HEY RICK AND GARY...the Mariners are set to play their first game of 2026 today against their complex mate the Padres...Seattle is coming off a historic season, capturing their 4th division title in club history (also: 1995, 1997 & 2001) and making the deepest Postseason run in team history, reaching game 7 of the American League Championship Series, but...DID YOU KNOW?...the Mariners played a total of 206 games last season?...they played 162 regular season games, 12 Postseason games and 32 Spring Training games...the 206 total games are the most in any season in team history (2nd: 2001, 205 G).
TODAY’S TILT…the Mariners face the San Diego Padres today in the 2026 Spring Training lid-lifter...RH Dane Dunning is set to take the hill for the Mariners opposite the Padres’ LH Jagger Haynes...this is set to be the Mariners 1st of 5 games against their complex mates this season (3 as home team, 2 as road team).
**UPCOMING PROBABLE PITCHERS (subject to change)**…
TODAY: Mariners vs. Padres 12:10 pm PT / 1:10 pm MT Seattle Sports/Mariners Stream
SD — Haynes*, Wolf*, Miller, Peralta*, Castro, Hawkins, Yeager
SEA — Dunning, Criswell, Castaño, Hoppe, Taylor, Rucker, Davila
SATURDAY: Mariners vs. Giants 12:10 pm PT / 1:10 pm MT Seattle Sports/Mariners Stream
SF — Birdsong, Tidwell, Buttó, Margevicius
SEA — Hancock, Lawrence, Muñoz, Bazardo, Speier*, Beilenson, Zuñiga
TODAY: Mariners at Reds 12:05 pm PT / 1:05 pm MT Seattle Sports (710)
SEA — Dobnak, Díaz*, Legumina, Loutos, Ortiz*, Wilcox, González
CIN — Franco, Ashcraft, Burke*, Phillips, Antone, Richardson, Maxwell, Mey
ON THE AIR TODAY…today’s 2026 Spring Training lid-lifter will be broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) with Rick Rizzs, Gary Hill Jr. and Charlie Furbush on the call...the game will also be streamed live on Mariners.com, Mariners.TV and MLB.TV.
**THE ROSTER...**the Mariners Major League, Spring Training roster is at 77 players (40 players on the 40-man roster and 1 on 60-day IL + 36 non-roster invitees)...the roster features 39 pitchers (23 on 40-man and 1 on 60-day IL + 15 NRI) and 38 position players (17 on 40-man + 21 NRI).
MARINERS TV WILL BE AVAIALBLE ON CABLE, SATELLITE AND STREAMING IN 2026...the Mariners announced that Mariners TV will bring Mariners Baseball to fans across television and streaming services throughout the region...in-market streaming will be available on Mariners.TV for $99.99/season or $19.99/month...Mariners TV will continue to be available through traditional cable and satellite providers...specific information on providers and channels will be announced once confirmed closer to Opening Day.
ON THE FARM...**the Mariners own the joint-most Top 100 prospects in Major League Baseball according to MLB Pipeline (also: Cleveland) with six...INF **Colt Emerson (No. 9) leads the way, followed by LHP Kade Anderson (No. 21), RHP Ryan Sloan (No. 33), OF Lazaro Montes (No. 43), INF Michael Arroyo (No. 67) and OF Jonny Farmelo (No. 78)...of the Mariners Top 30 prospects according to Baseball America, 15 will be in Major League Spring Training: Emerson (No. 1 Mariners prospect), Anderson (No. 2), Montes (No. 3), Sloan (No. 4), Arroyo (No. 5), Farmelo (No. 6), C Luke Stevenson (No. 7), RHP Teddy McGraw (No. 15), INF Brock Rodden (No. 16), RHP Michael Morales (No. 17), OF Jared Sundstrom (No. 22), OF Rhylan Thomas (No. 23), OF Victor Labrada (No. 25), LHP Robinson Ortiz (No. 27) and RHP Charlie Beilenson (No. 28).
THE COACHING STAFF...manager Dan Wilson enters his second full season as Manager...returning to the Mariners coaching staff in the same roles are Bench Coach Manny Acta, Director of Pitching Strategy Trent Blank, Assistant Pitching Coach and Major League Pitching Strategist Danny Farquhar, Infield Coach Perry Hill, Asst. Hitting Coach Bobby Magallanes, Senior Director of Hitting Strategy Edgar Martinez, Hitting Coach Kevin Seitzer, Pitching Coach Pete Woodworth and First Base Coach Eric Young Jr....joining the staff this season are Third Base Coach Carlos Cardoza, Major League Field Coordinator Jake McKinley and Bullpen Coach Austin Nola....Fleming Báez and Justin Novak both return as Bullpen Catchers.
FÉLIX HERNÁNDEZ MAKES MAJOR GAINS IN ROAD TO COOPERSTOWN...Mariners Hall of Famer Félix Hernández earned 46.1% (196-of-425) votes in 2026 Hall of Fame Balloting, up from 20.6% in his first year of eligibility...the 25.5% rise in percentage is the largest by any returning candidate since 1967, finishing percentage points ahead of Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio (1982-83)...Hernández will look to join Ichiro Suzuki, Edgar Martinez and Ken Griffey Jr. as the players enshrined with a Mariners cap in Cooperstown in the coming years.
OPENING HOMESTAND FESTIVITIES…the Mariners are set to open the 2026 season against the Cleveland Guardians on March 26 at 7:10 pm...key promotions and events during the opening homestand include the 2025 AL West Champions banner unveiling on March 26, AL West Champs Replica Banner Night on March 27 and Cal Raleigh “60 Home Run” Bobblehead Night on March 28...the opening series will also feature two nationally televised games: Friday, March 27 (Apple TV+) and Sunday, March 29 (Peacock)...tickets are available at Mariners.com/Tickets.
CELEBRATING 50 SEASONS OF MARINERS BASEBALL...the Mariners announced that they will be celebrating 50 seasons of Mariners Baseball all season, culminating with the 50 Seasons Celebration Weekend from Aug. 7-9...the Mariners are set to reveal and honor the Top 50 greatest players in Mariners history on Saturday, Aug. 8 during a pregame ceremony...50 seasons events and information can be found at Mariners.com/50.
MARINERS TO RETIRE RANDY JOHNSON’S NUMBER 51...the Mariners are set to retire Randy Johnson’s #51 on Saturday, May 2...he will join fellow Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. (#24), Edgar Martinez (#11), Ichiro Suzuki (#51) and Jackie Robinson (#42) as the only numbers retired by the Mariners...Johnson will be the 14th player in MLB history to have his number retired by multiple teams, and his and Ichiro’s #51 will be the 8th number to be retired by the same team for multiple players (in addition to #42 which is retired across Major League Baseball).
ICHIRO STATUE SET TO BE UNVEILED APRIL 10...a statue honoring Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki is set to be unveiled near the right field gate on April 10...the first chance for fans to see the statue is at that night’s game against the Houston Astros, where the first 40,000 in attendance will receive a replica statue, courtesy of BDA...tickets are still available at Mariners.com/Tickets.