The Seattle Mariners will set sail on their 50th season Thursday.
It is a voyage they hope will take them to the World Series for the first time and it begins with a visit from the Cleveland Guardians.
The Mariners came as close as they ever have to reaching that destination last season, losing to their 1977 expansion brethren Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
Seattle right-hander Logan Gilbert, who was 6-6 with a 3.44 ERA last season, is scheduled to take the mound for his second consecutive Opening Day start. He will be opposed by Cleveland righty Tanner Bibee, who was 12-11 with a 4.24 ERA in 2025.
“Nothing in baseball is easy,” Mariners star center fielder Julio Rodriguez said. “But what I know for sure is that as a team, we have a better understanding of who we are and all the things you’ve got to do and sacrifice to get there.”
Seattle manager Dan Wilson said his team is driven by the heartache of coming so close last season.
“I think if there’s anything different, that’s what it would be — is that we’ve been there,” Wilson said. “We understand it, and that’s a motivator for us.”
The defending American League West-champion Mariners lost a pair of veterans in the offseason in Eugenio Suarez and Jorge Polanco but re-signed first baseman Josh Naylor and acquired Brendan Donovan in a trade with St. Louis. Donovan is likely to bat leadoff and play third base.
Seattle hopes Cal Raleigh can come close to duplicating his record-setting season of 2025, when he hit 60 home runs. It was the most in MLB history by a catcher and a switch-hitter.
Shortstop J.P. Crawford is likely to start the season on the injured list after dealing with a sore right shoulder most of the spring.
Gilbert, who spent time on the injured list for the first time in his career last season, said he wants to set the tone early. He’s 1-3 with a 3.82 ERA in six previous starts against Cleveland.
“Don’t get me wrong. I know it’s one game, and we have 162 before the real stuff starts so I’m not trying to be a superhero out there,” Gilbert said. “But win or lose, good or bad, I’m going to throw the ball as aggressively as possible. That’s the only thing I can do.”
Bibee was set to make his first Opening Day start for the Guardians last season but was scratched with food poisoning just hours before first pitch.
Bibee had an up-and-down 2025 but finished strong as Cleveland rallied to claim the AL Central title. He had a 1.30 ERA in four September starts with 26 strikeouts and just five walks over 27 2/3 innings.
“That (September) really helped me throughout the offseason in giving me some realizations of what I needed to do and gave me a clear path instead of searching so hard,” said Bibee, who is 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA in three career starts against Seattle.
The Guardians are led by third baseman Jose Ramirez, who is coming off a season with 30 home runs and a career-best 44 stolen bases. First baseman/designated hitter Rhys Hoskins was added to a roster that ranked 28th in runs scored last season.
“We ended the year strong. You look at the last couple months of our season, the offense improved, we pitched better, everything was clicking in the right direction, and we’ve got a majority of that group coming back and we’ve added reinforcements,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “We’re starting the year with the group we finished with. That group won a lot of games and was a lot better offense than the first four months.
“We’re really excited about our young guys, we’re excited for the group we have, and we’re excited to get them rolling and we feel really good about our offense.”
–Field Level Media
