4 Mariners who endured lost seasons in 2025, but will be back in 2026

There remains no doubt that the way this past season ended was extremely painful for the Seattle Mariners and their fans, giving up a 2-0 lead in the ALCS and losing in a winner-takes-all Game 7 versus the Toronto Blue Jays. At the same time, you would like to think everyone associated is still proud of arguably the best year in franchise history.

Certainly the Mariners have never been closer to winning their first AL pennant and it will be interesting to see what moves are made over the winter, in order to reset and make the roster even stronger. What will also help the quest for a World Series berth though, is certain players bouncing back from rough individual 2025 campaigns and playing closer to their respective talent level on a more consistent basis.

4 Mariners who endured lost seasons in 2025, but will be back in 2026

1) Víctor Robles

We wrote last week about how Víctor Robles could prove to be the solution for one of the Mariners' biggest problems throughout this season, should he return to the leadoff position he successfully manned during 49 games in the 2024 regular season. However, regardless of if he does return to the top of the lineup or not, he will be eager to bounce back from a rough 2025 campaign.

Robles produced an underwhelming .245/.281/.330 slash line and .611 OPS during the 2025 regular season, and was even poorer during the playoffs with a .111/.314/.185 slash line and .499 OPS. However, this productivity comes with a significant "excuse" in that he missed a significant potion of the campaign because of injury.

The image of Robles' spectacular catch but nasty collision with the outfield wall in San Francisco during early April remains ingrained in memory for the Mariners. He suffered a dislocated left shoulder which contributed towards him missing all but 32 games of the regular seaso. It's no surprise he was unable to ever get back into the flow of things (not helped by his seven-game suspension).

Not that Mariners fans want Robles to lose his penchant for the jaw-dropping, after an even more spectacular catch in a late September 6-4 road win in Houston all but secured the AL West title. They just want him to be a little better at avoiding injury, so he can stay on the field more and tap back into his overall talent to help the team contend once again for the World Series.

2) Bryce Miller

Bryce Miller could not have ended his season much better, with a couple of clutch starts in the ALCS versus the Blue Jays. In particular his Game 1 outing showed just what he's capable of, with him coming through when needed most for a pitching staff running on fumes.

However, Miller will be the first to admit that even his playoff form doesn't take away from the reality that the 2025 campaign was a poor one overall for him. In fact it turned out to be the worst of his three seasons to date in the majors, in stark contrast to his career year in 2024.

The 27-year-old went from leading all Mariners starters with a 3.4 WAR to having a -0.8 WAR, which was worst in the rotation. Nothing seemed to go right for him as he produced a nightmare stat line which included a 5.68 ERA, 5.17 FIP and 1.406 WHIP.

In fairness to Miller, he wasn't helped by an ongoing issue with right elbow inflammation which dated back to 2024 and resulted in two stints on the Injured List during this past season. Now though, as evidenced by how he pitched during the playoffs combined with a whole offseason to rest and apparently no need to undergo surgery, the signs are good that he will be a lot better in 2026.

3) Ryan Bliss

As much as Ryan Bliss' productivity didn't jump off the page after making his Major League debut last year, he still offered enough glimpses of his potential to intrigue those who mattered. As such, he entered the 2025 season with the promise of more to come.

Unfortunately for Bliss and the Mariners, his season halted almost as soon as it started, after tearing his left biceps against the Houston Astros in his 11th game of the campaign. He underwent surgery and there was hope he would return at some point this year, but that was ruled out after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee during a rehab assignment in Triple-A Tacoma in early September.

As we wrote following general manager Justin Hollander's announcement that Bliss' season was over, the timing was a genuine shame. The infielder had been on a tear during his six games with the Rainiers, batting .385 and producing seven RBI with four walks on the way to a 1.115 OPS.

Bliss will be ready for spring training, but as much as he has the potential to come back from a lost 2025 and contribute more for the Mariners, he also has to for his own sake. In theory his strongest position is at second base, but with the likes of Cole Young and prospect Michael Arroyo as competition, his best chance for success in Seattle might be as a quality utility player.

4) George Kirby

There are plenty of people both within and outside of the Mariners organization who say George Kirby has the best overall stuff in their uber-talented rotation. Helping his case is holding Major League records with 24 consecutive strikes thrown to begin a game (dating back to 1988) and the highest strikeout-to-walk ratio through a pitcher's first 50 starts.

Despite all of this success through his first three years with the Mariners, 2025 saw Kirby struggle regularly for the first time in his Major League career. He set a whole host of single season worsts including a 0.8 WAR, 4.21 ERA, 90 ERA+, 3.37 FIP, 5.5 percent walk- rate and 4.72 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Now yes, it tells you just how special Kirby is when a 3.37 FIP and 4.72 strikeout-to-walk ratio can be called career-worsts, but it still doesn't change the fact he struggled overall this past season whether by his own high standards or just in general. In fairness, he wasn't helped by missing the first nine weeks of the 2025 campaign with right shoulder inflammation, but he suffered through some alarming lows such as allowing eight runs in a career-low 2.0 innings as a starter, in a 9-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Kirby suffered further embarrassment in the playoffs as he allowed eight earned runs in Game 3 of the ALCS, which tied the record for the most allowed by a pitcher in a postseason game (dating back to 1913). Still, he was trusted enough to start three other games including Game 7 of the ALCS and he mostly delivered, although the Mariners will be banking on him returning to his consistent pre-2025 form heading into next season and lasting longer in outings.