Mariners fans shaken by CBS Sports hitter duo rankings

A baseball lineup is made up of nine players, but it's rare for all nine to contribute the same amount. Typically, a few names end up bearing an outsized portion of the offensive responsibility.

Many of the best teams have a dynamic duo of hitters who give each other protection and collectively serve as a persistent offensive threat. Yet unfortunately for them, it seems like the Seattle Mariners might not even have two bats to rub together.

In his list of MLB's best hitting duos heading into 2025, Matt Snyder of CBS Sports didn't place the Mariners in the top 12, instead relegating them in the "also considered" category amid a hodgepodge of teams from the Chicago Cubs to the Los Angeles Angels.

The bad news: 2 AL West foes made the list

Normally, these lists serve as little more than a way to stay engaged with readers in the absence of meaningful baseball. But for Mariners fans, it also served as reminder of the level of competition in the AL West. Ranked at No. 12 and No. 7, respectively, were the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers.

While Houston ultimately decided to trade away arguably their most valuable player in Kyle Tucker, the tandem of Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez will be together through at least 2028, when the latter's contract is due to expire.

Alvarez has been one of the most imposing hitters in the sport since his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2019. Altuve, despite still being one of the most hated players around, leads active players with a .306 lifetime average. The Astros aren't the same team that made seven consecutive ALCS appearances and will probably operate in a diminished state for a while, but they're by no means a pushover.

The Rangers famously committed $500 million to acquire Corey Seager and Marcus Semien prior to the 2022 offseason, and it culminated in the organization's first-ever World Series win in 2023. In three years together as Rangers, the two stars have combined for 174 home runs and 30.1 fWAR.

Texas has been in the upper echelon of team payrolls for the past few years because of this. While it has already paid off, they've also been through their ups and downs, ending below .500 in 2022 and 2024. Nonetheless, their core is still full of up and coming talents like Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker, Wyatt Langford, and Evan Carter, guys that could make them a divisional threat for years to come.

There is hope for the Mariners offense

The two Mariners who received an off-handed mention on Snyder's list were, unsurprisingly, Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh. They have the potential to be a powerful pairing and the team is at its best when Rodríguez is in peak form, something we could see more of in 2025. Raleigh is an outstanding player, but if one of your team's best bats belongs to the catcher, it says more about the weakness of the rest of the lineup than anything else.

But there's still hope. While Seattle's lineup lacks a pair of truly consistent standout bats, it has quite a few players who could feasibly end up around the 120 OPS+ range. It wouldn't be out of the question for guys like Luke Raley, Victor Robles, and Randy Arozarena. From the others, even posting league-average numbers would be a big step forward over last year.

It's a lot to ask, but it will have to be done if Seattle wants to find a path to the playoffs in a division as tight as the AL West.