Complete grades for 1st half of Mariners' 2026 season pull no punches

The first half of the Seattle Mariners' 2026 season is over, and it feels like a miracle that they won 48 games even as they also lost 49. This alone is an indication of how sour the vibes have gotten since the "World Series or bust" days of yore.

That the Mariners are in possession of the American League's third wild card is the bright side. And to be fair, you don't have to go back that far to find a time when their season felt less offensive. When Chris Landers of FanSided issued first-half grades (as in, for the first 81 games) for all 30 teams in late June, he gave the Mariners a B-.

Grades for the 2026 Mariners' 1st half include 1 A, more than 1 F

Well, thing took a turn toward bleak in the final week before MLB's All-Star break. The Mariners lost five of six on the road to wrap things up, ceding the AL West lead in the process. And at 4-6 in July, they're on track to have their second straight losing month.

"Who's to blame?" is the obligatory question, and there is no simple answer. The best we can do is assign grades for key units and personnel.

Grading the Mariners' 1st-Half Offense: F

The Mariners are third from the bottom of MLB in scoring, and they're down there because they're good at nothing.

They're in the bottom five of MLB with a .230 average and a .380 slugging percentage. FanGraphs has them in the bottom 10 for baserunning value. Their .219 batting average with runners in scoring position is the worst in MLB, and somehow still trending down.

Injuries haven't helped, but this is ultimately a matter of expectations not being met. Only Randy Arozarena, Dominic Canzone, Cole Young and (when healthy) Julio Rodríguez haven't held the offense back. It's especially impossible to separate the sense of disappointment from how Cal Raleigh has become one of the worst hitters in the league, bearing a .169 average and .581 OPS.

Grading the Mariners' 1st-Half Defense: D

Look, the overall numbers for the gloves are ugly. The Mariners rank 25th in Defensive Runs Saved, and last in Outs Above Average. And that's even though they're actually in the middle of the pack for errors, which goes to show how little range they have in the field.

Suffice it to say that the Pacific Northwest holds its breath when a ball is hit to Arozarena in left field or to Crawford at either shortstop or third base. Right field has also been an issue, and Josh Naylor's poor defense at first base has arguably been even more baffling than his own offensive downfall.

Thank goodness for the bright spots. Julio recovered for a weird start in center field before he landed on the seven-day concussion IL before the break. Young and Colt Emerson, meanwhile, might already be MLB's best double play combo. With a +11 DRS to his name, Young in particular looks like Seattle's first Gold Glove second baseman since Bret Boone in 2004.

Grading the Mariners' 1st-Half Starting Rotation: A

Finally, an aspect of the Mariners' first half that doesn't suck. Their starters rank sixth in the league with a 3.64 ERA, and first with 11.2 fWAR.

It hasn't all been smooth sailing. Neither the piggyback nor the six-man rotation have proven to be viable solutions for the club's rotation surplus. And due to such factors as Bryan Woo's road woes, Luis Castillo's ongoing decline and Logan Gilbert's bumpy start, it has yet to truly feel like the rotation is clicking on all cylinders.

And yet, the numbers are the numbers and everyone deserves props. Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Emerson Hancock could have been All-Stars. George Kirby has been a horse, pitching 110.0 innings in 18 starts. Woo has dominated with a 2.10 ERA at T-Mobile Park, and even Castillo has been better lately with a 3.65 ERA in his last 10 outings.

Grading the Mariners' 1st-Half Bullpen: C+

The bullpen deserves better based on its fourth-ranked 3.56 ERA, but you can take it from us that ERA is a faulty measure for relief pitchers. It's more indicative that, say, Seattle relievers are in the middle of the pack for WHIP and K/BB ratio. They're also 20th in Win Probability Added.

It doesn't help that the pen has been a man short ever since Miller returned from an oblique injury in May. Nor has it helped that Carlos Vargas has been injured all year, with Matt Brash and Cooper Criswell joining him on the IL on the same day in June. The Mariners have had to use spare parts from the minors in their places, and it's often been an ugly experience.

It's the big guns who have saved the pen from total ruin. Gabe Speier, Jose A. Ferrer and Eduard Bazardo have a 2.56 ERA and a 0.88 WPA (compared to 0.08 for the whole pen) between them. Andrés Muñoz was weirdly hittable at the outset of the year, but then he turned in 10 straight scoreless appearances to close out the first half.

Grading the Mariners' 1st-Half Manager: F

Well, what good is there to say about Dan Wilson?

It never reflects well on a skipper when a team's expected record (50-47 in this case) is better than its actual record. And since his in-game strategy has too often directly resulted in losses, Wilson is not an innocent bystander in the disconnect.

Further, one can't help but wonder if Wilson's relaxed vibe has spread in an unhealthy way. The Mariners have played some truly sloppy baseball, particularly with regard to defense and baserunning. Yet unless there's some kind of accountability happening behind closed doors, all Wilson ever does is describe each loss as "tough."

He hasn't been on the job for two full years, yet there's already a pretty strong "Fire Dan Wilson" movement among the Mariners fanbase. Maybe that wouldn't solve anything, but it's only getting harder to see how it wouldn't be addition by subtraction.

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