It’s time for the M’s to turn the page on this lineup as currently constructed. The philosophy of walks and home runs has let this team down in 2026 (we could see the flaws even last year). Watching this team swing and miss, make weak contact and be overmatched at the plate along with kicking easy ground balls, missing the cutoff man and throwing it away (sometimes into the stands with less than 3 outs) in the field plus running into outs and forgetting how many outs there are on the basepaths makes me want to puke every time I watch the Mariners attempt to play baseball.
I love JP as a human and a guy who helped bring this team to relevance, but his defensive skills have diminished and he’s not making up for any of that at the plate. Randy has had a reclamation season in a contract year, but had been at the center of several mental blunders this year (see forgetting the count, burning 2 challenges on obvious strikes in the 1st inning and other curious choices). Wesley Wilson and Luke Raley have too many holes in their swings. Robles is a little too weak, although he may have turned a corner in the last couple weeks. Even Cole Young, touted as having a breakout year is only hitting .245. Taylor Ward is a bust acquisition as the only thing his 2026 season brings is the base on balls, which doesn’t help when your team is last in the majors in clutch hitting.
The pitching had been somewhat suspect as well, but I think their issues have been magnified by the “zero margin for error” situations in which they’ve operated all season. When the opposition gets to 4, I think most M’s fans feel like the game is out of reach (and I suspect that stats would bear that out).
If your lineup isn’t going to mash, then your defense has to excel. You can’t finish at the bottom of the league in batting AND fielding, which is where this team resides in both categories.
in conclusion, I’d like to see the Mariners bring up several young guys and DFA anyone who Jerry knows won’t be with the club next spring. Brady and Teren, I’d love to know how you guys truly feel about this roster as currently comprised and what changes, if any, they can make by calling up some minor leaguers. The Tigers sold at the deadline last year, brought up some young studs, and ended up winning the division.Aug 31, 2026 
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