Mariners can do nothing and still fix one of their biggest 2025 problems for 2026

As much as the Mariners' Game 7 loss in the ALCS will hurt the players and their fans for a long time to come yet, this doesn't take away from everything that was accomplished in 2025. In fact, these accomplishments become even more impressive when you consider the areas where the team was compromised throughout the season, including a rotation which dealt with injury issues to all but one of their preferred starting five.

Another area of the team which struggled during this past season was the leadoff position in the lineup, which was highlighted by the collective OBP dropping from .329 last year to .311 in 2025. No matter who hit leadoff, it almost seemed as if the position was cursed, with J.P. Crawford and Randy Arozarena particularly suffering the consequences.

Even Julio Rodríguez only managed to be productive in one of the three games he hit leadoff, after replacing Arozarena at the top of the lineup for Game 5 of the ALCS. This leads to the question of what the Mariners need to do to get better productivity from the leadoff spot next year, as they aim to build on 2025 and go one step further in the playoffs.

The Mariners' solution to leadoff issue lies within

Well, it's entirely conceivable that the Mariners don't need to do anything to fix this issue, at least in a manner of speaking. They theoretically already have the solution on their roster in the form of Víctor Robles, who missed most of the 2025 regular season due to an injury he suffered in early April.

Robles dislocated his left shoulder after making a spectacular catch while running into the outfield wall in foul territory. He did not return to action until late August, with the Mariners specifically missing his impact at the top of the lineup, where he batted .316 with a .831 OPS in 49 regular season games last year.

When you take the struggles Crawford and Arozarena in the leadoff spot and contrast that with Robles' success in the position, it makes all the sense in the world to put the latter back at the top of the lineup in 2026. Not that this guarantees an uptick in productivity, but it sure as heck can't hurt given what occurred this season.

Objectively speaking, we appreciate there will be those who question the wisdom of such a move, just based on Robles' below par hitting results (he only had a .281 OBP for the season) following his return from his injury. However, the key is in just that, with him working his way back into game shape and even having this interrupted by sitting out seven games due to his suspension for throwing a bat at pitcher Joey Estes during a rehab assignment in Triple-A.

Robles proved to be an almost instant hit for the Mariners after being picked up in early June last season, and not long after they rewarded him with a two-year, $9.75 million extension to prove their faith in him. With a whole offseason to get healthy again, we predict he will have a bounceback year in 2026, which will include being moved back into the leadoff position and solving this particular issue for the M's.