Speaking at the Peoria Sports Complex on Thursday morning, Seattle Mariners manager Dan Wilson outlined some of the plans for the team as it navigates the early portion of the Cactus League season, which begins on Friday against the San Diego Padres.

When asked if we would see the World Baseball Classic position players earlier than usual in the spring, or for longer in games at the outset, Wilson said that the organization feels it has a good plan. 

"Yeah, ​we've ​kind ​of ​mapped ​out ​what ​these ​guys ​need ​in ​terms ​of ​that. ​And, ​​again, ​it's ​baseball, ​so ​you ​always ​have ​to ​be ​able ​to ​adjust. ​But ​I ​think ​we're ​in ​a ​pretty ​good ​spot ​with ​understanding ​what ​they ​need ​and, ​and also ​trying ​to ​build ​them ​up ​as ​much ​as ​possible. ​It's ​kind ​of ​a ​short ​runway, ​but ​I ​think ​we ​can ​get ​to ​where ​we ​need ​to ​get ​those ​guys ​so ​that ​they're ​ready ​to ​go. ​And ​we've ​talked ​with ​each ​of ​them and ​they ​should ​be ​in ​a ​good ​spot. ​So, we're ​working ​on ​it and ​we ​have ​it ​mapped ​out but ​again, ​this ​is ​baseball. ​We'll ​have ​to ​make ​adjustments ​as ​we ​go."

The Mariners are scheduled to send Julio Rodriguez (Dominican Republic), Randy Arozarena (Mexico), Josh Naylor (Canada), Cal Raleigh (USA), Dominic Canzone (Italy), Miles Mastrobuoni (Italy) and multiple minor league position players to the WBC, which begins on March 5 and runs through March 17.

Furthermore, Wilson said that Dane Dunning, signed this offseason to a minor league deal, will start the Cactus League opener on Friday.

The 31-year-old Dunning was a first-round pick of the Washington Nationals in the 2016 MLB Draft out of the University of Florida. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox along with Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez in 2017 for outfielder Adam Eaton and made his debut with Chicago in 2020. He made just seven appearance for Chicago before getting dealt to Texas for Lance Lynn in the offseason before the 2021 campaign.

Dunning went 5-10 for the rebuilding Rangers in 2021, pitching to a 4.51 ERA, and then he went 4-8 in 2022 with a 4.46 ERA.

He turned a corner in 2023, going 12-7 with a 3.70 ERA in 35 games (26 starts), helping the Rangers win the World Series over the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2024, he went just 5-7 with a 5.31 ERA and he made only 12 appearances in 2025 between the Rangers and Atlanta Braves, going 0-0 with a 6.97 ERA.

With Logan Evans out for the season because of Tommy John surgery, Dunning could be an important roster piece for the M's in 2026.

The Mariners and Padres game begins at 12:10 p.m. PT on Friday.

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