3 former Mariners players that fans won't be missing in 2025

Things don't work out for everyone in Seattle. It's a difficult environment to play in, especially for hitters, and it's not uncommon for players to find or rediscover success after leaving.

As an example, Teoscar Hernández had an okay year with the Mariners in 2023, posting a 108 OPS+ over a full season. But immediately after joining the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024, he posted a 137 OPS+ and won his third Silver Slugger award, not to mention a World Series ring.

However, for every player that rebounds from their time in Seattle, there are those who provide little reason to be missed after their departures. While fans might regret losing some players, here are a few names that most are glad to be rid of.

2B/OF Adam Frazier

Frazier is a perfect example of someone who seemed to be hitting a real stride in his career right before arriving in Seattle. In 2021, he posted a 114 OPS+ and accumulated 4.0 rWAR on the way to his first and only All-Star selection. Perhaps the writing was on the wall when his offensive production took a step back after being traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the San Diego Padres, but he was still an exciting option to fill in the Mariners' gap at second base heading in 2022.

Unfortunately, he would go on to post an 80 OPS+ with 0.9 rWAR across 602 plate appearances in the regular season, plus a .511 OPS in his 24 plate appearances in the 2022 postseason.

It was a rough situation for both parties involved, as this was also Frazier's final year before hitting free agency and his stock tanked as a result. Since leaving the Mariners, he has signed two separate one-year deals with the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals and more recently inked a $1.5 million contract to return to Pittsburgh for 2025.

Although his season with the Orioles wasn't bad, he has yet to return to the All-Star numbers he posted in 2021. And given the contract he ended up signing for this year, there clearly weren't a ton of teams knocking on his door this offseason. Second base is far from set in stone in Seattle, but it's looking more and more doubtful that Frazier would have been the long term answer anyway.

LHP Marco Gonzales

Gonzales was a mainstay of the Mariners rotation after he was traded to the team in 2017 and had some decent years, peaking in 2020 when he led the American League in BB/9 (0.9) and all of MLB in K/BB (9.14). His numbers began to regress significantly in 2022 and he was sidelined for the majority of 2023 after sustaining a flexor strain.

Following the 2023 season, Gonzales was traded to the Atlanta Braves, who promptly sent him to Pittsburgh. He went through similar injury struggles and ended up posting a 4.54 ERA over seven starts for the Pirates. At the end of the year, he underwent surgery to repair his left flexor tendon and is likely to miss all of the 2025 season. Given his inability to contribute to the team, the Pirates declined his $15 million team option and he hit free agency.

While he had a few good years with the team, Seattle has clearly moved on to bigger and brighter things on the starting pitching front. This season will mark a third consecutive year of him pitching 50 or fewer innings and he won't be ready to take the ball again until his age-34 season. With a long layoff and subpar results leading up to his injuries, we may not even get the chance to see him pitch in the big leagues again.

OF Jarred Kelenic

Kelenic was a highly-touted prospect upon being taken sixth overall in the 2018 draft by the New York Mets, who sent him to Seattle is a trade that has aged poorly across the board.

His minor league numbers were dominant and at his peak in 2021, he was Seattle's top prospect and ranked No. 4 overall by MLB Pipeline, ahead of names like Royce Lewis, Boby Witt Jr., and Julio Rodríguez. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to carry his success over to the big league level, posting an abysmal 72 OPS+ with -1.6 rWAR in his rookie year.

After 416 plate appearances in 2023 with a 111 OPS+ and 2.1 rWAR, it finally seemed like he had figured it out, but was traded later that offseason to the Braves. This move was primarily seen as a salary dump that saved the team $24.5 million in the form of offloading the contracts of Gonzales and Evan White, but there were suspicions that the organization couldn't see a future with the team for Kelenic. After his first season in Atlanta, they may have been right.

His struggles at the plate returned in 2024 as he posted an 87 OPS+ over 449 plate appearances. The Braves did agree to a new contract to avoid arbitration, but they also acquired Bryan De La Cruz as a contingency plan and the two are competing for playing time in spring training. So far, both have nearly identical numbers and there is a possibility of a platoon situation being deployed.

As Jon Heyman of the New York Post was first to report, the Braves also signed Alex Verdugo on Thursday. With him set to stand by in the minors and Ronald Acuña Jr. progressing in his return from a torn ACL, playing time in Atlanta's outfield will soon be even more scarce.

It's disappointing that a player with Kelenic's prospect pedigree didn't quite pan out the way that many scouts had hoped. But at the same time, the Mariners made the right decision to move on. With their outfield now looking like the strongest part of their lineup, it's doubtful that they have any remorse about getting him off the roster while also saving a few dollars.