is coming off his best season yet, posting a 3.23 ERA and outstanding strikeout and walk rates over a Major League-leading 208 2/3 innings. The former 14th overall pick has lived up to the hype since making his MLB debut in 2021, and while he has cemented his place in the Mariners rotation, he isnt yet a lock for the teams future plans. reports that there has been little discu sion about a long-term deal between the two sides, and nothing is imminent in that regard. There are several reasons why the lack of talks shouldnt raise an alarm for Ms fans. Gilbert is only entering his second year of arbitration eligibility, and he is under team control through 2027 as a Super Two player. Gilbert and the Mariners avoided a hearing last winter by agreeing to a $4.05MM salary for 2024, and the right-handers big performance this year has put him in line for a $8.1MM salary in 2025. Those numbers will keep rising if the 27-year-old Gilbert keeps pitching well in his remaining arb years, but that would still represent a relative bargain for the Mariners to have ace-level production in their rotation. Signing Gilbert to an extension prior to Opening Day would give the Ms some cost-certainty through the rest of his arbitration years and beyond, and such a deal might still end up being Jose Azocar Jersey a bargain since Gilbert might just be getting better. The 2024 season saw Gilbert post a career-best 27.4% strikeout rate and 31.7% whiff rate, in addition to his usual excellent control. His 39.3% hard-hit ball rate was also the best of his four Major League seasons, and while this only ranked in the 44th percentile of all pitchers, Gilbert had never topped the 11th percentile in any of his prior three years. As a whole, Seattles rotation is not only perhaps the best in baseball but also the most cost-effective. has the big contract of the bunch in the form of the five-year, $108MM extension he signed in September 2022, but Gilbert is entering his second arb year, is projected for $5.5MM in his first arb year, and and are still in their pre-arbitration years. Former sixth overall pick hasnt shown much over his 72 2/3 career MLB innings, but he is another promising young arm that wouldve gotten a longer look in pretty much any rotation that didnt have such quality and durability. This abundance of pitching talent is great for the Mariners in many ways, including the level of flexibility it gives the team in approaching extension talks. With a nod to the you can never have enough pitching credo, the Ms dont nece sarily need to lock up Gilbert as soon as po sible since so many other talented hurlers are on hand. All of the remaining team control for the non-Castillo pitchers gives the Mariners extra time to weigh their options about which of the younger arms (if any) can be long-term cornerstones. For instance, if the Ms have already seen enough from Miller or Woo, signing either to an extension earlier in their careers would come at a lower cost than an extension for Gilbert. If any of these starters arent really in Seattles big-picture plans, a trade is always po sible, which is the broader theme of Judes piece. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has the idea that the Mariners will deal from their rotation this offseason, though Dipotos stance could soften if another team makes a strong enough offer. Specifically, if that offer contains a comparatively talented young hitter with extra years of team control, moving a starter for this hitter would help a Seattle club in sore need of offensive help. This isnt to say that Gilbert would nece sarily be the pitcher traded, escalating salary notwithstanding. One NL scout told Jude that if they have to trade someone, Miller would make the most sense, though the scout also felt it would be ridiculous for them to trade any of their starters . As Jude notes, Miller has such drastic home/away splits (2.69 ERA in 170 1/3 innings in Seattle, 4.52 ERA in 141 1/3 innings elsewhere) that other teams may be wary that Millers succe s has been a product of his pitcher-friendly ballpark. Castillo is the least-likely trade candidate, according to one source, due to his larger contract and the fact that hes entering his age-32 season. Kevin Mcreynolds Jersey