Gilbert Future Flux! Mariners Ace Reveals Loose Contract Extension Talks

The Seattle Mariners starting pitching rotation is arguably the best in baseball for a variety of reasons.

The Mariners rotation was the only one that had four pitchers start 30 or more games in 2024, and it also led the league in total quality starts and innings pitched. George Kirby and Luis Castillo were named All-Stars in 2023 and the staff’s ace, Logan Gilbert, joined them and earned his first career selection in 2024.

There’s also the financial side of things that also props Seattle up compared to other teams.

Every single starter in the rotation, with the exception of Castillo, was drafted and developed by the Mariners. Kirby, Gilbert and pitchers Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller are all under their first major league contracts, incredibly cheap and under team control for several years.

If the starters continue to pitch at the level they have, the rotation could end up one of the most expensive when it’s time for them to be extended or when they hit free agency.

Gilbert appeared on the Brock & Salk show on Seattle Sports 710 on Wednesday and talked about a potential extension, while also mentioning he and Seattle have had “loose talks” on a new deal.

“It crosses your mind for sure. And year after year, the last couple years at least, Your name loosely gets thrown in trade stuff. Half of it has no bearing probably. But that’s just how the business goes. I love being here, and I’m not just saying that. I’m sure everybody on a headset would say that, but they’ve been good for me.
… I’m definitely open to it. It has to be the right situation, for sure. But I’m definitely open to it. We’ve had loose talks. Haven’t gotten there, but it’s been optimistic, I would say.”

Gilbert had a 3.23 ERA and struck out 220 batters in 208.2 innings pitched across 33 starts in 2024. He crossed the 200/200 mark (200 innings, 200 strikeouts) for the first time in his career.

If the Mariners can lock up Gilbert before he hits free agency, it would be an extreme boost for the team. It would set the organization up for an ace for years. A new deal would buy the team some time to prepare for Miller and Woo’s respective extensions. It would also allow the club to keep the top starter on the staff while other pitchers like Jurrangelo Cijntje and Ryan Sloan progress through the farm system.