Heading into the offseason, it seemed like the Mariners were going to pursue help at both corner infield positions. After finding an answer to first base in Josh Naylor, the club didn't seem particularly close on other free agents despite being linked to several players, from Kazuma Okamoto to Eugenio Suárez.
Now that the remaining options are either too expensive or too flawed for Seattle to be interested, it seems like the organization will depend on their internal options in Ben Williamson and Colt Emerson, both of whom make compelling cases for the starting job. However, it seems like recent sentiment is more bullish on one player over the other.