The Mariners missed qualifying for the postseason by just one game — a heartbreaking outcome for a club that held a commanding 10-game lead in the American League West back in June. Seattle’s offense floundered all year on the heels of a 2023-24 offseason punctuated by payroll restrictions and a series of salary-driven trades to help balance the lineup while adhering to a budget that was tighter than most anticipated.
Ryan Divish and Adam Jude of the Seattle Times have some relatively good news for frustrated M’s fans on that front, reporting that ownership expects payroll to increase in 2025. That’s a breath of fresh air after it became clear almost immediately last offseason that payroll had minimal room to grow. On the other hand, the Times duo adds that a major free agent splash is not expected, thus suggesting that any uptick in payroll could be fairly modest in nature.
Seattle’s roster is overwhelmingly cost controlled, as the bulk of its core is either signed long-term or in the early stages of arbitration. As is the case with all teams fitting that description, there are some natural payroll increases that should be baked into the offseason.
Julio Rodriguez will see his salary jump from $10MM to $18MM under the terms of his long-term extension, for example. Victor Robles only cost the Mariners the prorated league minimum this year after being released by the Nationals, but he’ll earn $3.5MM next year on the two-year extension he signed in August. Dylan Moore, Andres Munoz and Mitch Garver will also see small salary increases on their guaranteed multi-year deals, all of which are slightly backloaded. It’s not all increases, however. Mitch Haniger’s deal is frontloaded, and he’ll actually see his salary drop from this year’s $20MM mark to the $15.5MM level on a player option he’s sure to exercise.
The bigger area for increase lies within the Mariners’ arbitration class. First-time candidates include Cal Raleigh and George Kirby, both of whom should command significant raises and could go from costing the club a combined $1.5MM to somewhere in the combined $10MM range. Randy Arozarena ($8.1MM in 2024), Logan Gilbert ($4.05MM) and Josh Rojas ($3.1MM) are in line for the most notable raises among the rest of the group, though relievers like Trent Thornton ($1.2MM in ’24), Austin Voth ($1.25MM), JT Chargois ($1.285MM), Gabe Speier (pre-arb) and Tayler Saucedo (pre-arb) could all get boosts as well. Luis Urias is all but a…
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