PostScript Sports

About 4 hours from first pitch and the return of Eugenio Suarez to T-Mobile Park the trade deadline nears an end. Of all teams in the AL the Mariners have seemed to make the largest moves to make a post season push.

A week after the the Mariners traded for fellow Diamondback rental Josh Naylor the Mariners lineup is now finally taking shape as one of the elite lineups in baseball. To start the season the Mariners had three large holes in their lineup. First Base, Second Base and Third Base. After the call up of rookie Cole Young and the acquisitions of Naylor and Suarez this is now a fairly deep line up. One Mariner fans have been begging for, for multiple seasons.

The question now is: Is it too late? The Mariners in 2023 and 2024 had a spectacular starting rotation and were able to stay incredibly fortunate with staying healthy. In 2025 the lineup has finally caught up but the rotation has suffered regression and injuries from spring training on. Whether it’s been George Kirby and Logan Gilbert with IL stints, inconsistency and injuries from Bryce Miller or the up’s and down’s of fill in starters Emerson Hancock and Logan Evans the rotation is nowhere near it’s dominance of prior seasons.

One team in the current AL playoff race is going to be left out. The Tigers, barring collapse will come out of the AL Central. The Blue Jays look as good as any team in baseball and have a 4-game lead in the AL East. The AL West is lead by the Astros who hold a 5 game lead over both Texas and Seattle. The division leaders are met with four Wild-Card chasers in the Yankees, Red, Sox, Rangers and Mariners who all sit within 2.5 games of each other.

With an injured Judge and a faltering veteran lineup the 2.5 game lead the Yankees hold is not on solid ground. The Red Sox are relying on rookies and young players along with ace Garrett Crochet to get them by. Texas has had strong pitching but the bats have surprisingly been inconsistent at best. Seattle has just been mediocre and their typical good but not great selves. No one of the four is standing tall above the rest. One of those 4 will be left out of post season play and it will be an exciting race over the next 2 months.

As a Mariners fan, I feel cautious optimism. Narrowly missing the postseason has been the norm for the last decade for Seattle. With the re-addition of Suarez this is the best lineup they’ve had in a long time. The rotation is seemingly getting healthier and hopefully taking a form closer to its 2024 look. They look great on paper now the question is will it translate to enough wins to take a Wild Card spot or even over take the Astros in the West.