Mariners contract extensions: 2 they should do now, and 2 they should wait on

The Seattle Mariners have a ton of young talent on the Major League roster. Most of that talent is cost controlled, something that helps the Mariners now, but they will pay that price eventually. With young talent comes big paydays, and teams typically cannot afford to keep all of their homegrown talent from year to year. There is good and bad that comes with free agency, and the Mariners are no exception to that.

Luckily, the biggest potential headaches have already passed. Julio Rodriguez is locked up for the foreseeable future, and ace Luis Castillo is signed with the team through 2028. But that does that mean for guys like Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Cal Raleigh and others? Well, in all likelihood, some of these guys ill be gone, either as free agents or a trade. How do you choose who to keep, and who to let walk?

I am not going to count players who have already signed deals, obviously. Julio Rodriguez, J.P. Crawford, Luis Castillo are all signed long term. Also, veterans like Mitch Haniger, Mitch Gerver and Jorge Polanco will not be on this list. Why? The case for the Mitch's is their age and injury history. As for Polanco, we just have not seen him perform in a Mariners jersey yet. Should he come out looking like 2021 Polanco, then yeah, I want the team to extend him.

I also did not include any prospects like Cole Young, Harry Ford or Colt Emerson. Those 3 are just too far away and probably not see Major League action in 2024. Are they candidates next year? Possibly. But we are talking about today. I am not a fan of signing guys to long term deals with no Major League experience, because the ramifications are so bad if that player does not pan out. Just look at Evan White, for example. The Mariners shipped out Jarred Kelenic to dump White's contract.

With all of that being said, here are two players I think the Mariners should lock up, and two players i don't think they should lock up quite yet.