The Seattle Mariners are a week away from their first game of the regular season. They're set to play the Cleveland Guardians at 7:10 p.m. PT on March 26 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

The Mariners are entering this season with legitimate championship aspirations for the first time in a generation. And Logan Gilbert will be given the honor of being the first Seattle pitcher to take the mound in a season with such high expectations.

The 2024 All-Star was named the Mariners' Opening Day starter Thursday, marking the second year in a row "Walter" has received the honor.

Gilbert has long been considered the "ace" of Seattle's pitching staff. When he was named the Opening Day starter in 2025, he was coming off a 2024 season where he made his first career All-Star game and posted a 3.23 ERA and struck out 220 batters in 208.2 innings pitched across 33 starts.

Gilbert's encore last year was plagued with injuries. He was on the injured list from April 26-June 16 due to a flexor strain. He still put up solid numbers and finished with a 3.44 ERA. He fanned 173 hitters in 131 innings pitched across 25 starts.

When Gilbert was named the Opening Day starter in '25, he took the reins from multi-time All-Star Luis Castillo, who was the first starter on the hill for the M's from '23-24.

There was debate among fans whether the honor this year should return to Gilbert or be bestowed to Bryan Woo. The latter of the two righties made his first All-Star Game last season and finished out the year with a 2.94 ERA. He recorded 198 strikeouts across 186.2 innings pitched in 30 starts.

Alas, the Mariners opted to hand the ball back to Gilbert. And that decision could end up having more positive ramifications for the team long-term than going with Woo would.

Gilbert is nearing the end of his contract. He's set to earn $10.927 million this season in his third year of arbitration and will be under team control for one more year in '27 before hitting free agency.

Seattle and Gilbert have had preliminary discussions on a contract extension. M's manager Justin Hollander said in a recent appearance on Seattle Sports 710 that the team would love to get a new long-term deal done.

The former Stetson College product's former roommate and the team's franchise catcher, Cal Raleigh, was signed to an extension before the start of last season that will extend through 2030 (with a conditional mutual option for 2031).

Giving Gilbert a renewed vote of confidence by making him the Opening Day starter and having Raleigh locked down long-term could go a long way in potentially re-signing the '24 All-Star to a deal.

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