Mariners' 4 All-MLB selections make up for a notable Silver Slugger snub

We can accept there are still plenty of Seattle Mariners fans agonizing over how the season ended, with the team just eight outs away from a World Series berth before it was cruelly snatched away by the bat of George Springer. However, even this painful conclusion to the 2025 campaign should not take away from just how much was accomplished in arguably the best year in franchise history.

The Mariners have never been closer to a first ever American League pennant, and this was reflected in how many players were in contention for the various end-of-season awards on offer. And one of the best indicators of just how highly thought of the M's are came in the announcement of the All-MLB honors First and Second Teams.

Mariners best in the AL in at least one way

The Mariners ended up having four players selected, which was most among all American League teams and tied for most overall along with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. As per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh each earned First Team honors, while Bryan Woo and Andrés Muñoz were named to the Second Team.

The All-MLB honors started in 2019, to recognize the best players at each position based on the regular season alone. This is the first time Raleigh, Woo and Muñoz have been selected to either team, while Rodríguez is the only Mariner to have been previously picked after being named to the Second Team back in his rookie year of 2022.

Certainly this is a proud achievement for the four players in question and the Mariners as a whole, but for Rodríguez specifically it will have meant a lot after missing out on winning a Silver Slugger Award. Yes, it was unfortunate that Raleigh lost out on the AL MVP Award to Aaron Judge, but that was a case of both players being deserving in a tight race, whereas the general sentiment was that Rodríguez was seemingly all but guaranteed to win his third Silver Slugger Award.

On the one hand, we can certainly appreciate the 24-year-old's tremendous defense was a factor in his All-MLB selection, helping towards his career-high 6.8 bWAR which was fourth-highest among all AL players. Baseball Savant also reflected his superior performances in the outfield, highlighted by ranking in the 97th percentile for Range (OAA) and 95th percentile for Arm Strength.

Julio Rodríguez had the resume to win a third Silver Slugger Award

At the same time, this still doesn't offer a clear explanation as to why Rodríguez didn't get that third Silver Slugger. As much as some will point towards his now familiar slow start to the season with him not heating up until July, he still finished behind only Judge in batting runs among AL outfielders.

Judge understandably took one of the three Silver Slugger Awards for outfielders, but what about Byron Buxton and Riley Greene? Rodríguez notably had a higher batting average, OBP and OPS+ than Greene, and while both he and Buxton outslugged the Mariners superstar, neither had to contend with playing half their games at T-Mobile Park.

As for center fielders specifically — the majors as a whole, not just the American League — Rodríguez led the way in batting average, hits and runs scored, as well as ranking second in RBI and doubles, and tied-second in triples. Although we do understand that only matters to an extent with the voters, with them looking to select the best three offensive outfielders full stop as opposed to one for each position.

We're not claiming Buxton and Greene didn't have excellent cases themselves, including both hitting more home runs and having a higher OPS than Rodríguez. However, when you compare the overall offensive productivity of the trio it sure seems like J-Rod should have been one of the three AL outfielders who took home a 2025 Silver Slugger Award.