SEATTLE -- On Thursday morning, just hours before the Seattle Mariners Opening Night contest against the Cleveland Guardians, I had the opportunity to catch up with ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney on the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast.

Although this week, Olney changed things up on me by asking ME questions about the Mariners.

The first thing he asked? What is the biggest concern that I have heading into this season for Seattle?

Injury is the No. 1 concern, but that's the concern for every team. Beyond that? Here's my answer, in full:

"How do they handle a possible regression from Cal Raleigh coupled with the loss of Jorge Polanco? They were so dependent on the home run ball at the end of the year last year that if you take away 26 home runs from Polanco, and let's say Cal hits 35, it would be an incredible year, but that would be 25 less home runs.

That's 50 home runs now gone from the lineup. Then you lose Eugenio Suarez's pop and that cuts into it. Yes, some guys will likely be better than they were a year ago to help bridge the gap, but you're losing a lot of power from a power dependent team. So the goal is is that the Luke Raley's of the world improve from where they were a year ago to help bridge the gap. Cole Young shows some more power. Colt Emerson comes up. So I think that they can be creative in how they score, but I don't think they're going to be as, I don't think they're going to have as much power as they did a season ago. (Josh) Naylor will help and then beyond that, just the health of the pitching staff."

While the power might not be as prevalent, it's also noteworthy that the M's should have some different ways to produce offense in 2026. Victor Robles is healthy and could provide a spark on the bases. Brendan Donovan has the ability to put the ball in play and help initiate offense. Those are all good things that could reduce the importance of the home run ball.

The Mariners and Guardians open up the campaign at 7:10 p.m. PT. Logan Gilbert is on the mound for Seattle against right-hander Tanner Bibee. The Mariners swept Cleveland in Seattle a season ago, going 4-2 against them over the entirety of the campaign.

The Guardians won the American League Central.

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