Jon Morosi thinks the Seattle Mariners may soon have to move a player, and the logjam is building in right field. With Cal Raleigh and Brendan Donovan working their way back, Morosi said Seattle has a redundant roster and could end up designating someone for assignment or making a trade because it cannot keep carrying that many right fielders.
That matters now because the lineup is already crowded around a group that includes Luke Raley, Victor Robles, Dominic Canzone and Rob Refsnyder, while Randy Arozarena has been Seattle's best offensive player in 2026 with an.867 OPS. Arozarena, acquired in 2024, is not the problem. He is part of the reason the Mariners' decision gets harder, because he has been producing while the rest of the outfield and DH mix keeps filling up.
Morosi said there is probably a trade to be had in the Mariners' right field situation, though he stressed that it would not be a blockbuster. He joked that Seattle is not trading Griffey, but said there is enough overlap that one of the players in the mix could become expendable once the roster gets healthy again. The Mariners have already shown a willingness to add established bats, bringing in Josh Naylor last summer and Donovan in the offseason, and now they may have to solve the same problem from the other side by subtracting from the active roster.
The wrinkle is that the return of Raleigh and Donovan does not simply restore depth; it changes where people play. Raleigh could use regular time as the designated hitter after initially straining his oblique and then going on the injured list, while Donovan, who began the year at third base and is on his second IL stint with the same groin strain after offseason sports hernia surgery, may wind up spending more of his time in the outfield. That is the part that makes the math ugly for Seattle. The club can be a little lopsided for now, Morosi said, but once both are fully back in the lineup every day, the numbers stop fitting.
Seattle does not have to decide on the spot. But the choice is coming, and when it arrives it will likely be about whether the Mariners trade someone away or risk a quick designation for assignment in order to keep the best bats in the lineup. The open question is not whether the roster has too many pieces. It is which one moves first when the injured regulars are finally ready to play every day.
