According to a report from Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, new Seattle Mariners manager Jason Kanzler is going to fly to Florida in the coming days to meet with centerfielder Julio Rodriguez. 

Rodriguez and Kanzler have met before, as the two were at a recent Seattle Kraken game with Cal Raleigh and Patrick Wisdom, but this will be a chance for the duo to connect on a deeper level.

Kanzler has spoken about the importance of connecting with his players, especially with the compressed nature of this offseason because of the looming lockout, which is set to take hold of the sport on Dec. 1 at 9:00 p.m. ET. Because of that, he needs to supercharge these relationships, and he's doing that in this case with Rodriguez.

Is Kanzler's trip to Florida going to be the difference between the Mariners winning the American League West in 2027 and not? No. But, it does show a commitment to trying to build relationships and build trust. And that's important. Communication was identified as one of the biggest weaknesses of the 2026 Mariners and efforts like this, and conversations like the ones they'll have, can help shrink the gap as well. 

Almost 26 years old, Rodriguez is now a five-year veteran of the Mariners. A three-time All-Star, he won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2022 and has three Top-10 MVP finishes to his name. A career .269 hitter, he already has 134 home runs and 138 RBIs. He hit a career-high 32 homers in both 2023 and 2025, and he had 103 RBIs in the 2023 campaign. He stole a career-best 37 bases that year also.

Though he hit 22 homers and stole 22 bags in 2026, this was considered a down year for Rodriguez. He only hit .247, the lowest of his career. And he only had a .307 on-base percentage, also the lowest of his career. His OPS+ of 103 suggested that he was just barely above a league average offensive player.

He also regressed defensively, going from a Gold Glove candidate to one of the worst centerfielders in the AL.

Kanzler will certainly want to him get back to his previous level of success defensively. That's a team-wide goal for the M's as well.

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