Updating roster status for Mariners players who are out of options

As the Seattle Mariners seek to trim down their spring training roster in preparation for Opening Day, it's always good to know which players are out of minor league options.

In case anyone needs a refresher, minor league options allow a player to be sent to the minors without first having to clear waivers. The default is three options which, when exercised, keep the player on the 40-man roster even if a minor league assignment takes him off the 26-man roster. Once the player spends 20 days in the minors, the option is lost.

When a player has zero options and his team doesn't have room for him on the 26-man roster, he is designated for assignment and must pass through waivers before going to the minors. If a team claims him, he changes hands. As such, it's basically make the team or bust when a player is out of options.

Now that everyone is caught up, Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors was kind enough to list out-of-options players for every team as of Friday, February 28. The Mariners had six such players at the time, and added another when they claimed Seth Martinez from the Miami Marlins.

Let's dig into which of these players are locks for the Mariners' 26-man roster and which are on the bubble.

Roster Locks: Luke Raley and a handful of relievers

The Mariners' most notable out-of-options player is first baseman/outfielder Luke Raley, and he's not going anywhere.

Raley was one of Seattle's top hitters in 2024, posting a .783 OPS that translated to a well-above-average 131 OPS+. The lefty hitter isn't much good against lefty pitchers, so lucky for him that most pitchers in MLB are right-handed.

Otherwise, there are potentially four out-of-options locks for the bullpen: Trent Thornton, Collin Snider, Gabe Speier and Eduard Bazardo.

All four were tabbed for the Mariners' Opening Day roster by Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times on Wednesday, which also holds true for RosterResource. Thornton and Snider are coming off successful 2024 seasons and are therefore on especially strong footing.

Last season was more of a challenge for Speier and Bazardo, but each has the kind of swing-and-miss stuff that the Mariners like to have in the pen. Bazardo finished strong in 2024, posting a 1.38 ERA with 16 strikeouts over his last 13 innings. Albeit with 14 walks, Speier fanned 33 batters in 23.2 innings overall.

On the Bubble: Carlos Vargas and Seth Martinez

There seems to be one open spot in the bullpen, and that is where Martinez and Carlos Vargas come into focus.

Martinez is the more experienced hurler, with 111 major league appearances to Vargas' five. The latter also spent the entirety of the 2024 season in the minors, and it may not be a coincidence that the team added Martinez after Vargas had a rough outing on February 26 against the Athletics. He recorded just two outs got touched for three runs on two hits and two walks.

There is thus an opening for Martinez to nab a roster spot via a good showing in the Cactus League. If he does, the hope will then be that he can return to his 2022 form, which produced a 2.09 ERA for the Houston Astros.

Either way, pitching is not going to be a weakness for the Mariners in 2025. Regardless of who takes that last bullpen spot, the staff will largely resemble the one that co-led MLB with a 3.49 ERA in 2024.