PEORIA, Ariz. — The Seattle Mariners are two weeks into Cactus League competition. Because of the World Baseball Classic, several young players are getting a look at extended playing time.

The Mariners plan to continue to give a runway for the players still at camp while the WBC is taking place, but the major league roster could be thinned out in the coming days, according to comments made by manager Dan Wilson on Thursday.

Here's several notes from the skipper's morning news conference:

Even with more than a dozen players taking part in the WBC, Seattle's major league roster is still in large quantity.

Spring minor league games begin early next week, making it more imperative for the Mariners to start sorting through the roster, both to allow the prospects to get game time and to get closer to a final 26-man roster.

"(We'll be) weighing some of that here at the end of the week," Wilson said Thursday. " ... We'll be discussing some of that here in the next couple days. It's a little bit of a balance because you don't want to lose too many guys in camp here but we are getting a chance to look at a lot of guys and some of these young players are getting a chance to get in the lineup and to get in the lineup regularly or to backup pretty regularly. I think the playing time has been good. But it is getting to be time where we have to make some decisions."

Cal Raleigh is one of the most instrumental players on Seattle's roster, not just with his bat (60 home runs), but also his defense and the work he does with the pitching staff.

Raleigh is currently competing for Team USA in the WBC.

In Raleigh's place, the Mariners have Jhonny Pereda, Andrew Knizner and Mitch Garver currently on the major league side of the clubhouse.

Of the three, Garver is the only one with experience beyond this spring with Seattle. He was Raleigh's backup for two years from 2024-25.

Garver was brought back by Seattle on a minor league deal Feb. 26 and has helped keep the continuity on the pitching staff going with Raleigh away.

"(Garver) has such a great way of looking at things and has worked so well with our pitchers and our pitching philosophy, the way we approach it here," Wilson said. "It actually brings a lot of continuity to what the guys are working on and what the messaging is. From that aspect, it's been great and he continues to do that. It's a veteran voice and a voice that has a lot of experience behind it."

The Mariners' top pitching prospect, Kade Anderson (No. 21 MLB Pipeline top 100) has looked solid in his first major league camp.

The former LSU left-hander has made one start this spring against the San Diego Padres on Feb. 28. He struck out three batters, walked one and allowed two earned runs on three hits in one inning of work. 

Anderson will get the nod for Seattle in a Cactus League game vs. its American League West rivals, the Texas Rangers, at 12:05 p.m. PT on March 6 at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Ariz.

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