Meet the Mariners: Seattle announces 2023 Opening Day roster

The Mariners have announced their Opening Day roster for the 2023 season, which begins Thursday night at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

Much of the cast remains the same this spring but includes a few additions as the club looks to build on last year’s historic run, during which the Mariners reached the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

Seattle is set to open the season with 13 pitchers, three catchers, four infielders, four outfielders and two utility players on the 26-man active roster.

Here’s a detailed look at the Mariners’ Opening Day roster:

STARTING ROTATION (5)

RHP Luis Castillo

LHP Robbie Ray

RHP Logan Gilbert

LHP Marco Gonzales

RHP George Kirby

The same group that helped guide the Mariners through the second half of the season last summer and to their first postseason appearance in more than two decades returns this spring. Castillo, who was acquired from Cincinnati ahead of the trade deadline last season, is set to start on Opening Day for the third time in his career — and first since joining the Mariners — after posting a career-best 2.99 ERA across 25 starts in 2022. Castillo also tossed a scoreless outing in Seattle’s first postseason game since 2021 last October, earning the victory. The two-time All-Star signed a five-year, $108 million extension with Seattle in September. … Ray, the 2021 American League Cy Young Award winner with the Blue Jays, led the Mariners with 212 strikeouts across 32 starts last season. He enters his second season with the club and led the Mariners’ pitching staff with 26 strikeouts during spring training, allowing only two runs in 17 innings. … Gonzales, beginning his seventh season with the Mariners, enters the season as Seattle’s longest-tenured player. … Young right-handers Gilbert and Kirby — former first-round picks by the Mariners in 2018 and 2019 — are back following impressive 2022 seasons. Gilbert led the club with 13 wins and posted a career-best 3.20 ERA across 32 starts. Kirby posted a 3.39 ERA across 25 starts in his impressive debut season, and didn’t allow a run in either of his postseason appearances, tossing eight scoreless innings.

BULLPEN (8)

RHP Matt Brash

RHP Diego Castillo

RHP Matt Festa

RHP Chris Flexen

RHP Trevor Gott

RHP Andres Munoz

RHP Penn Murfee

RHP Paul Sewald

There was no shortage of elite pitching in the Mariners’ bullpen last season, and most of the group that shut down Seattle’s opponents in the late innings in 2022 is back. Sewald made a team-high 65 relief appearances, while Munoz (64), Murfee (63 as a rookie), Castillo (59), Festa (53) and Brash (39 as a rookie) were regular contributors out of the bullpen, and Flexen, now the club’s long reliever, pitched in 33 games, including 22 as a starter. … Sewald has collected 31 saves the past two seasons closing games for the Mariners — including a team-leading 20 last season — and posted a career-best 2.67 ERA across 64 innings in 2022. … Munoz led all Seattle relievers with 96 strikeouts across 65 innings last season. … Gott is the only newcomer in the group, and signed with the Mariners in November following one season with the Brewers, during which he posted a 4.14 ERA in 45 appearances. Gott has a 4.80 career ERA in seven big league seasons with the Angels, Nationals, Giants and Brewers.

CATCHERS (3)

Cooper Hummel

Tom Murphy

Cal Raleigh

The swing that finally ended the drought in Seattle will forever be remembered and was one of many highlights Raleigh produced in his first full season in the majors, during which he crushed 27 home runs and collected 63 RBI across 415 plate appearances. Seattle’s starting catcher tallied 917 innings behind the plate for the Mariners last season in 115 regular season games. … Murphy returns to the roster after spending most of 2022 on the injured list. He appeared in 14 games before a shoulder injury and later surgery sidelined him the rest of the season. Entering his fifth season with Seattle, Murphy has consistently produced on offense when healthy, and is an established leader behind the plate for Seattle’s pitching staff. … Hummel’s addition this offseason gives Seattle a third option behind the plate on the active roster, and offers more flexibility for the club’s rotating DH spot. The 28-year-old catcher and outfielder joined the Mariners in November, the return in a trade that sent outfielder Kyle Lewis — Seattle’s first-round pick in 2016, who was also the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year, but has played in only 54 games the past two seasons due to injury — to the Diamondbacks. A former standout at Lakeridge High School (Ore.) and the University of Portland, Hummel was drafted in the 18th round by the Brewers in 2016, and traded to Arizona midway through the 2021 season. He made his big league debut on Opening Day last season, and appeared in 66 games for the Diamondbacks, splitting time primarily between catcher and left field.

INFIELDERS (6)

1B Ty France

2B Kolten Wong

SS J.P. Crawford

3B Eugenio Suarez

UTIL Sam Haggerty

UTIL Tommy La Stella

The Mariners traded for Wong in December — in a deal that sent outfielder Jesse Winker and infielder Abraham Toro to the Brewers — adding a proven performer both at the plate and in the infield. Wong, entering his 11th season in the majors, hit .251/.339/.430 with Milwaukee last season, including 24 doubles, four triples, 15 home runs, 47 RBI and 17 stolen bases. The former first-round pick by St. Louis in 2011 was also a two-time Gold Glove winner with the Cardinals. He is the only new addition to Seattle’s everyday infield, which returns France, Crawford and Suarez from last season’s group. … France hit .274/.338/.436 in an All-Star season for the Mariners in 2022, leading the club in both hits (151) and doubles (27) while also tallying 20 home runs and 83 RBI, and remains a pivotal piece of Seattle’s offense moving forward. … Suarez, an All-Star during his seven seasons in Cincinnati before joining the Mariners via trade ahead of the 2022 season, was another key to Seattle’s offense last summer, leading the club in both home runs (31) and RBI (87). … Crawford, another former Gold Glove winner, has anchored the Mariners’ infield since the 2019 season, and is expected to be ready for Opening Day despite a foot injury late in spring training. … The Mariners will carry two utility players to begin the 2023 season, giving the club opportunities to rest everyday players and more flexibility in the DH role. Haggerty returns to the roster after missing Seattle’s postseason run last fall following an injury the final week of the regular season. He has played in 131 games for the Mariners the past three years, appearing at second, third and most often in the outfield. La Stella signed a one-year deal with the Mariners in January after spending the past two seasons with the Giants, and has primarily played second and third base during his career. An All-Star with the Angels in 2019, La Stella has also played for the Braves, Cubs, A’s and Giants the past nine seasons. Utility player Dylan Moore, who has logged 2,500-plus innings for the Mariners the past four seasons appearing at every position but catcher, will open the season on the IL.

OUTFIELDERS (4)

OF Jarred Kelenic

LF A.J. Pollock

CF Julio Rodriguez

RF Teoscar Hernandez

Rodriguez returns as the Mariners’ starting center fielder following his stellar first season in the majors, which resulted in a nearly unanimous AL Rookie of the Year selection. He captivated Seattle’s fan base, and was a key contributor in ending the club’s long postseason drought, leading the Mariners with a .284/.345/.509 slash line and collecting 25 doubles, three triples, 28 home runs, 74 RBI and 25 stolen bases across 132 games. Rodriguez also earned a Silver Slugger Award as a rookie, was an All-Star and crushed an incredible 81 home runs in his first — and surely not his last — Home Run Derby appearance. The Mariners were quick to extend the 22-year-old rising superstar, who is now set to be a cornerstone of the franchise for years to come. … The Mariners added more power at the plate early in the offseason, trading for Hernandez, a former All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger with the Blue Jays. Hernandez, entering his eighth big league season, hit .267/.316/.491 last season with Toronto, with 35 doubles, 25 home runs and 77 RBI. He replaces longtime Mariner Mitch Haniger, who signed a three-year deal with the Giants in December, in right field, and gives Seattle another option for the rotating DH role. … Could this be a breakout season for Kelenic? The former first-round pick by the Mets in 2018, who was Seattle’s top prospect following his arrival in a blockbuster trade with New York ahead of the 2019 season, has impressed in camp. In 54 plate appearances in spring training, he hit .353/.389/.706, and led the club in hits (18), extra-base hits (8) and RBI (10). Kelenic, who has hit .168/.251/.338 across 558 plate appearances in the majors, will look to carry that production into the regular season, after spending the past two splitting time between Seattle and Triple-A Tacoma. Kelenic also gives the Mariners flexibility in the outfield, with big league experience at all three positions. … Pollock, who signed a one-year contract with the Mariners in January, adds more veteran leadership to the club. A first-round pick by Arizona back in 2009, Pollock is entering his 12th big league season, is a former All-Star and Gold Glove winner and was on the Dodgers’ World Series championship team in 2020. Pollock hit .245/.292/.389 last season with the White Sox — his first in the AL — and is projected to split time with Kelenic in left field, and give the Mariners yet another DH option. … Outfielder Taylor Trammell, who has played in 94 games with Seattle the past two seasons, and appeared at all three outfield positions, will open the season on the IL.