4 unusual suspects who are becoming Mariners fan favorites in 2025

As the offseason drew to a close, many felt that the Seattle Mariners' roster, at least on paper, was underwhelming to say the least. There weren't any major moves to improve the team's greatest weakness, which was the lineup. After being so close yet so far to the postseason for two years in a row, it seemed like the team was destined for yet another disappointment.

While some offseason signings have yet to prove themselves worthy of a roster spot, others have already been worth more than their sticker price. With a quarter of the season under the team's belt, let's take a closer look at some of the names who have surpassed their humble projections at the start of the year.

New Mariners Fan Favorite: Carlos Vargas

Originally signed by the Cleveland Guardians in 2016 as an international free agent, Vargas had a brief stint with the Arizona Diamondbacks before being a piece of the trade that sent Eugenio Suárez to Arizona. He spent all of 2024 with Triple-A Tacoma, posting a respectable 3.54 ERA over 55 appearances.

In his first full season at the big league level, he seems to be continuing the upward trajectory he started since joining the Mariners organization. With heavy reliance on his sinker and cutter, his pitching style emulates what Gregory Santos was supposed to be — a pitcher who keeps baseballs on the ground and in the park. His hard-hit rate and ground ball rates are both in the top quartile of qualified pitchers. Thus, despite having a strikeout rate of just 15.9 percent, he had a 2.60 ERA over his first 17.1 innings of work.

That said, his current numbers don't necessarily reflect what he's done for the organization. He recently ran into some trouble against the Toronto Blue Jays that inflated his ERA to 4.00. His WHIP of 1.67 is far higher than it should be, largely due to his low strikeout rate, average walk rate, and susceptibility to the long ball. However, he has still demonstrated the ability to be a strong option in the bullpen, and especially against lefties, who have managed just a .364 OPS against him in 34 plate appearances.

New Mariners Fan Favorite: Leo Rivas

After signing a minor league contract with the Mariners in 2023, Rivas finally got called up in 2024 to replace an injured J.P. Crawford and played well enough for a late replacement guy. This year, he was called up under similar circumstances to fill Jorge Polanco's spot during his paternity leave and then Ryan Bliss's spot following his season-ending injury.

While he isn't a completely new face to the organization, he has been playing on a completely new level. Across his first 52 plate appearances, he has slashed .333/.462/.357 with a 148 OPS+ and four stolen bases. He isn't hitting for very much power, but he has been a remarkably tough out for opposing pitchers. What stands out as especially notable is his 17.3 strikeout percentage and 19.2 walk percentage.

With Dylan Moore back at second base, Rivas has been reduced to more of a bench/platoon role but that hasn't stopped him from having an impact when he does take the field. For what it's worth, his current mark of 0.6 rWAR makes him the team's 10-most valuable player by that metric, ahead of Luis Castillo.

New Mariners Fan Favorite: Rowdy Tellez

After a game against the Cincinnati Reds in which he went 0-for-4, Rowdy Tellez saw his OPS decrease to .341 after his first 12 games. In 21 games and 59 plate appearances since then, he has posted a .896 OPS with a .574 slugging percentage. After a painful start that had some questioning his inclusion on the roster, he has managed to claw his way all the way back to a 98 OPS+ for the season.

To pile on to the pressure, Tellez has been below replacement in both of his past two seasons, struggling to be even a league-average bat. He only managed to secure an Opening Day spot with the Mariners following a strong showing in spring training. Now, he's barreling up the ball more frequently than 93 percent of qualified hitters and has an average exit velocity of 91.3 mph, around the same mark of fellow sluggers Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh.

He still has quite a bit of work to do in getting his bat to the ball and staying more disciplined at the plate, but his recent resurgence as well as his upbeat personality have curried much-needed favor with the fans over the past few weeks.

New Mariners Fan Favorite: Jorge Polanco

Polanco drew plenty of ire from Mariners fans after he had a disappointing 2024 and became one of the team's only signings this past winter. Knee issues were cited as a primary driver behind this slump and, while anyone can make excuses, Polanco has more than proven that he's as advertised when fully healthy.

Across his first 114 plate appearances, he is slashing an unbelievable .327/.372/.673 with a 202 OPS+. For comparison, he slashed just .213/.296/.355 for a 93 OPS+ last season. While he doesn't quite have the plate appearances to be considered qualified, his .653 slugging percentage would place him second in MLB, above Shohei Ohtani and below Aaron Judge.

It's refreshing to finally see a player buck the trend of failing to carry over offensive success into T-Mobile Park. Despite the low likelihood that he'll carry this slash line through to the end of the season, this could very well be the best offensive year of his career and he's doing it as a Mariner.