harmony

But this thread purports to be a "realistic look at the 2026 Red Sox."

Neither Jarren Duran nor Masataka Yoshida would be an ideal fit for the Mariners who might be in the offseason market for an established infielder or two.

The odds that Seattle targets Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida in an offseason trade are slimmer than the remote chance the Mariners make Luis Castillo available in a trade.

Active but successful front offices swing and miss on occasion (just as active and successful hitters such as Shohei Ohtani strike out 187 times in a season).

In 70 years of life this Mariner fan has attended two LCS games, both in Seattle. Last night 41-year-old Max Scherzer shut down the Mariners while 25 years ago 38-year-old Roger Clemens shut down the Mariners on a one-hitter in the 2000 American League Championship Series: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SEA/SEA200010140.shtml Baseball has changed as Scherzer went 5.2 innings on 87 pitches while Clemens tossed a complete game on 138 pitches.

Blue Jay fans were chanting “MVP, MVP” at every Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at-bat Thursday evening.

??? Ivan Rodriguez had only one passed ball in 1999 and led the league in errors among catchers only in 1992 and 1996: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rodriiv01.shtml

On the bright side, ticket prices for Thursday's game have plummeted on the secondary market.😉 This Seattle fan will witness a Luis Castillo start for the second time this offseason.

Has a catcher who led the league in errors (among catchers) and passed balls ever won a Gold Glove?

This Seattle fan is biased after witnessing a Kazuma Okamoto home run on April 9 in Yokohama.😉 https://npb.jp/bis/eng/2025/games/s2025040900135.html

Any interest in Kazuma Okamoto, who strikes out far less frequently than Munetaka Murakami? https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=okamot002kaz https://www.fangraphs.com/players/kazuma-okamoto/sa3063134/stats?position=1B/3B

To be precise, Eugenio Suarez hit 49 home runs in the regular season, 36 with Arizona and 13 with Seattle: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/suareeu01.shtml Suarez homered once in the ALDS against Detroit.

Last offseason rumors were that Seattle fielded inquiries about Luis Castillo, not that the Mariners tried to move Castillo. https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/jerry-dipoto-discusses-luis-castillo-trade-rumors-mariners-notebook/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=owned_echobox_tw_m&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1738629202 https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/players/luis-castillo Castillo, whose no-trade protection expires after this season, might be a trade candidate at the 2026 deadline in the longshot event lefty Kade Anderson is fast-tracked to the majors: https://www.mlb.com/news/mariners-sign-first-round-draft-pick-kade-anderson

Eugenio Suarez is known for his Good Vibes Only mantra: https://www.lookoutlanding.com/2023/1/12/23540167/eugenio-suarez-good-vibes-player-and-person-40-in-40-2023 https://www.mlb.com/news/jerry-dipoto-on-trade-to-bring-back-eugenio-suarez

Eugenio Suarez has played 13,540 innings in the field over his 12-year career. But only six of those innings were at first base: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/suareeu01.shtml

Victor Robles and Luke Raley are a year removed from 3 bWAR seasons but may indeed be role players behind the All Star outfielders. With a 2025 payroll of $164.5 millon, the Mariners ranked 15th among MLB teams: https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll Assuming Jorge Polanco does not exercise his player option for the 2026, Seatttle should have more than $50 million in salary coming off the books (including $28 million in Mitch money for Haniger and Garver): https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/seattle-mariners/cap/_/year/2025 Cal Raleigh is due a $10 million raise under his extension while arbitration raises await Logan Gilbert, Randy Arozarena, George Kirby, Bryce Miller, Matt Brash, Gabe Speier and others. It should be interesting to see how much the frugal Mariners are willing to spend this offseason to fill holes in this returing core: C Cal Raleigh 1B Luke Raley 2B Cole Young SS J.P. Crawford 3B Ben Williamson RF Victor Robles CF Julio Rodriguez LF Randy Arozarena DH Dominic Canzone SP Bryan Woo SP Logan Gilbert SP George Kirby SP Luis Castillo SP Bryce Miller RP Andres Munoz RP Matt Brash RP Gabe Speier RP Emerson Hancock RP Eduard Bazardo RP Carlos Vargas The Mariners may tap into its well-regarded farm system that has nine prospects among MLB Pipeline's Top 100 and seven prospects among Jim Bowden's Top 50.

The prospective 2026 Seattle outfield is already crowded with All Stars Julio Rodriguez and Randy Arozarena flanked by Victor Robles, Dominic Canzone and Luke Raley.

Over his 62 appearances this season, Garrett Whitlock pitched two innings in 11 games and pitched more than one inning in at least seven other games: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=whitlga01&t=p&year=2025

In their only postseason appearance since 2001, the Seattle Mariners in 2022 went 2-3 in the postseason, including 2-2 in road games before losing their only home game 1-0 in 18 innings to the eventual World Series champion Houston Astros.

Seattle's luck was bound to turn in securing the No. 2 seed despite the American League's third-best record. Since the start of the 2021 season the Mariners have the league's third-best cumulative regular-season record but have landed only two postseasons berths in those five seasons. That's bad luck. Sometimes bad luck and good luck even out over time.

Roman Anthony has shown great promise en route to a likely productive MLB career. But nothing is guaranteed. Compare the stats line for Anthony's first 71 MLB games with that of the first 70 MLB games of a one-time No. 1 overall draft pick: RA 71 G, 303 PA, .292/.396/.463/.859, OPS+ 140, 3.1 bWAR, 2.7 fWAR RL 70 G, 280 PA, .307/.364/.549/.913, OPS+ 148, 2.7 bWAR, 2.8 fWAR Since those first 70 games Minnesota infielder Royce Lewis has posted the following line over two seasons: RL 184 G, 713 PA, .236/.290/.420/.710, OPS+ 95, 1.6 bWAR, 2.3 fWAR Over the next two seasons Anthony should top Lewis' 2024-25 production ... but nothing is guaranteed.

The postseason-bound Seattle Mariners have won 15 of their last 16 games after starting the month with four straight losses that dropped the M's record to 1-6 on an East Coast road trip. Baseball is unpredictable.

At Baseball Trade Values, Marcelo Mayer's surplus value has dropped from $64.9 milliion a year ago to $47.9 milliion this week: https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/trades?q=marcelo&page=1 Could interest in Mayer be dwindling? Will the Red Sox be fielding low-ball offers?

To acquire Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor, the Mariners traded away five prospects ranked between No. 9 and No. 17 in a deep Seattle farm system that still has nine prospects in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 and seven prospects in Jim Bowden's Top 50. https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-trade-deadline-2025-transaction-tracker The traded prospects would have ranked among the Top 10 in many MLB organizations.

What big bat did the Red Sox miss out on at the trade deadline? Perhaps many contending clubs seeking upgrades were willing to offer packages the Red Sox were unwilling to pony up.