Julio Rodríguez's challenge to Cole Young gives Mariners a new reason to be grateful

The Seattle Mariners were already fortunate to have had Ken Griffey Jr. play for them and carve out a Hall of Fame career as one of the greatest players of all time. However, for a franchise which has often been one the most cursed in Major League Baseball, lightning has seemingly struck twice with Julio Rodríguez.

Some may scoff at comparisons between the two players, likely colored (at least in part) by just how underwhelming has Rodríguez looked in the first half of each of his four seasons. The reality is though that overall, he's currently on a similar Hall of Fame path to Griffey — in fact to the extent the 25-year-old actually has a better fWAR at 21.2 versus 19.7 at the same point in his career.

However, this goes far beyond Rodríguez's five-tool talent which has made him the best center fielder in baseball, renowned for his work ethic, always striving to improve, his positivity and being a model teammate. Now, you can also add leader to his list of assets.

Julio Rodríguez doesn't make it all about himself

Rodríguez's leadership skills have come to the forefront thanks to an article on Monday by Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, writing about the immediate aftermath of last season's devastating Game 7 loss in the ALCS. The superstar approached teammate Cole Young in the locker room and in a brief, one-sided conversations voiced a sharp directive, telling the young second baseman he needed to get after it during the offseason and come back bigger and stronger.

It's pretty incredible that Rodríguez did this, when he was clearly still dealing with the heartache of the 4-3 loss in Toronto, as evidenced by the almost blood-curdling scream he unleashed while teammate Bryan Woo was being interviewed by the media. And yet here he was, already thinking ahead to the 2026 season.

We appreciate that perception is reality, and it's entirely possible some people will consider what Rodríguez did as bullying, but the reality is this was more about a veteran laying down a well-intentioned challenge. In fact, as noted by Jude, Young did indeed interpret the message as positive encouragement, that his teammate wouldn't have said anything if he didn't care about him or see his potential.

"I think that just showed his leadership. For me, it did. I remember him saying like, ‘I want more. This is not enough. I want to make it farther next year.’
As soon as it ended, he was already saying that. Like, he’s gonna work hard to win a World Series and he’s gonna push other people to help. I thought that was awesome."

Cole Young

And the proof of Rodríguez lighting a fire under Young was evident when spring training started earlier this month in Peoria. The 22-year-old showed up to camp in better shape than ever after seeming to take the message to heart, as club president Jerry Dipoto said: "Cole Young looks unbelievable right now. He took his offseason very seriously. ... He looks incredibly athletic right now; he looks kind of chiseled."

Cole Young has the Mariners firmly in his corner

The Mariners clearly already believed in Young prior to this. SoDo Mojo's Zachary Rymer wrote that one of the main reasons a potential trade for three-time All-Star Ketel Marte fell through, was because of the resistance to include the 2022 21st overall draft pick in any deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

This speaks volumes, with the Mariners clearly not deterred despite Young's challenging first year in the majors, specifically with his bat. Now though, he's projected to start at second base on Opening Day following an offseason where he dedicated himself to the weight room and an improved diet, all thanks to some strong but encouraging words from Rodríguez.

The three-time All-Star recently joked with reporters about feeling old after being referred to as a veteran despite only being 25, but he really is now coming into his own as a leader. The Mariners truly do have something special in him, with Young's renewed focus and own desire just the latest example of what he brings to the franchise and should continue to do so for the next decade.