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Seattle Mariners Fail to Avoid Arbitration with Key Member of Rotation
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- Seattle Mariners Fail to Avoid Arbitration with Key Member of Rotation
(Steven Bisig-Imagn Images)
Update, 5:55 p.m. PT: Apparently Kowar was not arbitration-eligible after all, according to new reports, including from Adam Jude of the Seattle Times. That means Miller is the only one who did not come to a deal.
5:45 p.m. PT:We heard Thursday afternoon that the Seattle Mariners agreed to deals with Randy Arozarena and George Kirby , avoiding arbitration .
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By Thursday night, the M's announced that they had reached agreements with Logan Gilbert , Gabe Speier, Matt Brash, and Luke Raley as well.
That means the Mariners did not come to terms with Bryce Miller and Jackson Kowar , which is disappointing.
About how all this works
The eight Mariners listed above are arbitration-eligible. That means that they will be under contract, eventually, it's just a question of what the contract will look like financially.
If a deal was reached by Thursday's deadline, then great, everyone just moves on and gets ready for 2026. In the case of Miller and Kowar, the Mariners now exchange numbers with their representation on what they think the players should make. In some cases, the differences are easy to settle, and an agreement is struck, and everyone moves on.
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According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the difference between what Miller wanted and what the Mariners want to pay is less than $500,000.
If not? We head to an arbitration hearing in February, which is uncomfortable for everyone. The team and player sit in a court room and argue about why their number is correct. It's never fun for a player to hear the team say why they think he's not worth as much as the player's reps think.
How much money did the other six make?
Arozarena will make $15.65 million and Kirby will make $6.55 million. According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, Gilbert is making nearly $11 million. The salaries for the other three are not known yet.
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About Miller
Now 27 years old, Miller is a three-year veteran who made his major league debut in 2023. He's gone 24-21 total with a 4.01 ERA. This past season was the most frustrating of his career, as he made only 18 regular season starts because of injury, pitching to a 5.68 ERA. He was better in the playoffs, earning a key win for the Mariners in Games 1 of the American League Championship Series.
He had been projected to make $2.4 million by MLBTradeRumors .
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About Kowar
Acquired by the Mariners before the 2024 season, Kowar made his debut with Seattle after recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2025. Up and down from Triple-A Tacoma much of the year, he was 2-0 with a 4.24 ERA in 15 games. Blessed with a big fastball and a solid slider, he could be a weapon for the M's out of the bullpen, but he is out of options heading into 2026.
Also to note
A new episode of the ' Refuse to Lose ' podcast will be released on Friday morning. Our guest will be Todd Raleigh, father of Cal Raleigh .
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