Key offseason dates and critical decisions awaiting Seattle Mariners

In October, 12 teams will compete for the World Series while the other 18 watch from the comfort of their own homes. The Mariners fall into the latter group and will be able to get a head start on what should be a busy offseason.

Fans will get a break, as will the players. By November, the hot stove should start firing up and once the World Series champion for this year is crowned, the cycle will start anew. Here are some important dates to keep an eye on.

These are the important dates to know for the Mariners before MLB's likely lockout

Trade market opens: 1 day after the World Series

Front offices don't get much of a break after the 2026 season officially draws to a close. Just a day after the trophy is raised, organizations will be able to start making deals and moving players around. Things usually start off slow as the details of bigger trades will understandably take more time.

Last year, the first trade involved the Rays acquiring outfielder Ryan Vilade from the Reds in exchange for cash considerations and occurred on November 3rd, just two days after the Dodgers had defeated the Blue Jays. Fans may see the Mariners start off with some simple bullpen moves like the acquisition of Cole Wilcox from the Rays on November 5th of last year, but bigger roster moves will have to wait until later in the winter.

Deadline for contract options and qualifying offers, free agency begins: 5 days after the World Series

Teams and players have less than a week to decide on whether club, player, or mutual options will be picked up. Seattle will have just three players to decide on for 2027: Víctor Robles, Andrés Muñoz, and Bryce Miller. Robles has a $9 million option with a $500,000 buyout and since he has combined for just -0.3 rWAR and an OPS+ of 79 over his past two injury-riddled seasons, it's safe to say that the Mariners will be buying their way out of his contract.

Andrés Muñoz has an $8 million team option (could be up to $9 million depending on total games finished in 2026) that the Mariners will likely pick up. Despite his lackluster numbers this season, he's still one of the best relievers in baseball and will rank just 14th among relievers in cash payroll behind far less compelling names like Adrian Houser and Seattle's very own Seranthony Domínguez.

Part of Bryce Miller's deal to avoid arbitration this past January was to add a $6.075 million club option for 2027 with a $15,000 buyout. Though Miller's 2026 still wasn't as impressive as his 2024 campaign, he still projects to be a solid starter for the team when healthy and should return to the team for another year.

As for qualifying offers and free agency, there isn't much uncertainty as to what will happen for Seattle. The qualifying offer amount is the mean salary of the 125 highest-paid players and this year, that comes to a little over $23.1 million.

They will undoubtedly give a qualifying offer to Randy Arozarena. J.P. Crawford is eligible for it as well, but the team would be very hard pressed to pay that amount for a player that would have difficulties delivering equivalent value, even without the shortstop logjam that the Mariners are currently facing.

Though he is also becoming a free agent this winter, Taylor Ward is ineligible because he was traded at the deadline. Even if he was eligible, it'd be incredibly challenging to make a strong argument for paying him that much money for what has become one of the worst trade deadline deals for the team in recent history.

Deadline for players to accept qualifying offers: 12 days after the World Series

Randy Arozarena will most certainly decline his qualifying offer to pursue a far more lucrative contract in free agency, but he'll have about a week to mull it over. Teams that have qualifying offers turned down will receive compensatory draft picks for their troubles and these can often result in some outstanding talent.

The Mariners haven't had the greatest luck with their compensatory selections, but examples of stellar picks include Trevor Story, Mike Trout, and Aaron Judge. Given the way that Seattle's front office has performed in the draft in recent years, an additional pick in the early rounds could pay off big.

Collective Bargaining Agreement expires: December 1st

Perhaps the most significant looming storyline that has hung over MLB all year is the expiration of the upcoming CBA. Negotiations between players and owners are always contentious and when a new CBA had to be agreed on in 2022, it pushed Opening Day back to April 7th.

There were several key changes that caused the delay, including a universal DH and increased minimum salaries but the salary cap discussions for this year's CBA have significantly increased the chances of a labor stoppage. Based on recent conversations with players, most seem to think that we will see a shortened season in 2027 and if a CBA cannot be agreed on, the offseason will effectively be placed on ice until an agreement can be reached.

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