Mariners roster effectively set for Opening Day

PEORIA, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 23: Julio Rodriguez #44 and Luis Castillo #58 of the Seattle Mariners pose for a portrait during photo day at the Peoria Sports Complex on February 23, 2023 in Peoria, Arizona. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

While a couple final roster moves have yet to be made, the Seattle Mariners 26-man roster for Opening Day is now set.

The roster won't be officially finalized until Thursday's deadline in case an unforeseen injury or illness forced a last minute adjustment. However, the intended roster to get the season underway against the Cleveland Guardians is in place.

Infielder Dylan Moore (oblique strain) and outfielder Taylor Trammell (broken hand) will be placed on the 10-day injured list as the final moves to set the squad.

There were very few actual roster battles during spring training as the team's lineup penciled out rather easily coming off of last year's ALDS squad. The injuries to Moore and Trammell did change the calculus somewhat. Moore will have a roster spot when he's healthy and Trammell had a chance to push Jarred Kelenic for the starting job in left field.

Instead, Kelenic had a massive spring for Seattle batting .353 with four home runs and 10 RBI in 19 games played. He will platoon with A.J. Pollock in left field. 

Infielder Tommy La Stella and catcher/outfielder Cooper Hummel round out the depth among the position players as the final pieces on the bench.

La Stella can play both corner infield spots while Hummel showed he was capable of playing the outfield sufficiently as well. Hummel hit .275 in spring training and tied Kelenic for the team lead in home runs with four.

Infielder Mason McCoy made a push for the final bench spot with the Mariners. However, he's not a part of the 40-man roster and the team would have to remove someone else in order to add McCoy. He'll begin the year with the Tacoma Rainiers.

In the bullpen, right-handers Justin Topa and Riley O'Brien, and lefty Gabe Speier were among those to miss out on roster spots. All three have available minor league options and could easily pitch games for the Mariners this season.

Topa and McCoy were the final two players optioned to Triple-A at the end of camp on Monday.

The Mariners don't have a single left-handed pitcher in their bullpen to begin the season. It's a reality the team had for much of last season as well. Out of 525 relief appearances by Seattle pitchers last year, only 71 appearances were thrown by lefties. Ryan Borucki (21), Anthony Misiewicz (17), Matthew Boyd (10), Roenis Elias (7), Tommy Milone (7), Justus Sheffield (5), Danny Young (2) and Brennan Bernardino (2) made the left-handed relief appearances for Seattle.

The team will have a workout at T-Mobile Park on Wednesday afternoon before getting the 162-game marathon underway on Thursday night.

Position Hand No. Player
SP RHP 58 Luis Castillo
SP LHP 38 Robbie Ray
SP RHP 36 Logan Gilbert
SP LHP 7 Marco Gonzales
SP RHP 68 George Kirby
RP RHP 77 Chris Flexen
RP RHP 47 Matt Brash
RP RHP 63 Diego Castillo
RP RHP 67 Matt Festa
RP RHP 30 Trevor Gott
RP RHP 75 Andrés Muñoz
RP RHP 56 Penn Murfee
RP RHP 37 Paul Sewald
C SH 29 Cal Raleigh
C RH 2 Tom Murphy
C/OF RH 21 Cooper Hummel
1B RH 23 Ty France
2B LH 16 Kolten Wong
SS LH 3 J.P. Crawford
3B RH 28 Eugenio Suárez
1B/3B LH 7 Tommy La Stella
IF/OF SH 0 Sam Haggerty
LF LH 10 Jarred Kelenic
CF RH 44 Julio Rodríguez
RF RH 35 Teoscar Hernández
LF/OF RH 8 A.J. Pollock