Potential for Arozarena extension, Mariners trade talks and more

SEATTLE -- Daniel Kramer, MLB.com’s Mariners beat reporter, held an “Ask Me Anything” this weekend on Reddit with fans at r/Mariners as a preview to the Winter Meetings in Orlando. This mailbag features excerpted questions and answers from that event (some lightly edited for clarity). The full AMA is available to read here.

Any idea on whether Randy Arozarena will be extended past 2026?

Given that Arozarena will see a sizable pay raise in his final year of arbitration -- way up from $11.3 million last year -- he might’ve been an easy trade piece to speculate, especially within the context of how the front office operated in recent offseasons. But president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander aren’t dealing with those payroll-related constraints that saw them subtract costlier players and reallocate that money on others.

More so, they absolutely love Arozarena.

Recency bias highlights shortcomings in the postseason -- a .574 OPS and just two extra-base hits -- but Dipoto and Hollander are quick to point to the career-high 27 homers, the All-Star selection and that Arozarena was their best player for a lengthy stretch midsummer.

That’s just some of the context for how it’d shape up for a longer-term union, though Arozarena is only a year away from free agency, is represented by Boras Corp and will be entering his age-32 season when he hits the open market for the first time. It’s hard to envision what next winter will look like for him -- but at least for now, the Mariners love him.

What is the likelihood the Mariners deal from their rotation to cover an area of need this offseason? Luis Castillo seems like a popular name coming up due to his salary but I have the feeling Jerry and Justin want to keep the same five intact as long as they can.

This is highly unlikely -- and certainly so for Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo, George Kirby and Bryce Miller -- unless they were to reinject another starter. Castillo is indeed the only one they’d consider dealing, but again, they were reminded of the value of his durability in 2025, when he made all 32 starts, while the rest of the group weathered one significant injury after another, all the way into the postseason.

Those hits forced Emerson Hancock and Logan Evans into fill-in roles, and those two are again expected to be reinforcements in 2026. On the prospect front, Kade Anderson (their first-round Draft pick last summer) and Jurrangelo Cjintje (their switch-pitching phenom) could potentially be in play but not until late-season at the earliest.

Even in their healthier years, Hollander has said, “you can never have enough starting pitching,” and within their current construction -- and payroll situation -- it’s hard to see them parting with Castillo this winter.

Does the team feel the internal options for the infield are “enough,” should they not re-sign Jorge Polanco? Or is there likely to be a trade target should "Polo" decide to go elsewhere?

They will need at least one more impact bat, preferably two, to retain their status as one of the most formidable lineups in the American League. But those younger players in question -- Ben Williamson, Ryan Bliss, Cole Young, Leo Rivas -- are all solid depth pieces that give them a safety net of infielders to operate this offseason. But no, standing pat with that group is not Plan A, and it shouldn’t be.

What is the likelihood the Mariners will look to re-sign Polanco AND acquire another impact bat as opposed to just doing one or the other?

This depends most on the value of Polanco’s new deal, and how much that number takes up to their 2026 budget, which is currently at around $150 million after the club signed Josh Naylor. Dipoto said at season’s end that their roughly $165 million figure at the end of last season would be a “starting point” for Opening Day, meaning they have about $15 million left to work with.

We’ve seen that there is interest in Tarik Skubal, but how much interest do you think there legitimately is?

The industry will find out much more about Skubal’s status when meetings start Monday in Orlando, and just how real -- or not -- the rampant trade speculation is. Yet if he were to become available, which seems highly unlikely this offseason, then yes, absolutely -- expect the Mariners to have legitimate interest for the all-world left-hander. Who wouldn’t?

They have MLB Pipeline’s No. 3-ranked farm system, stocked with prospects that could formulate a compelling trade package. And they’ve shown that they might be OK with mortgaging a hefty prospect haul for just one year of Skubal then letting him walk in free agency. They could also afford his 2026 salary, too.

As for his fit in Seattle, while the Mariners’ rotation experienced some regression last season from its best-in-sport status in 2024, the floor of that group still is among the game’s best. But Skubal is still the type of player they’d have to legitimately consider if he truly enters the trade mix this winter.