Phillies jacked up Mariners' Logan Gilbert price tag with Jesús Luzardo contract

There's been plenty of talk in recent weeks about the contract situation between Logan Gilbert and the Mariners, with 2027 representing his final year of arbitration eligibility before becoming a free agent. Both sides say they want to get an extension agreed to keep the righty in Seattle for the long-term, and yet here we sit today with no deal signed.

Now comes some news from Philadelphia which could well impact negotiations between Gilbert and the Mariners, and not necessarily for the better. As per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, the Phillies have signed Jesús Luzardo to a five-year contract extension worth a reported $135 million (with a $32.5 million club option for 2032).

Luzardo is coming off a tremendous first season in Philadelphia which included setting career-highs of 15 wins and 183.2 innings, as he finished seventh in NL Cy Young voting. However, the reality is that Gilbert is better and more reliable, which must have the Mariners money men cursing the Phillies for how much money they've forked out to a less accomplished pitcher.

The balance of power might be shifting towards Logan Gilbert

Now yes, we appreciate the Phillies are one of those organizations which just seems to have more money to throw around when compared to the Mariners. Regardless, we may now be in a situation where you really get to find out how much the M's believe in Gilbert, especially with a potential shift in the balance of power between team and player.

As per Brent Stecker of Seattle Sports, Mariners general manager Justin Hollander recently spoke to Brock Huard and Mike Salk at spring training, raving about how much he, Jerry Dipoto and the rest of the organization feel about Gilbert. What really stood out was when Hollander said:

"I would love Logan to be a Mariner for a long time. He knows that. So beyond that, I think it's silly to talk about it on the air, but Logan knows exactly how we feel about him, and when he's ready to talk about it, sign me up."

Justin Hollander

Hollander added that he didn't think a contract extension was imminent, but as SoDo Mojo's Zachary Rymer wrote last week, the Mariners clearly only want to agree something with Gilbert if it's on their terms. Further, with Hollander saying the 2024 All-Star knows "exactly how" the team feels about him, it alludes to an offer having already been presented, but likely being for less than what he stands to gain if and when he becomes a free agent.

Time for the Mariners to go back and step up

In light of the Luzardo deal, we believe that rather than waiting for Gilbert to come to them, the Mariners need to go back to him and just make a better offer. As much as they did exceptionally well in getting Cal Raleigh to sign a six-year, $105 million deal ahead of last season, the organization also can't afford to be cheap when it comes to getting one of the catcher's best friends re-signed.

Again, Luzardo just doesn't compare to Gilbert in terms of what they've both accomplished overall during their time in the Majors. And even if anyone wants to point out that Gilbert's bWAR is only 0.3 better than his Phillies counterpart, consider that he's tallied his 11.7 bWAR in two less seasons, while also having to deal with a harsh T-Mobile Park penalty.

Even before Luzardo's deal with the Phillies, no one thought the Mariners would let it get even this close to Gilbert becoming a free agent, but that's the situation they're now in. We genuinely do believe "Walter" would make some concession like Raleigh just because of Seattle becoming like home for him, but it doesn't mean he should also shortchange himself when factoring in a likely big payday in free agency.