The Seattle Mariners had a disappointing end to the 2023 season, missing the playoffs after being one of the hottest teams in baseball for the second half, but Mariners president Jerry Dipoto said he believes the team is set up to contend for the foreseeable future despite the rough ending.

“We didn't reach the heights we anticipated reaching and hate that we're sitting here as wrapping the season without being in October playing baseball,” Jerry Dipoto said, via Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. “But here we are after an 88-win season, I'll first start by saying, I think in many ways, this season, as much as it was disappointing in the end, it was a step forward for us organizationally.”

It was a tough circumstance for the Mariners. They narrowly lost out on a playoff spot to the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays. A few games go different, and the Mariners are not only in the playoffs, but are American League West champions and have a bye to the divisional round. Instead Dipoto's Mariners are home.

The series loss to the Houston Astros in the last week of the season was what made it unlikely that the Mariners would make the playoffs. They needed to sweep the Rangers in four games to make it, and they did win three of the four, but the loss on Saturday when Luis Castillo pitched.

The Mariners do have a strong roster, but they will have to get off to a stronger start next season. This year, the Mariners were sluggish early on.

Key decisions will have to be made as well regarding some players, with free agent Teoscar Hernandez being one of them.