Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - The BIGGEST Seattle Mariners Spring Training Storylines

Episode Date: February 10, 2026

Ty and Colby break down the biggest storylines for the Mariners as Spring Training kicks off.Participate in our Mariners fan pollClick to learn more about the Everydayer Club!Join the Ahoy, Sailors Di...scord server!Check out our Patreon!Follow the show on Twitter: @LO_Mariners | @TyDaneGonzalez | @CPat11Follow the show on Bluesky: @lockedonmariners | @tdg | @mlbcolbySupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Turbo TaxFor a limited time, you can have your taxes done by a local TurboTax expert for just $150 — all in, if a TurboTax expert didn’t file for you last year. Just file by February 28. Take taxes off your plate and get back to your life. Visit https://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today. IndeedListeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcastFanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The Winter Games are on. And there’s no better way to follow them than with a bet on FanDuel. FanDuel - Play your game. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 Spring training is here and we're going to tell you the biggest storylines we're keeping track of leading up to opening day. Colby, hit it. You are Locked-on Mariners, your daily Seattle Mariners podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Ahoy, Sailors, it is Tuesday, February 10th, 2026. You're listening to the Lockdown Mariner's podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network. My name is Tadine Gazzalas, and I'm joined as always by McCorm.
Starting point is 00:00:35 coast Colby Patnode. We're two lifelong Marys fans who've been covering the team for over half a decade. And today, we're going to go through all the biggest spring training storylines for the Marys from what's happening on the backfields to the World Baseball Classic. All that good stuff. I got a list here, Colby.
Starting point is 00:00:51 I got a bunch of storylines that I'm going to be keeping track of that I'll go through over the course of the show. And you can let me know if you got any as well, especially if I don't mention them. But let's start here with a very obvious one, one that we've talked about all offseason long. Colt, Emerson, one of the best prospects in baseball,
Starting point is 00:01:08 according to pretty much every outlet there is that tracks prospects. He's going to get an opportunity to make this club. I don't know if it's as great as it was, you know, 10 days ago before the mayor has acquired Brennan Donovan, but I do think there is a real opportunity here for Cole Emerson's break camp with the major league team. And he's going to get plenty of opportunity to play in spring training. And there's also the added element of entry.
Starting point is 00:01:35 of, you know, what does his presence on the roster being another left-handed hitting infielder mean for the rest of the roster, mean for guys like Luke Rayleigh and maybe Dom Kanzone and all that, like we've talked about over the last couple of weeks. But, you know, what I'm most interested to see here, of course, is what does he look like when he faces real major league pitching? That's going to happen at some point over the course of the spring.
Starting point is 00:01:58 He's also going to face, you know, A-level pitching, double-a-level pitching. But once he actually faces maybe, you know, maybe he faces Yoshinobu Yamamoto or something like that, you know, at some point this spring. Like what does he look like in those situations? Yeah. Emerson's probably the biggest storyline of the entire camp, obviously, you know, the Mariners were at least setting it up until about a week ago that Emerson was going to have a real shot to make the opening day roster and be the, you know, opening day third baseman and
Starting point is 00:02:34 and all that, and he still might. He still might. But, you know, obviously, since we kind of last heard them throwing that idea around, they acquired Brennan Donovan. And we've talked a little bit about, you know, Donovan Young and Emerson, how all three of them on the roster is kind of a tough fit, particularly because they're all left-handed. And obviously, Donovan's going to play every day. And the two young guys need to play every day, you know,
Starting point is 00:03:01 whether that's in Tacoma or Seattle, although there's no reason to have them on the bench. So is it possible Emerson can still make the opening day roster? Sure, I think he can earn it and he can, you know, force the Mariners hand more or less at the expense of Cole Young probably. Because again, Cole needs to play every day. And if it's not going to be here in Seattle, it needs to be down in Tacoma. So, yeah, Emerson's the number one storyline. It'll be the first time most of us get eyes on him.
Starting point is 00:03:29 I mean, I guess he had a couple of bats last spring training too. but I know a lot of people don't watch Arkansas Traveler games, you know, on MLB TV or anything like that. So it'll be your first, you know, extended look at him. I think he's going to get a lot of playing time. It's interesting. You know, the Mariners have a lot of participants in the WBC, you know, not that many infielders. I mean, I guess unless Colton Emerson, they're going to hand him a first base glove and be like, we need you to get at bat.
Starting point is 00:03:56 You're going to play first for Naylor today. That's a possibility. But, yeah, Emerson's the number one storyline. across the entire camp. And, you know, it's, it's not too dissimilar from when Jared Kelnick first arrived and when Julio first arrived. Like a lot of guys, you know, all eyes were on them. And the first time they had a real shot to break the opening day roster, they were kind
Starting point is 00:04:17 of the biggest storylines in their respective spring trainings. And Emerson's certainly going to follow suit there. So whether or not he makes it, I don't know. But he's going to have an opportunity to force the Mariners hand. And if I had to guess, I would think the Mariners would perform. for that he did. That's just a hunch. But yeah, it's almost certainly it is him versus Cole Young for, you know, a roster
Starting point is 00:04:42 spot. And that's going to be a really interesting battle. And again, remember, it's not just about the numbers. You can't just look at spring training stats and decide that's who's going to win the job. So it'll be really interesting. Those are two of the biggest storylines, those two, those two players, Col Young and Colt Emerson, but Emerson's number one, just because he's a super high prospect that none of us have really seen in an extended look and we're going to get a get some eyes on him uh for i mean really the
Starting point is 00:05:08 entire spring he he's going to be in bigly camp for you know at least the first four weeks yeah you know maybe five weeks of spring training so we'll see how he does but yeah that's the number one storyline but by far yeah it's it's less about the stats it's more just about how he looks and again he might you know get a look at you know joshinawa yamamoto getting a tuna up or Logan Webb getting a tune up, but he's also going to run into, you know, a lot of major league relievers getting ready for the season and, you know, some other like back-in starters and guys like that. So how does he look against those guys?
Starting point is 00:05:44 So that'll be pretty interesting. But yeah, Cole Young was also a separate storyline that I had on here because I've kind of just assumed that he's going to make this roster. But maybe that's not the case. I just, I don't see how you have both of those guys on the roster at the same time. because Donovan is going to play. There's no reason he's not going to play. Obviously, Randy's in left.
Starting point is 00:06:09 I suppose they want Donovan to start the year as the primary right fielder. They could all three be on the roster. But Seattle has so many right field options, and those guys need to play too. So the easiest path would be for Young or Emerson to go down, and Donovan plays either second or third until that guy is ready. And again, you know, the benefit is that you can, do that, send one of the guys down, and you can kind of let your right field situation play out
Starting point is 00:06:37 where it's like, okay, Victor and Luke, you guys kind of battle it out. We'll see where we're at in a month. And if we have to make a change, then maybe we do call up Cole Young and Donovan just moves to the outfield primarily for, or maybe you do it in a month. And Emerson's the one who's struggling. So you just call up Cole Young's and Emerson down and shift Donovan over to third. So yeah, I just have a hard time imagining both of those guys making the opening day roster, unless there's some kind of injury, which certainly possible, happens. But yeah, it's just a really clunky fit,
Starting point is 00:07:10 unless they're, you know, giving up on Luke Rayleigh and, you know, they're just looking at Robles as nothing but a pure fourth outfielder. I just don't see a way that they all three make the roster, and obviously Donovan's making the roster. He's your lead off hitter. So, yeah, Young is interesting. You know, was hurt last spring.
Starting point is 00:07:30 Really didn't get to see them all that much. We don't know how that impacted him on the field because, you know, defensively, he's way better than he showed last year in the majors, particularly the arm strength. And so we'll see how he's feeling heading into the spring. And if there's improvement there or not. But, yeah, again, he's in a battle. I really think he's in a fight for his, you know, opening day roster spot.
Starting point is 00:07:53 He's battling to try and win that. He probably has to beat out Colt Emerson, who kind of already beat him out as the shortstop of the future, you know, in that regard. So, yeah, Cole Young's really fascinating. I really like the player a lot. It's just a little bit of a squeeze here at the start of the year to make the roster. And I think it's either him or Emerson. And right now, as things stand, I would give the edge to Young because he's a major leaguer.
Starting point is 00:08:20 He's done it. He's had some success at the big league level. And, you know, all the reasons we talked about, like, hey, you can put Emerson down in AAA and he can play every day. And he can also get a ton of reps at third base. Soaken Donovan because he hasn't played a ton of third base either. And those guys can just play third. And you reevaluated a month. And again, if Young's struggling, you send him down, you call up Emerson.
Starting point is 00:08:42 You shift Donovan to second where he's got a ton of experience playing second. So, yeah, I think Young has the inside track right now. But these two guys are going to be battling for the same spot again. It does not make any sense for either one of them to try and fill the Leo Revos role. That's not a good use of time. of you know of time really for either of these guys because cole young's what 22 and emerson's 20 they need to play every day and if you can't do that at the big league level they need to go to triple a so we'll see which one of them ultimately ends up uh down with the rainiers all right we will go
Starting point is 00:09:15 over more storylines in just a moment but first a reminder this episode of the locked on errors podcast is brought to you by turbotax look y'all tax season doesn't have to take over your life all right because this year turbo tax is making it easier than ever to just hand things off and move on with your day. With TurboTax full service, you can have your taxes done for you by a trusted local expert start to finish without the stress or guesswork. Instead of spending hours trying to figure out forms, you can meet with a local TurboTax expert in person or connect online. They handle everything from W-2s to self-employed forms and work to get you every deduction. You can upload your documents, go about your day, and get updates right in the TurboTax app. It's a huge
Starting point is 00:09:56 time saver and gives real peace of mind knowing an expert is handling it. For a limited time, you can have your taxes done by a local turbotax expert for just $150 all in if a turbo tax expert didn't file for you last year. All you have to do is filed by February 28th. Take taxes off your plate and get back to your life. Visit turbotax.com slash local to book your appointment today. And you're listening to the Lockdown Mariners podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcasts Network, your team every day. Thank you so much for making us your first listen for all things Mariners. And also thank you for making Lockdown the number one sports podcast network. You already live your team every day.
Starting point is 00:10:33 Now take it up a level and go ad free. Join the Everydayer Club today and get locked on Mariners with no interruptions, members only Discord access, and more, all for just $5 a month or $50 a year. Go to Lockdown Mariners.com or check the link in the show notes to learn more. And in the show notes, you will also find a link to our Mariners fan survey that we're currently holding. Again, we will react to the results of that survey in a few weeks' time, sometime after the start of March. And we already have more participants in just a handful of days of having this survey up than we did all of last year when we did this a year ago.
Starting point is 00:11:14 So that's really cool. So appreciate you guys participating. If you haven't already, again, you can hit the link in the description of this episode. We'd love to hear from you. And again, we're just trying to, you know, gauge where you're at with the club on some, things, some very simple things. You can also make a couple predictions on there. And you don't have to sign up for anything. You literally just, you click the link, you press a couple buttons, you're done.
Starting point is 00:11:38 That's a, that's your, that's all you have to do to, uh, to participate. So again, if you participate it already, really appreciate it. If you haven't already, we'd greatly, greatly appreciate it. So storylines, Colby, you got one. No, you do it. Um, sure. I, I mean, not a, a super exciting list of in our eyes. You know, the really fun bullpen arms are on the 40 man. But there are a couple that stand out mostly because, you know, they're top prospects.
Starting point is 00:12:13 And the two that jump out right away are Kate Anderson and Ryan Sloan. The Mariners have, you know, pretty, you know, unapologetically kind of thrown out the idea that like it's possible Ryan Sloan is big league ready this year. And well, I think that's a bit ridiculous, a bit far-fetched. It's not something that the Mariners typically do when they, like, they don't just say things to say things about their prospects necessarily. So how are they going to manage his workload? Because last year it was 82 winnings, I believe.
Starting point is 00:12:51 Kate Anderson getting ready to throw his first, you know, pitch of professional baseball, kind of in the Cactus League whenever he makes his debut there. He had 139 innings, I believe it was last year. So what is his workload going to be? More importantly, how are these guys going to look against the big league competition they get to face? Assuming they both do. I mean, I don't think they'd be up in big league camp if they weren't going to get a start or a multi-inning opportunity early enough in the game that they will face some big league hitters.
Starting point is 00:13:24 And we'll see how they look. So I think, you know, what does Ryan Sloan look like, but especially what does Katie Anderson look like? And where is Katie Anderson going to start the year? Because I think that will tell us whether or not the Mariners think he has a real shot to, you know, impact the Major League roster this year. You know, I think double A is a reasonable, like if he starts at double A, I think that's kind of the Mariners signaling. Like we think this guy can help us at some point this year. If it's high A, maybe he's only there for a short time. and the conversation changes. But yeah, I'd be really surprised if it wasn't at least Everett for Anderson.
Starting point is 00:14:02 And I'm sure that Sloan also has a shot to start the year in AA, but he'll probably also start the year in Everett. But how do these two guys look? You know, is this, we know the mayors are going to have to make some tough decisions about their pitchers coming up. Logan is coming up on free agency. Kirby is kind of, you know, hitting that max, that, you know, max tipping point of like we can get the most form if we trade them right.
Starting point is 00:14:26 now if we don't think we can get an extension done obviously louise is one year closer to the end of his contract so these two guys they're really important especially since the mariners traded sanger how do they look in big league camp do they stay healthy can they get big league hitters out how does the stuff play against big league competition i think watching those two guys is going to be a lot of fun next on my list because i also had anderson and sloan and i'm really interested to see both of those guys um the world baseball classic though so the marauds have 16 guys Now, quite a few of those are prospects and non-rosster invitees. Sure.
Starting point is 00:15:00 But they have 16 guys in total that are going to the WBC. And this is kind of twofold, right? Because on one hand, it's the guys that are going to the World Baseball Classic. You know, like what does this mean for, you know, they're ramping up for the season and all that? Staying healthy is obviously the biggest key to that. And then on the other end of that, it's the opportunities that that opens up in camp while they're gone for other guys. So obviously,
Starting point is 00:15:28 Cal Rale's on, you know, he's going to be in the WBC. He's probably going to make a deep run in the WBC as well with the team USA. That team is just stacked. Gabe Spire as well, he's going to be on team USA.
Starting point is 00:15:39 Julio should be probably making a deep run with the Dominican Republic. Andreas Munoz could make a fairly deep run as well as Randy a Rosarano for Team Mexico. You know, Josh Naylor on Team Canada. So these guys, you know, they're going to be gone for a little while. And so that should open up some opportunities.
Starting point is 00:15:55 Who do you think maybe benefits the most from those guys's absence? I mean, right off the bat, Kisner and Parada. These two guys are going to catch a majority of the starts, I should say. I mean, by the time Cal gets back, they'll be deep enough that those guys should be catching six, seven innings a game, and we'll see how it goes. But Parada, oh, Jesus, Parada and whatever. It's not even a thing anymore. But, yeah, Prada and Kisner, they're going to get a lot of bat bats.
Starting point is 00:16:28 They're going to get to catch a lot of different arms, and we're going to get to see their defense, you know, what it looks like. And, you know, I think we'll see the challenge system also. I know we're going to see during the regular season of measure. We'll see it. So we'll kind of see how they handle that and all that. But, yeah, it'll be a nice, nice opportunity for those two guys. Kisner certainly has the inside track on winning that job since Prada has an option left. But he very well could take that job from Kisner.
Starting point is 00:16:54 They only gave him a million bucks. So they're very clearly not, you know, married to the idea that he is going to be the backup catcher all year. So we'll see how it goes, but those two guys certainly, you know, like we said, it should get a lot of bad bats for Luke Rayley and Victor Robles and Dom Canzon. But those two guys in particular because Julio and Randy are out, so they'll probably get, you know, a majority of the look in center field and left field. Obviously, Dominic Canzon will factor in as well. And, you know, those three guys, especially Canzone and Rayleigh, they may or may not be competing for one roster spot.
Starting point is 00:17:33 Because obviously, Rayleigh doesn't have options left. Canzone does so they could send Canzone down. We've talked about this, blah, blah, blah. But yeah, it's the backup catchers. It's Victor who needs to play a lot. And we need to see what version of Victor Robles we're going to get. Not that we can really tell all that much. And it would be nice for Rayleigh to have a good spring.
Starting point is 00:17:52 It doesn't necessarily have to have, you know, like a heat, like, you know, 500 batting average or anything. But is he making good swing decisions? Is he seeing the ball well? Is he hitting the ball hard? Because, again, Luke Rayleigh, a healthy Luke Rayleigh, is a difference maker for this lineup. It pushes guys further down and it makes it 7-8, you know, guys deep instead of what it currently is. So I think those are the big names. Bullpen-wise, you know, with Spire Out.
Starting point is 00:18:18 obviously the pile arms bullpen guys always get opportunities whether there's a WBC or not there's a lot of innings you have to cover and the Mariners aren't going to want to push anybody so you know the Alex Hoppies and the Robbins and Ortiz's they were going to be throwing a lot of innings or you know good good amount of games whether Munoz and Spire were here or not but obviously a couple more opportunities for each of them now and obviously Ortiz is kind of the third lefty in the Orr right now. And so he would probably be the first guy called up if something happened.
Starting point is 00:18:54 And, you know, Hoppe is certainly a guy the mayor is really like. They traded for him, you know, and they gave up, I don't want to say they gave up a lot, but they gave up notable prospect to get him here instead of risking losing him in the Rule 5. So, yeah, Hoppe is probably the, those two guys are probably the ones that have the most opportunity to improve their stock. First base, there's really not anything behind Naylor. So nothing really to help there. And then, yeah, I mean, you know, somebody whose stock might be helped by the WBC, but in a kind of indirect way, Dane Dunning, who's pitching for Korea.
Starting point is 00:19:30 Like I, that was surprising. And, you know, Rob Reff Snyder's not playing for Korea. I kind of didn't, whatever. So Dunning pitches well in the WBC. Maybe he comes back in the camp and there's some interest there. And we know the Mariners need some early season rotation depth. and Dunning. We don't know what his opt-out is.
Starting point is 00:19:50 We don't know when it is. We don't know what the roster bonus is. But maybe there's an opportunity for him to make the club as kind of the eighth guy and the long relief guy to keep him around. If he throws well in the WBC. But we'll see how it goes. But yeah, it's always a nice little wrinkle every three years. We kind of have to do this whole song and dance about like, is this the year that, you know, somebody gets heard or somebody pops or who takes advantage of those opportunities. So the WBC, both in terms of like the actual tournament and how it impacts your team,
Starting point is 00:20:23 kind of a fun little wrinkle we get every couple of years. Thankfully, none of the starting pitchers are participating in the WBC. Yeah. Don't want to deal with another Drew Smiley situation. Thank you very much. I'm already worried enough as it is about Munoz and Spire. And Bizarro, by the way. Yeah, I'm less concerned about the position players.
Starting point is 00:20:46 because they could get hurt doing the same thing, you know, in a spring training game, whereas you're asking pitchers to throw, you know, potentially high leverage anyans in March. You know, it's, yeah,
Starting point is 00:21:01 it's a lot. She also, she also throw Casey, like a mean as a guy who might have something to prove, spring. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:21:09 So I had the pile arms on my list here, and you kind of touched on them already. But yeah, I mean, there's two spots up for grabs in the bowl, pen seemingly because I think Carlos Vargas is locked in and then obviously there's the five main guys as long as they stay healthy. I assume that one of those spots though is going to go to Emerson Hancock.
Starting point is 00:21:30 So to me it really is only just one spot. So is that Casey like Amina? I kind of feel like he probably gets the first crack at it just because he doesn't have a minor league option remaining. But like you mentioned, it's hoppy, it's Ortiz, it's maybe even someone like Cole Wilcox, who we kind of view as more in the, you know, starting pitching depth mix rather than the bullpen,
Starting point is 00:21:57 but maybe it's someone like him, you know, maybe they have to keep Cooper Criswell in the bullpen in order to just keep him in the organization, though. But there's going to be a lot of names in the mix there for that final bullpen spot. Again, I kind of feel like Hancock's going to get a spot to start the year, but we'll see. maybe someone overtakes them or maybe they feel especially now with the the logan evans injury that uh hancock should probably stay stretched out as starting depth so uh maybe we'll also
Starting point is 00:22:27 keep in mind hancock has an option left exactly so that's why i mean it's like you keep them stretched out and you put them into coma and just have them i don't yeah i don't think they're going to do that though uh i think they they really tinkered with the arm slot it kept getting lower and lower and as the season progressed. And by the end of the year, he was slinging it, you know, like a true side armor. I mean, also at the end of the year, he couldn't throw a strike to save his life. But we'll chalk that up to play off nerves and all that. But yeah, the pile arms are always interesting.
Starting point is 00:22:59 This group is more interesting because it's not like, you know, guys who have been around the block three or four times. They're just like, yeah, maybe we could get one last out. Like, no, it's young, controllable, you know, guys who have really made their major league debut yet. Or if they have, it's been for like two or three innings. It's Hoppy. It's Ortiz. It's Lutos. It's Wilcox.
Starting point is 00:23:23 We'll see Wilcox as a starter or reliever. I assume starter. But we'll see. There are some interesting pile arms. And, you know, there is a legitimate competition. And again, because, you know, three, well, half, I guess. of the Mariners locked in bullpen is going to be at the WBC for, we don't know how long, but they play on three pretty good teams.
Starting point is 00:23:47 Venezuela, the Dominican and Team USA, like all three teams are capable of making a run, and they could be without those guys for most of camp. The pile arms are going to get lots of opportunities to kind of, you know, stake their claim. And you have to throw Casey Legamina, you know, on the pile arm list as well, even though he's, you know, more established than the other ones. But he's fighting for those jobs and they're all going to get lots of opportunities this spring.
Starting point is 00:24:12 And you were listening to the Locktime Mariners podcast, part of the Locktime Podcast Network, your team every day. As always, if you want to hear from me and Colby even more and help support the show, we have a Patreon. It's called Control the Zone. And on there, we talk the soon-to-be World Series champion Seattle Mariners, the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and all that good stuff. For more information, go to patreon.com forward slash control the zone.
Starting point is 00:24:36 Link in the description of this episode, we're going over the biggest mariners spring train storylines say uh i got another one here how about brendan donovan playing third base he's played it a bit in his career but it's like what i think sub 300 endings off the top of my head i don't have it right in front of me but it's around that mark around 300 in his entire career at third base so he's played it a little bit but not a ton you know what does that look like i haven't i haven't really seen him play third base with my own eyes much so i'm excited to see what that looks like i think he'll handle it just fine i just want to actually see it.
Starting point is 00:25:13 Yeah, we don't have a lot of data, so it's tough to say how good he'll be there. We have a ton of data at second base that says he's, you know, above average to plus there. That's definitely the position he's best at. He's a better infielder than he is an outfielder, but he can play all over the place. But yeah, I think right now, you know, with about almost six weeks to the day of opening day, I guess six weeks plus two days away from opening day now. You know, it looks like Donovan's going to be the third baseman. And that'll be interesting.
Starting point is 00:25:47 I'm sure he can handle it. I'm not really, I don't expect it to be a disaster, but they're just, you know, as we know, with anything, you can be great. But when you're asked to do something a little bit different than you're used to, you can take a minute or two to kind of adapt and overcome that. So yeah, it'll be interesting to see how that all plays out. you know, where Donovan ultimately ends up playing is kind of a storyline in camp.
Starting point is 00:26:10 But I think it is connected to the very first storyline we talked about. It's Colt Emerson. It's Cole Young. That's going to dictate where Donovan plays more than anything. But I do think it'll probably end up being third base, at least to start the year, get him a lot of reps, get them a lot of endings over there. And then if you have to move him to second base, that's fine. He's already really good over there. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:26:31 How about some new pitches? You know, anyone got new pitches? like did Louis Castillo finally reinvent himself a little bit during the opposite? Probably not. Probably not. Luis does what he does and he's going to have a three and a half ERA and people are going to be like he sucks and it's going to be 180 innings, two and a half wins, 365 ERA, 8.5K per nine, like three base on ball per nine and be like this guy kind of stinks, doesn't he? He's awful. It's like, um, sure.
Starting point is 00:27:00 Yeah, he's pretty, that's pretty damn good. Yeah, that's just a lot. velocity is going to be down at the beginning of the year. People will be like, oh, his arm finally fell off. And then like July, August, he'll be throwing 90s with movement. And you'll be like, oh, well, you know, it's still a little concerned. But yeah, the Vila will still dip a little bit, you know, because that's just the, the trend that's happened the last couple of years with Luis. But overall, like, it'll be fine.
Starting point is 00:27:24 He'll be very, very good at home. He'll have some rough outings on the road. The fastball will continue to generate whiffs just because it's a really good pitch, no matter what the Velo is. It continues to be a good pitch. Like, we know who Luis is. And I really doubt Luis is at a point in his career where he's going to change anything. We know George Kirby's toyed around with the cutter. He's going to introduce that this year.
Starting point is 00:27:49 He sat at Fan Fest, and there was another, he like changed his grip on the slider or something like that. We know Kirby's a tinkerer. Tinkerer. Yeah. Tinkerer. Yeah. So is Logan, you know. haven't heard anything about new pitch from Logan. That's kind of the first week's storylines always. You know, it's,
Starting point is 00:28:08 remember Munoz's kick change last year and how that was just all anybody could talk about. Last year, Emerson Hancock came into camp with three new pitches. None of them good. Like, yeah, it's just keep that of mind just because I have a new pitch. That doesn't mean it's a good one or that he'll ever. And that doesn't mean that we're going to actually see it in game. So, yeah. No, like, and what about, you know, kind of an identity?
Starting point is 00:28:32 them to this. What about new pitches we saw last year? Do we see them more this year? Munoz through that kick change a little bit more and more throughout the year. Brash through a kick change, you know, throughout the year. Like, do we see that pitch more often now that they've played with it a little bit? And obviously, you know, they're a little more comfortable with them. They've brought it into games and they've had some success with it. Maybe. Maybe they do. And so we'll see what happens. But the Mariners rotation is full of guys who like to tinker, except for Louise Castillo, who's throwing the same exact thing from the same exact I would just I would I would love it if Luis was like you know what I've reinvented my
Starting point is 00:29:07 change up yeah that'd be great or she's somehow thrown from that low three quarters arm slot he just drops like a 126 curveball I don't know where you're like wait what like you know or just even a sweeper I don't think that's happening no no no but like you know like a sweeper or something that's like clearly different from the from the slider I just think that's who Luis is and and you know if he if he's going to go out there and he's going to throw up mid-3 ERAs and give me 180 innings every year. I'm just fine with him doing whatever he wants to do. But yeah, new pitches is always kind of a storyline.
Starting point is 00:29:38 We'll see what guys got going for him. Also, it's probably not, I mean, pitch mix is also a really important thing, but typically that's not something we hear a lot about. It's kind of something you have to notice as a trend more so than you get told this is what's going to happen. So we'll see how it goes. But new pitches is always kind of a fun little story. It's honestly the new pitch one is kind of the same as like best shape of their lives. Only it's more fun.
Starting point is 00:30:05 Yeah. It's more nerdy. Yeah. It feels more real too. Yeah. All right. I got a couple of smaller ones on my list here to wrap up. But you got anything?
Starting point is 00:30:18 Maybe you have the same ones that I have. Probably best shape of your life. Who's coming into the best shape of their life? That's always a fun one. Ben Williamson was going to be my pick for that. I thought we were going to hear Did you see Col Young taking hacks? He looks a little thicker, doesn't he?
Starting point is 00:30:36 I thought we were going to hear so much about Bill Williamson and his reinvented swing and all. Yeah, I thought that was going to be a huge thing. Luke Rayleigh feels like a pretty good candidate for this. Sure, sure. Victor Robles. I think Randy or Rosarina is a candidate.
Starting point is 00:30:55 Like Randy's always like in great shape, but it's a contract year. him, you know, he's going to get one last bite at the apple. Like, yeah, I could see Randy coming in. Just kind of, you know, maybe not that Adolas Garcia build where you're just kind of like, that's, you know, but certainly like maybe a little bit bigger, stronger. It's always tough because like, you could say like Cole Young or Cole Emerson, but it's like those guys are 22.
Starting point is 00:31:19 Like, yeah. The way that they, the way that they work, like, they could just do a little bit something different and they come back like jacked out of your mind. And you're like, what? So, yeah, I mean, the best shape of your life stuff. It's a joke. We don't really care, obviously. But it's always a thing, always a thing with reporters and all that.
Starting point is 00:31:42 It's so cliche that it's expected. And it's become a meme, but it's still a funny meme. It's right of pitchers and catchers followed immediately by like, they're in the best shape of their lives. Like, they just go hand in hand. Yeah. So I have like, you know, new additions potentially. You know, we talked about this yesterday. Like I've heard that they're looking at relievers.
Starting point is 00:32:04 We both heard they're looking at relievers. You know, at some point does that happen? Do they make like their like this year's version of the Nick Vincent trade? You use that example on yesterday's show. So just kind of looking for that. I don't think they're going to add anything on the position player front unless it's like someone with maybe an option that they just, you know, kind of store away it down. in AAA. And then extensions, you know, Cal signed his towards the end of spring last year.
Starting point is 00:32:36 Do we finally get the Logan Gilbert extension? Hopefully. Yeah. I just don't really know where they're at with that right now. You know, and I don't know if the injury and just the elbow in general, just the state of the elbow, if that's had an impact on maybe how the mayor is feel. and maybe what their offer ultimately is. Yeah, I think, you know, a big storyline is, or a big extension, I should say, could possibly call you, Colt Emerson.
Starting point is 00:33:14 Because if you think he, like, if you think you can buy your free agency by being like, we'll put you on the opening day roster, you do it. And the Mariners haven't really done that. They tried with Keltnik. and Kellanck didn't take it and whoops, you know, I think they tried that also with Logan Gilbert. And Gilbert didn't take it and that probably ended up being a smart decision. So the Mariners really haven't locked in a very young guy really early in his career quite yet, like before he made his debut. Like obviously, Julio was in his rookie year, but that was in August. So, yeah, I think Emerson could be a guy.
Starting point is 00:33:49 And the Mariners, do they want to do deals like that? Absolutely. And if you're going to operate, like they like to operate, which is kind of like, we're broke, even though they're not. We're a small market team, even though they're not. You kind of have to do that with young guys. You have to get them locked in at a reasonable price. So Colt Emerson is a guy that I would watch.
Starting point is 00:34:08 You know, it's possibly getting something done, but he's a first round pick. He got that signing bonus. He's not, you know, the 18th rounder who got a $3,000 signing bonus. And now he's getting weighed $25 million in his face. He'll, oh, I probably should take that. So we'll see how it goes. But yeah, I think Emerson is. is a sneaky name to watch there for the extensions.
Starting point is 00:34:29 But Logan's, you know, the number one guy. And then I just, I really doubt J.P. Crawford and Randy Rosereda, who are free agents. I just don't see them in the long-term plans for the Mariners. Yeah, Emerson's the one to keep an eye on because maybe you buy out his arbears at the very least. Maybe you get an, you know, an extra year of free agency bought out there. And you guarantee him a spot on the roster, you know, if he signs it. You know, maybe Brian Wu or Bryce Miller. you know, maybe, maybe something happens there.
Starting point is 00:34:59 How about Gabe Spire? He's got two years left. If they extended Gabe Spire. Yeah. We talked about Matt Brash a little bit too. Yeah. But yeah, Spire, I kind of doubt it, but maybe. Certainly possible.
Starting point is 00:35:15 Munoz is starting to get towards the end of his extension. Maybe you extend his extension. I don't think they're going to want to pay. The trouble is the Mariners don't pay relievers. Yeah. And so, like, how much do they want to pay? are they going to give Gabe Spires? He's got two years left.
Starting point is 00:35:30 He's going to make like, I don't know, $9 million. Munoz because they're all club options. Would he be willing to give up another year or two a free agency if you guarantee those next two years? Maybe. Maybe. I don't know. Are you going to want to pay Munoz $10, $12 million in 2030? So, yeah, the bullpen ones are always kind of interesting.
Starting point is 00:35:54 But Gilbert's the priority. I do think he's the one that the Mariners will spend. most of their time on. And, you know, we do know that these conversations do happen with the Mariners during spring training. Cal Raleigh, obviously J.P. Crawford, you know, and I imagine the conversation on who, like, they approached Julio during spring training about an extension. So they definitely is, this definitely is something they like to do this time of year,
Starting point is 00:36:21 is to try and at least start these talks. And again, remember, like, it took them a month of Luis Catt. Sdeal before they extended him. And JP Crawford extension happens. So these things can get done pretty quick. So just keep that of mind. It is something to watch. All right.
Starting point is 00:36:37 Well, that's going to do it for our show. Thank you so much for joining us here on the lockdown Mariners podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Once again, if you never miss an episode, it's time to make it official. Join the Lockdown Every Day or Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord and more, all built for our most loyal fans. For Colby Pat note, I'm Tiding Gazzalus. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter at L.O underscore Mariners.
Starting point is 00:37:01 You can follow me at Tading Gzalus and Colby at C-Pat-E-1-1. We're also on Blue Sky. You can follow me at TDG, Colby at MLB Colby, and the show at Lockdown Mariners. You can also find us on Instagram at Lockdown Mariner. Have yourself a beautiful baseball day, and we'll see you next time. Peace.

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