No one has ever accused ESPN's Jeff Passan of holding back his thoughts. The baseball insider unloaded on the Seattle Mariners on Monday in a column in which he outlined which teams are “winning” the offseason and which still need to make a move.
You'll never guess which category the Mariners fall into.
“Whatever you want to call it — an unconscionable case of miserliness, a magnificent failure of stewardship or, to keep it simple, cheap ownership — the Mariners are actively blowing one of the best opportunities in baseball,” Passan began. “They have a historically good pitching rotation that is the envy of 29 other teams, and despite a payroll that is a full $80 million below the luxury tax threshold, they haven't spent a single dime this winter.”
He's not wrong. Seattle ranked second in Major League Baseball in team ERA in 2024 and first in starter ERA. All five of its regular starters had an ERA under 3.65, while Logan Gilbert led the Majors in WHIP (0.887). He also struck out 220 batters in an MLB-high 208.2 innings.
Yet the Mariners only won 85 games and missed the postseason. That's because the team couldn't hit. By OPS+, only three regular Seattle hitters were above league-average and Julio Rodriguez was the only player to hit above .231. The logical move for the Mariners would have been to spend the offseason bolstering the offense, as even just one or two more bats could propel them to the top of the AL West.
The Mariners have been shopping Luis Castillo

Rather than adding offense, the Mariners have been looking to trade one of their great starting pitchers. Luis Castillo has a years-long track record of All-Star level pitching and, at 31, is the veteran of the staff. Still, they haven't found a team offering the type of package they're looking for.
“Seattle is two bats away from being a genuinely dangerous team. Prices and years are dropping. [Alex] Bregman would be perfect. [Pete] Alonso would bring middle-of-the-order juice. This should not be hard,” Passan continued. “That's not how it works in Seattle. The Mariners spent most of the winter seeing what they could get for one of their starters, Luis Castillo.”
Though Seattle hasn't had success trading Castillo yet, that could change once the remaining big name starting pitchers, Jack Flaherty and Roki Sasaki, are off the board. But as Passan wrote, the Mariners don't have to wait for a team to offer a major bat for Castillo. There are middle-of-the-order sluggers readily available on the free agent market and Seattle has spent $0 this offseason despite boasting a payroll $80 million below the luxury tax threshold.
“For all the urgency of Seattle's situation, the ownership group has shown zero inclination to be nimble and take advantage of market forces working in its favor. Maybe that changes,” Passan added before concluding that he was not hopeful.