Going into 2019, the Mariners aren’t focused on winning games. Instead, the main concern of their upcoming season is player development and seeing what they have for their set window of contention.
Perhaps the most important aspect of player development will be the rotation, with Justus Sheffield, Erik Swanson, and Justin Dunn all expected to make appearances at some point next year. Numbers ultimately won’t matter to the trio of young starters, but game experience and the development that comes from that will, and having a veteran catcher that’s handled young, talented rotations in the past could be very beneficial.