With several key bullpen fixtures likely playing in the World Baseball Classic, the door is wide open for the bullpen candidates to state their roster case.
The way I see it right now, as long as everyone is healthy, there are two truly open bullpen spots for the Seattle Mariners at the outset of 2026.
Out of an eight-person bullpen, Andres Munoz, Matt Brash, Gabe Speier and Eduard Bazardo account for four spots.
Then, Carlos Vargas would figure to have a spot, and it's highly likely that the Mariners want to bring in another lefty to help Speier. So, that's where the six-of-eight spots come from. Robinson Ortiz is the only other bullpen lefty on the 40-man roster, so he has the inside track for now.
As for the other two? It will be quite the battle between Domingo Gonzalez, Alex Hoppe, Jackson Kowar, Casey Legumina, Ryan Loutos, Troy Taylor, and Cole Wilcox, who are all on the 40-man roster. Of course, the Mariners could muddy the waters by signing someone else this winter too. They already brought in veteran Randy Dobnak and have given him an invitation to spring training.
But one thing is for sure: Each of those candidates will have a lot of opportunity in spring training to state their case, because, while not official, it seems likely that Munoz (Mexico) and Brash (Canada) will exit the team for the World Baseball Classic. Bazardo seems possible to play for Venezuela as well, opening up opportunity for the bullpen competitors to show what they can do over a 2-3 week period.
We addressed this further on the most recent edition of the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast, and we were joined by Hoppe on that episode. He was just acquired by the M's in a trade with the Boston Red Sox.
The inside track
Legumina and Kowar are out of minor league options, so if the team wants to keep them in the fold, they will have to put them on the major-league roster at the start of the 2026 season.
If the team wants to DFA one of both of them, then Taylor would likely be the next man up. Despite a dreadful 2025 season, he showed immense promise at the end of 2024, pitching to a 3.72 ERA in 21 games.
Beyond that, spring training will really tell the full story.
Other WBC candidates
In addition to the relievers mentioned above, catcher Cal Raleigh is already committed to Team USA. Julio Rodriguez (Dominican Republic) and Randy Arozarena (Mexico) seemed destined to reprise their roles with the national teams and Luis Castillo (Dominican Republic) could join them. Beyond that, prospect Michael Arroyo should play for Colombia and any of the M's American-born starting pitchers are candidates for Team USA.
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