The Astros have a general manager vacancy. That doesn’t mean the AL West is going to be any easier for the Mariners. After the 2026 season, we’ve seen what happens when the division should have been a layup. 

Still, Houston’s search offers Seattle an opportunity…sort of. A division rival is sorting through its leadership while the Mariners have an offseason to bring in a strong manager and strengthen their roster. We can enjoy the uncertainty outside of Seattle. But it’s not like the Mariners have added anything productive yet either.

According to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale, Houston was interviewing former Nationals executive Mike Rizzo on Monday for its open GM position. Rizzo helped assemble the Washington team that beat the Astros in the 2019 World Series.

There’s a nice bit of baseball irony there. For Seattle, it’s also a reminder that Houston is also spending the winter trying to fix itself.

Rizzo remains a candidate. His championship résumé doesn’t guarantee he would succeed in Houston, and an interview doesn’t solve the Astros’ roster problems. However, it gives us a timely reason to examine Seattle’s own ambitions. The Mariners need an offseason plan that holds up against a better version of their rival.

John Stanton Needs to Fund the Mariners’ Opportunity

An opening in the AL West has value only if Seattle builds a team capable of taking it. John Stanton should be directly involved in this conversation. Ownership determines how much room the front office has to pursue established hitters, absorb salary in trades and build a bench that can survive an injury without turning every lineup card into an experiment.

After a disappointing season, we should expect those tools to be available.

We should judge Seattle’s lineup by the at-bats opponents are happy to give it. Where can a pitcher work around Raleigh? Who makes walking Rodríguez a bad idea? Those are the spots this offseason needs to address. Another hitter who commands a difficult plate appearance changes how a team pitches to everyone around him.

We should also expect more from the hitters already cashing Seattle’s checks. Julio Rodríguez belongs at the front of that conversation. His batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage all fell to career lows in 2026. The Mariners need their franchise player to make opposing pitchers uncomfortable again.

Josh Naylor can’t be left out either as they need him to bring more damage, too. Seattle committed to a first baseman who could give this lineup some muscle. Ten home runs and a .350 slugging percentage is not that.

And Cal Raleigh needs to regain his footing offensively. We don’t need another 60-homer season. We just need the middle of the order to become a place where Seattle sustains a rally instead of asking the next hitter to restart it.

Raleigh and Naylor underwent procedures after the season, so their health belongs in any fair assessment. Still, improvement from this trio has to be part of Seattle’s path forward. Stanton should fund additions that make their rebounds more valuable, and keep the offense functional if those rebounds take time.

Stanton’s money can also change the terms of a trade. If another club wants to shed a productive player’s salary, Seattle could benefit from taking that call.

Fans would love to see some ambition here. Give Dipoto room to pursue the player who fits, including when the contract is inconvenient.

Mike Rizzo’s Championship Résumé Sharpens the Test for Jerry Dipoto

Rizzo’s Washington tenure gives this story some substance beyond a recognizable name entering a rival’s interview room.

The Nationals built their championship roster through several avenues. Max Scherzer arrived on a major free-agent contract. Trea Turner came through a trade. Both became central figures on the 2019 club. Those acquisitions helped Washington turn its talent into a title.

The Mariners need to maintain their focus on assembling the full team required to finish the job. Dipoto and Justin Hollander have to identify where Seattle needs certainty and go acquire it. We should be able to look at the completed roster and see where the offense improved.

Ownership’s budget plays an enormous role. And to be fair, Dipoto may receive more blame than is warranted given the financial flexibility he’s had to build this roster. At the same time, we’re watching two teams compete in the World Series with fewer financial resources. That makes it fair to scrutinize how Dipoto uses what he’s given. Every roster spot devoted to a speculative fix is a choice about how much uncertainty the Mariners are willing to carry.

The championship comparison becomes useful right there. It pushes the discussion past whether Seattle has interesting pieces and toward whether those pieces form a team we can trust.

Houston’s hiring process will produce plenty of speculation. Seattle has its own work waiting for them. We can enjoy the Astros’ awkward offseason from a distance. The Mariners’ offseason needs to produce something we can see in a manager, and in the lineup.