Chasing The Storm 2055-5 Offseason Preview

[njherdfan]

As the postseason concludes, every team is focused on what it can do to improve on its previous performance. Of course, when your previous performance was as poor as Seattle's was last season, there's probably quite a bit that can be done that will make things better. Today we're going to take a look at what Seattle might be losing to free agency, along with what they will look to do to improve their squad.

News recently broke that Seattle's center fielder Jaime Angwin has declined the player option for the last year of his contract, which will make him a free agent. Scouts have long speculated that Angwin might be slightly miscast as a center fielder, as he appears to be a tier below the more elite fielders we've seen in the league. despite these limitations, he's largely held his own in the field. He put up a very solid offensive season in 2025, and he now seeks to cash in on that success. Seattle's front office has indicated that they hope to see him return to Seattle, but it's an open question whether Angwin wants to, or if he'd like to continue his career elsewhere. It will also be interesting to see whether Angwin is viewed as a centerfielder, which is the only position he's played in the MBWBA, or if teams might try to move him elsewhere, where he might be a better fit.

Francisco Martinez is also a free agent. After posting another stellar offensive season, Martinez's timing for entering the free agency market could not be better. Martinez made it known that he was not interested in negotiating a new contract during the previous season, as he wanted to test the open market and maximize his value. Fair play to him. Now that the offseason has arrived, many league observers are speculating that he will seek a contract significantly larger than the 3 year, 20 million dollar pact that he is completing right now. There's no doubt that his prior production warrants a raise, but will teams be comfortably expecting that level of performance moving forward? Teams have traditionally been a bit hesitant to pay top-dollar for the sort of players who are good, but not necessarily elite. It will be interesting to see how that impacts Martinez's market.

Finally, it seems fair to say that Seattle will, once again, be hoping to upgrade its pitching staff. It's not exactly clear what form that potential improvement will take, but observers expect Seattle to look to improve its bullpen with at least 2 quality arms.