NEW YORK -- Heading into the 2026 season, there seemed to be a pretty general consensus on Dominic Canzone of the Seattle Mariners.

Even though he had succeeded against them in the minors, and even though he succeeded against them in small samples in 2025, the assumption was that Canzone was not someone capable of hitting left-handed pitching.

And, the assumption had been that Canzone was not a good defensive outfielder.

The Mariners seemed to perpetuate those assumptions again this year by not playing Canzone against lefties until almost the middle of the season, and by starting him regularly at designated hitter.

However, because of injuries and general necessity, the-soon-to-be 29-year-old Canzone has found himself in the mix for more opportunities across the board, and he's making the most of them.

In 69 at-bats against lefties, he's hitting .259 with a .420 on-base percentage. He had a hit off closer Josh Hader in the ninth inning of Friday's gut-punch loss to the Houston Astros.

And defensively, he's been better than advertised too. He threw runners out at second base in consecutive games of the series against the Yankees. He's always had a strong arm, but his accuracy and reads are things he's clearly worked on.

He spoke briefly with MarinersRoundtable from the clubhouse at Yankee Stadium after Thursday's 1-0 win.

You can hear that below, with Canzone crediting his work with Eric Young Jr.

We also spoke with manager Dan Wilson about Canzone's defensive development and his throw on Thursday, which caught Trent Grisham at second base. That video is in the player above. If Grisham had been safe, the Yankees would have had runners at second and third with one out. Instead, it was a runner at third and two outs. Logan Gilbert was able to wiggle out of trouble and the Mariners ended up winning the game 1-0.

While Canzone might never be confused for Ken Griffey Jr. in the outfield, he's certainly working to change the narrative, and as the Mariners undoubtedly face questions in the offseason, Canzone is working to become more of a full-time answer.

The Mariners will play the Astros again on Saturday afternoon at 4:10 p.m. PT. The M's are 57-66, a far cry from where they are supposed to be. They are now six games back in the American League West, so these next two games feel like the keys to Seattle having any chance at winning the division for the second straight year.

The newest edition of the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast is out, featuring former Mariners broadcaster Dave Sims! You can listen here, you can watch in the YouTube player below.