State Of The Mariners – August 22nd, 2025

By Brittany Wisner, edited by Charles Hamaker

Seattle, WA - The last few weeks for the Seattle Mariners have been a roller coaster as unpredictable as the bullpen late in games.

Following some bold offensive moves at the trade deadline - bringing in Josh Naylor and reuniting with fan favorite Eugenio Suárez - the Mariners suddenly became one of the hottest teams in baseball. Their post-deadline surge, highlighted by a 9–1 homestand that included back-to-back sweeps, even ignited online debate about whether this might be one of the most potent lineups in franchise history.

But just as quickly as it had started, the momentum came to a halt. A grueling 2–7 East Coast road trip quickly exposed lingering weaknesses, particularly within the pitching staff. While the addition of Caleb Ferguson has helped an increasingly stretched-thin relief staff, the Mariners continue to search for stability in both the starting rotation and bullpen, especially when outside of the friendly confines of T-Mobile park.

The good news for Seattle is that, despite a brutal road trip–one that loosely mirrored last year’s 1-8 road trip that ended in the firing of former manager Scott Servais - they have hardly lost any ground in the playoff picture. The Mariners sit just 2.0 games behind Houston, who’ve lost six of their last ten, and still hang on to the third Wild Card spot thanks to recent scuffles from both Cleveland and Boston. 

With just 56 games remaining, Seattle will need to figure out how to smooth the waters and find some consistency in order to make a playoff push. Let’s take a look at who has contributed to both the highs and the lows. 

Who’s Been Hot

Seattle Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodríguez during the teams game on August 6th, 2025 against the Chicago White Sox at T-Mobile Park. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)

Julio Rodríguez

When the weather heats up, so does Julio Rodríguez.

That pattern has partially defined the early stages of his big league career and 2025 is no exception. After a tough first couple months, Seattle’s star center fielder has caught fire, becoming the team’s most consistent offensive catalyst in recent weeks. Since the trade deadline, Rodríguez has compiled a .304 batting average, .337 on-base percentage and .633 slugging percentage. Over that stretch, he’s been worth 1.1 fWAR and posted a stellar 172 wRC+, per Fangraphs.

One explanation for his recent uptick is simple: he is hitting the ball in the air more frequently with more authority. From the start of the season to the end of June, Rodríguez had a 43.9% hard hit rate and average launch angle of 8.0, per Statcast. In July and August, his launch angle has raised slightly to 9.7 and his hard hit rate has increased greatly, up to 54.6%.

Though his early-season scuffles may frustrate some fans, the 24-year-old has been remarkably consistent from season to season. On August 3rd, Julio made history as the first player ever to begin their career with four consecutive seasons of at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. He remains one of the key factors down the stretch as Seattle makes a push for the playoffs. 

Seattle Mariners second baseman Cole Young during the teams game on August 6th, 2025 against the Chicago White Sox at T-Mobile Park. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)

Cole Young

Seattle’s first round pick of the 2022 draft has quietly emerged as a key offensive spark in recent weeks. 

Since July 31st, Cole Young has slashed .256/.396/.488 with a 156 wRC+ – second only to Julio Rodríguez over that span. He has also held the highest walk rate over that time, his plate discipline remaining one of the most encouraging aspects of his game since he joined the big league squad. Young has continuously shown a mature approach at the plate, consistently working deep counts and rarely chasing pitches outside of the strike zone.  His ability to lay off borderline pitches has helped extend at-bats and drive up opposing pitchers’ counts, giving Seattle much-needed grind-it-out at-bats in the lower third of the lineup.

Dominic Canzone

Holding down the bottom of the lineup with Young, Dominic Canzone has impressed since being recalled from AAA Tacoma, providing timely offense and more consistent power.

Since the trade deadline, Canzone has slashed .302/.387/.396 with a 130 wRC+. Notably, he has started to find success against left-handed pitching–previously a large hole in his game–which has earned him increased trust from manager Dan Wilson in late-game situations that would have landed him on the bench in years past. 

Canzone’s emergence has been critical for a Mariners lineup that still battles stretches of inconsistency. His ability to deliver at the bottom of the order and provide left-handed pop has filled an important gap in right field, especially as the timeline for Victor Robles’ return has been pushed out. If Canzone can continue to deliver consistently, he may make future lineup decisions interesting. 

Who’s Cold

The Rotation – on the road

While the offense has been the main story post-deadline, the starting rotation has been on a rather turbulent ride. What has long been considered the team’s backbone has shown signs of wear, particularly on the road.

The home/road splits for each starter are staggering:

The rotation’s performance on the road was a key contributor to the team’s most recent skid and it’s difficult to identify easy areas for improvement. As constructed, the rotation consists of three starters who either have battled or are actively battling injury, a veteran whose velocity, strikeout rate and chase rate have declined significantly, a kid just getting his feet wet at the big league level and your best pitcher who has already soared past his career high for innings pitched in a season.

The Mariners have leaned heavily on these arms over recent years and now, as innings pile up and roles shift, cracks in the foundation have become harder to ignore. With no reinforcements coming anytime soon, Seattle will need to find ways to out-slug their opponents, especially in visiting ballparks. The team will hope for Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Bryce Miller to return to form.

Seattle Mariners relievers Andrés Muñoz, Gabe Speier, and Eduard Bazardo during the teams game on August 6th, 2025 against the Chicago White Sox at T-Mobile Park. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)

The Bullpen

As the rotation has logged fewer innings, Seattle’s relief corps has been tested and taxed. After Andrés Muñoz, Gabe Speier and Matt Brash, the bullpen depth quickly becomes thin. 

Eduard Bazardo has been a pleasant surprise this season, but he’s already thrown 63 innings—more than double his 2024 workload. Carlos Vargas has struggled with consistency, posting a 4.95 ERA since July 1, while Casey Legumina has been hit exceptionally hard, allowing an 11.57 ERA over the same span. Jackson Kowar, with just 17 big league innings to his name, has also had trouble finding his footing. 

While Caleb Ferguson has filled a hole and performed well since being acquired at the deadline, the Mariners remain at least one piece short, if not more. With Legumina and Kowar being optioned to AAA Tacoma on August 20th, Tayler Saucedo and Sauryn Lao have joined the big league team in their place. Saucedo has thrown just 7.1 major league innings this season and Lao only made his major league debut in April of this year.

There has been speculation around the possibility of moving Bryce Miller to the bullpen come playoff time, but the Mariners will need to get there first. It remains unclear whether or not Miller will be able to positively contribute to the rotation in the meantime. He scuffled coming off his second IL stint, giving up four runs and plenty of hard contact in five innings in Philadelphia on 8/19.

One intriguing development is Emerson Hancock who recently made a relief appearance in Triple-A Tacoma. He threw one inning out of the ‘pen, allowing one run on two hits and a walk while striking out one. More notably, his fastball topped out at 97.8 mph—an encouraging spike in velocity compared to what we've seen from him as a starter.

What’s Next?

The Mariners return home for a quick but important six-game homestand on Friday, August 22nd. They will welcome in the Athletics (59-70) for three games and the San Diego Padres (72-56) for another three-game set, hoping to turn the momentum around before another lengthy road trip. 

On August 29th the team takes off on a nine-game road trip visiting Cleveland, Tampa Bay and Atlanta, with the three games against the Guardians now sure to weigh heavy in terms of playoff implications.

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• Check out our previous Seattle Mariners articles here.

• Check out our previous articles with writing by Brittany Wisner here.

• Check out our previous articles with photos by Eric Hiller here, and his portfolio here.

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