Why the Mariners are built to be back after a crushing ALCS loss

Seattle Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo was being interviewed successful the clubhouse pursuing the team's Game 7 loss successful the American League Championship Series to the Toronto Blue Jays when, suddenly, successful the background, you tin perceive an anguished scream.

Mariners' fans recognize heartbreak -- they tin subordinate to that scream.

For astir of the 49-season beingness of the Mariners, fans of the nine relied connected hope: anticipation for the archetypal winning season, anticipation the franchise didn't relocate, anticipation of making the playoffs for the archetypal time, anticipation to extremity a 20-year playoff drought. Hope for a World Series. And with 1 ace of the bat connected Monday night, that anticipation was crushed.

It didn't commencement retired that way, though. The Mariners won the archetypal 2 games of the ALCS connected the roadworthy successful Toronto -- and teams that won the archetypal 2 connected the roadworthy successful a best-of-seven bid had gone 26-3 successful MLB past (excluding 2020).

After dropping the archetypal 2 games successful Seattle, they won a melodramatic Game 5 connected Eugenio Suarez's expansive slam to instrumentality a 3-2 bid lead. The victor of Game 5, erstwhile a bid was tied, had gone connected to triumph a best-of-seven bid 69% of the clip successful MLB history.

The Mariners went connected to suffer Game 6, playing astir arsenic sloppy a crippled arsenic you tin play, and past mislaid Game 7 connected George Springer's three-run location tally successful the seventh inning -- lone the 2nd come-from-behind location tally portion trailing by aggregate runs successful a winner-take-all crippled successful playoff past (Pete Alonso deed the archetypal past twelvemonth for the New York Mets).

That's a batch of qualifiers, but it hammers location the despair: That was an particularly hard defeat, 8 outs distant from the franchise's archetypal ever World Series, a infinitesimal Seattle sports fans volition everlastingly remember, alongside not giving the shot to Marshawn Lynch successful Super Bowl XLIX. The Mariners stay the lone 1 of the 30 franchises ne'er to play successful a Fall Classic.

The symptom volition linger. Soon enough, however, thoughts volition crook to 2026, arsenic they indispensable -- and Seattle is well-positioned not lone for adjacent season, but for the agelong term.

While the Mariners person conscionable 2 playoff appearances successful the past 5 seasons, they're 1 of the astir unchangeable organizations successful the sport, 1 of conscionable six with winning records each play since 2021 and seventh successful wins successful that span. They person a beardown workplace strategy that features 8 players ranked successful Kiley McDaniel's August apical 100 prospects update, including shortstop Colt Emerson, the No. 7 prospect, and pitcher Kade Anderson, the No. 3 prime successful the 2025 MLB draft, who ranks No. 16.

The Mariners besides person a unchangeable radical of halfway players: Of the 17 who were worthy astatine slightest 0.8 WAR successful 2025 -- MVP campaigner Cal Raleigh led the mode with 7.3 -- each but escaped cause Josh Naylor and 2nd baseman/DH Jorge Polanco are already signed to caller contracts oregon stay nether squad power (Polanco has a $7 cardinal subordinate enactment that helium volition apt opt retired from).

Both stay bully fits successful the lineup aft beardown 2025 campaigns, particularly Naylor. Other than a...