4 players who are actively holding Mariners back to start 2025 season

The Seattle Mariners are walking a tightrope to start the 2025 season — hovering around .500 despite a lineup that continues to search for answers. While it’s not entirely surprising given the team’s track record of offensive inconsistency, early injuries to Victor Robles and Ryan Bliss have only added to the uphill climb.

Yet, as has been the case in recent years, the Mariners have managed to hang around thanks to elite pitching and clutch, late-game heroics. But staying afloat and staying competitive are two very different things.

When it comes to pitching — especially in the bullpen — the Mariners built depth. A struggling arm can be replaced overnight by a ready body in Tacoma. The same can’t be said for their offense, which continues to have too many question marks.

4 players who are actively holding Mariners back to start 2025 season

J.P. Crawford

This one stings a bit — because make no mistake, J.P. Crawford is the glue holding the Mariners’ infield together right now. He’s the only constant in a rotation that’s otherwise shuffled daily across first, second, and third base. Defensively, he’s still as dependable as ever. But at the plate? It continues to be a concerning story.

After a 2023 campaign where Crawford set a career-high with 19 home runs and showcased one of the best plate approaches in baseball, the hope was that he'd pick up where he left off. Instead, he stumbled his way through 2024 and he’s off to a brutally slow start in 2025.

His average exit velocity has dipped to a career-worst 83.6 mph, ranking near the bottom of the league. His strikeout rate is up to 20.7 percent, and while he’s still flashing that elite eye at the plate — walking at an impressive 22.4 percent clip — there’s very little damage being done when he swings.

The patience is there. The power, contact, and impact? Not yet. A .167/.357/.186 slash line simply isn’t enough, especially for a veteran leader.

Mitch Garver

When the Mariners signed Mitch Garver before the 2024 season, they were banking on a proven veteran bat to lengthen the lineup and offer both protection for Cal Raleigh and power from the DH spot.

After all, this is the same Garver who helped power the Texas Rangers to a World Series title in 2023, slugging 19 home runs with a .270/.370/.500 line. What a world if that version of Garver was here in Seattle.

But he still hasn’t shown up. Despite a promising spring, Garver’s regular season production has cratered. He’s hitting just .182 — ten ticks up from the .172 mark he posted in 2024. He’s become more of a backup catcher and situational pinch hitter than the bat the Mariners were hoping to rotate with Raleigh at DH. With his prolonged struggles below the Mendoza Line, the question grows louder: How long can the Mariners keep waiting?

Garver’s contract and past resume are clearly buying him time, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to justify his roster spot when there are younger, more dynamic options waiting for a shot. This isn't specifically about rushing Harry Ford — the top prospect should continue getting everyday reps in Triple-A — but the longer Garver slumps, the more the Mariners’ offense suffers from the dead weight.

Donovan Solano

There’s something to be said for patience, and yes — Donovan Solano probably deserves a little more of it. His spring debut was delayed, he’s adjusting to a new clubhouse and a new ballpark, and at 37 years old, it’s understandable if there’s a ramp-up period. He’s a seasoned journeyman — seven franchises deep, four of them in the last four years — and through all that movement, one thing has stayed consistent: he hits. Solano hadn’t finished a season hitting below .280 since 2016.

This is what makes his early struggles in 2025 so strange. Solano has looked nothing like the contact machine he’s been throughout his career. A lifetime 20.3 percent strikeout rate has ballooned to an alarming 36.8 percent. His exit velocity — typically sitting between 87 and 90 mph for nearly a decade — has plummeted to just 81.5 mph.

Could more consistent playing time help? Maybe. But Solano understood his role when he signed in Seattle. He was brought in as a platoon option at first base and a trusted bat off the bench to handle left-handed pitching. Right now, he’s not delivering in either department.

The Mariners were hoping for a steady veteran presence with sneaky upside. What they’ve gotten so far is a quiet bat in a lineup that can’t afford many more.

Rowdy Tellez

Tellez really turned some heads during his time in Peoria for spring training. The lefty slugger looked revitalized, flashing power and consistency with a .298/.320/.574 line, three homers, and five RBIs. He looked like the perfect bounce-back candidate — a middle-of-the-order bat who could feast on right-handed pitching and give the Mariners real thump from the DH spot or at first base.

But 16 games into the season, that version of Tellez feels like a distant memory. Through his first 30 at-bats, he has managed just three hits. Yes, one of them was a much-needed home run, but overall, he’s been a non-factor at the plate, slashing an anemic .100/.152/.233. To his credit, he’s held his own defensively at first base — a role many didn’t expect him to take on this often — but that’s not what the Mariners brought him in for.

Let’s keep it real, Seattle moved on from franchise staple Mitch Haniger in large part to make room for Tellez’s bat. So far, that move is backfiring.

Honorable mentions

You could make a case for a few more names here. Randy Arozarena’s defense in left field has been suspect at best, but timely hits and flashes of power have helped keep him above water. Luke Raley is fighting an uphill battle without a defined role. Is he a first baseman? A corner outfielder? A designated hitter? It feels like even he doesn’t know until lineup cards are posted.

The Mariners are built around elite pitching, but the margin for error is razor-thin when the offense can’t consistently pull its weight. If Seattle wants to be more than just a .500 team, it needs players like Tellez — and others on this list — to start producing. Otherwise, this season could be defined not by a playoff push, but by wasted potential.