Three pressing questions for underwhelming Mariners after 50-game mark

Leave it to Bryce Miller, the Mariners' straight-talkin' Texan, to offer a blunt assessment of the state of the club one-third of the way through the season.

"We all know that this clubhouse has the tools and has the right players," the 27-year-old starting pitcher said this week. "The last few years it's been, like, we're trying to chase (the playoffs), we think we deserve to be there, and we've got to go prove it, and all that.

"This year, it's different. We know that we're the best team in the AL West. We know that we should be the best team in the American League. And it's like, at times we just haven't proven it. And it's, I don't know. Sometimes we just don't have that attitude of like, 'Everybody is coming to beat us,' and we're just flat sometimes."

The Mariners, to be sure, have underperformed through the first 51 games of what was supposed to be a transcendent season. They were widely considered a World Series contender, and they eagerly embraced expectations in a manner no Mariners team has going back at least a generation.

Little has gone according to plan. At 24-27, the Mariners are still trying to find their identity, trying to find some semblance of consistent, quality baseball. At that, they have failed.

The good news for the Mariners is they went into their off-day Thursday sitting just two games back of the Athletics (25-24) in the AL West.

Mediocrity, so far, is the theme of the 2026 MLB season, and because of that, there should be ample opportunity for the M's to fight their way back into the playoff picture. But they have much to sort out to do so.

Here's our analysis from Mariners beat writers Ryan Divish and Adam Jude on where things stand and where they might be headed.

Who's to blame for the Mariners' underwhelming start?

Jude: You could justifiably point a finger in various directions. The front office could have opened the season with better right-handed hitting options on the roster (and perhaps one more proven reliever). Dan Wilson could be more flexible with his late-game strategies. The lineup could be better with situational hitting, and the defense as a whole could be much sharper. Injuries are a factor. The Mariners are without their MVP-caliber catcher in Cal Raleigh and leadoff hitter Brendan Donovan. That's two of the five All-Stars at the top of the opening-day lineup, and the Mariners can only reasonably hope to tread water for the next several weeks until they return.

Divish: It's easy to assign blame when things aren't going as expected. It's what we do in the social media world that occupies so much of our time. But trying to find any one person or aspect to blame in the overall struggles is difficult. To underachieve to this level is a product of many smaller problems that combine into the larger failure. Call it a team effort.

Stints on the injured list for key players, starting with J.P. Crawford, followed by Donovan, then Raleigh, relievers Matt Brash and Gabe Speier and Donovan again are glaring. The Mariners have had, perhaps, 10 games for which they were close to full strength as a roster. Underperformance from expected contributors like Raleigh, Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, Rob Refsnyder and Andrés Muñoz have also been issues. The mixture of absences and underwhelming performances from players available has led to inconsistent execution everywhere. It's why they have struggled to put stretches of good baseball together, going 7-12 in one-run games.

What's most concerning about the offense?

Jude: Two things. First, the Mariners are still too reliant on home runs. Coming into the week, 48.5% of the M's runs had come via a home run, the second-highest rate in MLB behind the White Sox (50%). Home runs are important, of course. But this was supposed to be a more dynamic offense that was less prone to the dramatic extremes that come with elevated home-run tendencies, and perhaps the eventual return of Donovan at the top of the lineup will help fix that. The second concern: the woeful production against left-handed pitching. Folks will immediately point to Refsnyder here and, certainly, he's part of the issue. It's more than just one hitter, though. The M's have a 76 wRC+ (Weighted Runs Created Plus, with 100 as league average) against left-handed pitching, third-worst in MLB. Giving Luke Raley and Dom Canzone more at-bats against lefties probably isn't the solution, but the M's have to shake things up soon.

Divish: Contrary to a popular and still-growing belief, it isn't the platoons that have led to the Mariners struggles. It's an easy aspect to use as a reason, particularly with the Mariners' struggles against left-handed pitching this season.

Here's a look at the stats from last year:

First 50 games this season: 205 runs scored, 195 runs against - .225/.316/.372 slash line, 56 home runs, 193 walks, 455 strikeouts, 42 stolen bases

First 50 games last season: 234 runs scored, 212 runs against - .237/.326/.402 slash line, 70 home runs, 200 walks, 448 strikeouts, 47 stolen bases

The lack of homers stands out. The Mariners wanted to have a more well-rounded lineup that wasn't so reliant on homers. But Donovan has played in only half the games this season. It's easy to forget how much Raleigh carried the team early in the season last year. He hit 17 homers and drove in 35 RBI in the first 50 games last season. And Jorge Polanco's unexpected strong start to last season also covered up a lot of warts.

What should the M's do with their six-man starting rotation?

Jude: The Mariners are trying to make the best of an awkward situation. The reality, though, is there are six starting pitchers and just five spots in the rotation, so not everyone is going to be happy. And instead of forcing half-measures, the team needs to gently nudge Castillo to the bullpen because that's what's best for the team. Miller has proved he's one of the five best starters, and the club shouldn't disrupt his rhythm by asking him to be the bullpen piggyback option. Emerson Hancock has earned his place in the rotation, too. Castillo looked strong in his first relief appearance Tuesday, and in the short term, he could prove to be a very valuable option at the back end of the bullpen.

Divish: Well, they should first come up with a better term than piggybacking. And if they are going to continue it, then Wilson needs to look at the strategy as more of an outline, while making winning that game the No. 1 priority. While keeping Miller and Castillo stretched out is the goal, it can't override winning. It's understandable what they are trying to do. They don't want to alienate Castillo or Miller in a major role change. There is also the very real fear that the moment they commit to putting one of them, most likely Castillo, in the bullpen, one of the other starters will go down with an injury. It's easy to forget that the Mariners were without Miller, Gilbert and George Kirby all at once last season. This plan probably isn't a sustainable one for the rest of the season or even the rest of the first half. Logically, one of the two pitchers will step forward and offer the real solution. Could Castillo be effective as a reliever? It's possible. He's been a true professional and grown into a leader since joining the Mariners.

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