assignment in August, but then suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee. Because of that missed time, he has a .214/.287/.367 line in just 110 Major League plate appearances over the last two seasons.
His minor league track record is obviously better than that. Bliss has 739 Triple-A plate appearances with a .260/.365/.453 line and 105 wRC+. He’s also a huge threat on the bases with at least 50 steals in the minors in both 2023 and 2024. He has plenty of minor league experience at both center positions. He never had the same potential hype as Young or Emerson, but the speed and defense could make him a valuable player with an even league-average offense.
Ben Williamson
Williamson was a second-round pick in 2023. He put up generally good minor league numbers, but with a nasty, contact-based approach and very little power. He played 85 games in the big leagues this year, hitting .253/.294/.310 for a wRC+ of 76. There could be more to the battle, but Williamson is more praised for his glovework. Statcast only had him average in the field this year, but he was credited with eight defensive runs.
Michael Arroyo
Arroyo, 21, was an international standout from Colombia and is now in the consensus Top 100. In 2025, he appeared in 65 High-A matches and 56 Double-A matches. Between those two levels, he slashed .262/.401/.433 for a wRC+ of 139. He has some experience at third base and shortstop, but was kept exclusively at second base in 2025. Since he hasn’t played at the Triple-A level yet, it’s likely a bit of a challenge for him to make the Opening Day roster, but he may have an outside shot. Even if there’s no Opening Day, a midseason promotion could be a possibility.
Leo Rivas/Miles Mastrobuoni/Samad Taylor
These three are more in the part-time or utility sector. Rivas can draw a walk, but has little power. He can play the three infield spots to the left of first base as well as the outfield corners. He could be on the bench, but he also has another option. Mastrobuoni’s minor league profile is somewhat similar, but he hasn’t had success in the Majors and is now out of options. Taylor has only played 83 times in the big league and is out of options. He has big wheels and can also play in the outfield, so he could be a good bench player coming in for pinch running and/or defensive transition opportunities.
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Putting it all together puts the Mariners in an interesting position. They are clearly in win-now mode. They just completed their fifth straight winning season. They won the West for the first time in more than twenty years. They came agonizingly close to a World Series berth. The Astros and Rangers appear to be dealing with payroll issues. The A’s have some promise, but still need to build a pitching staff. The Angels have many questions that need to be answered. The division is there for the Mariners to take.
That should arguably make them lean towards established top flight players like Polanco or Suárez or whoever. On the other hand, there’s a chance that Emerson is a future star ready to go. If he struggles in the spring, Williamson at least gives them a first floor backup. At second base, the M’s were able to leave it open for Young, Bliss and Arroyo to duke it out. Between the three, it only needed one of them to step up and grab the track.
In an ideal world, a utility player who can also move to the outfield would make a lot of sense, so perhaps the M’s will make a spirited pursuit Brendan Donovan. He could be second or third if the younger guys don’t take those jobs. If they do, he could mix with the corner infield Victor Robles, Dominic Song And Lucas Raley. If that gets too crowded too, the designated hitter spot is pretty open right now. Free agents like Willie Castro or Amed Rosario would be less exciting versions of the Donovan pickup.
Grid source the club has projected a payroll of $151 million in 2026. That’s about $15 million less than the $166 million they had at the end of 2025. President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto recently said that next year’s wage bill would probably be comparable to that of the previous season. Like all teams, they could use some pitching upgrades, so it will be fascinating to see how much of their remaining resources they use in the infield.
Photo courtesy of Joe Nicholson, Imagn Images
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