7 Mariners who have a golden roster opportunity when World Baseball Classic begins

The World Baseball Classic will begin on March 5 and last through March 17, which could leave the Seattle Mariners' spring training feeling like a ghost town for a while.

The Mariners will have 16 players competing in the WBC, headlined by Cal Raleigh (USA), Julio Rodríguez (Dominican Republic), Josh Naylor (Canada), and Randy Arozarena and Andrés Muñoz (Mexico). No other MLB team will have more players in the international tournament, yet spring training must go on back in Peoria.

Because of the extra playing time that will be available, this could prove to be good news for various Mariners who have their eyes on roster spots — or perhaps bigger roles on the roster.

These Mariners could take advantage of WBC-related playing time

2B Cole Young and SS/3B Colt Emerson

Even before the Mariners acquired Brendan Donovan, Young and Emerson were expected to get plenty of playing time during the spring. And even with Donovan aboard, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com tabbed the duo of youngsters as the "leading tandem worth watching from a roster construction standpoint."

The WBC will only make it easier for Dan Wilson to make sure the two of them get at-bats. Though Donovan is penciled in as the club's regular third baseman, his versatility will allow him to spell Arozarena in left field and Naylor at first base as needed. On those days, Emerson can play third and Young can play second.

The most likely outcome is Young getting the second base job and Emerson, who's ranked by MLB Pipeline as the league's No. 9 prospect, returning to Triple-A Tacoma for more seasoning. But if both play well enough, they may force the Mariners to clear two roster spots instead of just one.

RF/1B Luke Raley and RF Victor Robles

After a brutal 2025 season, Raley is one of the forgotten men on the Mariners' roster. He's still around, though, because it was as recently as 2024 that he posted a 128 OPS+ and 22 home runs.

Raley seems ticketed for platoon duty as a part-time right fielder, first baseman and designated hitter, yet he has legit upside as a more of an everyday player. And with Arozarena, Naylor and Dominic Canzone (Italy) set to vacate at-bats in the outfield, at first base and at DH, it shouldn't be hard for Wilson to find extra at-bats for Raley while the WBC is going on.

For his part, Robles is also coming off a brutal 2025 season that rendered him as another forgotten man on the Mariners' roster. Whereas he was their starting right fielder and leadoff man on Opening Day last year, he's now potentially looking at a role as a fourth outfielder.

A hot spring could change that, and in more ways than one. For Robles, the ideal outcome is earning the starting right field job over Raley. If that fails, even a fourth outfielder gig could open up occasional starts at leadoff over Donovan, who doesn't hit lefties as well as the team apparently thinks.

C Andrew Knizner and C Jhonny Pereda

There is no cushier backup catcher job than the one in Seattle. The starting role is Raleigh's, and part of the reason he hit 60 home runs last year is because he continued a three-year run of playing basically every day.

Even so, Mitch Garver's exit has opened the door for someone to earn the job as Raleigh's backup. Knizner and Pereda are the only other catchers on the 40-man roster, so they're first up.

Knizner has a lot more MLB experience and more of a pedigree than Pereda, but the latter could potentially have an edge on the defensive side. If that part shines — particularly during Raleigh's absence — the Mariners' backup catcher battle could actually get interesting.

LHP Jose A. Ferrer

As the resident newcomer in the bullpen, there were already going to be plenty of eyes on Ferrer this spring. But once Muñoz, Gabe Speier (USA) and Eduard Bazardo (Venezuela) report for the WBC, well, even more so.

This will be an opportunity for Ferrer to strut his stuff, which is currently in an interesting limbo between "promising" and "unproven." As a Washington National, he threw hard and featured a wipeout slider, but didn't break out as a big-time swing-and-miss reliever.

If he's able to do that this spring, he could force himself higher in the bullpen pecking order. As of now, he's the No. 2 lefty after Speier and arguably the No. 5 option overall after Muñoz, Bazardo and Matt Brash.