Naylor and J.P. Crawford are locked at first base and shortstop respectively. Donovan will be an everyday player. He is a solid defender at second base and can also play corner in the outfield, although his below-average speed makes him a better fit in the infield. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times writes that Donovan’s early work with infield coach Perry Hill has come at third base.
That’s the simplest solution in the short term. Suarez and Ben Williamsonwho was traded to Tampa Bay in the three-team Donovan deal, took up the majority of playing time last season. Of the five players to start games at third base in 2025, only Miles Mastrobuoni remains in the organization. Donovan didn’t get any work at the hot corner last year, but logged 269 2/3 innings there between 2022 and 2024. While defensive numbers aren’t particularly meaningful in that small group, he has above-average defensive runs saved and outs numbers above average.
Donovan’s primary role will largely be determined by the progress of younger players around him. Cole Jong had a brutal end to his rookie season, but he remains the favorite to start at second base. Young is a former first-round pick who hit .279/.388/.432 in the minors and is entering his age-22 season. He remains a promising young player, even if he is no longer technically a prospect.
20 year old shortstop Foal Emerson is even more highly regarded. The 2023 first-round pick compiled a .285/.383/.458 batting line with 16 home runs and 14 steals over 600 plate appearances at three minor league levels. Emerson ran at a nearly 12% clip while striking out less than 18% of the time. He spent most of the season in High-A, but ripped through Double-A to earn a late-season cameo at Triple-A Tacoma. He played six games there in the last week of the regular season.
Emerson is a consensus top 10 overall prospect Baseball America, The Athletics, ESPN And MLB Pipeline. The most likely outcome is that he opens the season at Tacoma with an eye on a midseason promotion. It would be a surprise if Emerson breaks camp, but the Mariners aren’t completely closing the door on that when Spring Training begins. “There’s no way he deserves a spot on the team,” president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto told reporters Thursday (link via Daniel Kramer of MLB.com). Dipoto praised Emerson’s versatile skills and maturity.
On likely opening day, Naylor, Young, Crawford and Donovan are lined up from right to left. Emerson could get consistent reps against Triple-A pitching as he builds up reps at third base, where he has 111 1/3 innings of professional experience. He will be the heir apparent at shortstop when Crawford hits free agency next winter, but he likely won’t push the veteran out of his position this year. If Emerson has a monster Spring Training that forces the club’s hand, Donovan could kick back to second base and potentially move Young to Triple-A. That shouldn’t be a problem even if Donovan doesn’t play second base in Spring Training, given his extensive work at the position.
Last year’s season-opening second baseman, Ryan blisshas not received as much public attention. Bliss is older and not nearly as highly regarded as Young and Emerson, so that makes sense, but he is a former second-round pick who hit .269/.377/.456 with 12 home runs and 50 stolen bases in Triple-A in 2024. Unfortunately, he didn’t get many opportunities to solidify himself at the MLB level.
Bliss tore his left bicep during a swing two weeks into the regular season. He underwent surgery with a rehabilitation time of 4-5 months. Bliss returned to minor league play in September and had an impressive week in Triple-A. He might have reclaimed the second base job from Young to end the regular season had he not suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee that required season-ending surgery. Kramer writes that Bliss is completely healthy again this spring.
It’s a deep interior area that will only get busier when Emerson gets the call. Bliss still has a few minor league options left. Leo Rivas also has an option, but reached base at a .387 clip in 111 at-bats last season and made the team’s playoff rosters. They flip-flopped Mastrobuoni and Lucas Raley as the last batter off the bench in October.
They’re both out of options, and it’s hard to see Seattle dragging both players into the season if all of their hitters come through camp healthy. They need benches as a backup catcher Andreas Knizner and right platoon bat Rob Refsnyder. If they want to keep Mastrobuoni and Raley, they should pick both Bliss and Rivas before even considering an Emerson promotion. Dipoto acknowledged the likelihood that someone will be ruled out at the end of Spring Training, admitting that the front office may have to make “some uncomfortable short-term decisions.”
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