Mike Vorel: Mariners' struggles in World Baseball Classic no cause for concern

Mike Vorel, The Seattle Times on Mar 19, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SEATTLE — The World Baseball Classic is over.

Somewhat mercifully for the Seattle Mariners.

Not just because Seattle’s 17 participants were the most of any MLB organization, and its roster can finally reunite barely a week before opening day. Not just because they have precious little time to prepare in Peoria, Ariz., for the most anticipated M’s season in recent memory. Not just because Seattle fans can finally, fully focus on a possible run to the franchise’s first pennant.

Also because the Mariners’ WBC experience had as many failed handshakes as highlights.

The former was Seattle’s silliest, most needlessly spicy story of the spring. After superstar catcher Cal Raleigh declined to shake hands with teammate-turned-opponent Randy Arozarena during a WBC game between USA and Mexico, Arozarena said in a Spanish-language interview that Raleigh should “(expletive) off” and “go to hell.”

What followed was a textbook tap dance in damage control. Raleigh emphasized in an interview that “there’s no beef” and “I love Randy.” Arozarena released a statement saying “I’m focused on the season and helping this team compete for a World Series.”

Likewise, an MLB season that could end in the World Series should be the focus for Mariners fans.

And though the WBC is great for baseball and the international growth of the game, it also amounts to celebrated scrimmages. It’s spring training — albeit with a bat-flipping, stadium-shaking intensity and national pride.

So statistics should be taken with tiny grains of salt.

Still, statistically? Seattle’s headliners largely scuffled. In three games, Raleigh failed to put a ball in play, going 0 for 9 with four walks and five strikeouts. The Dodgers’ Will Smith served as Team USA’s starting catcher in both the semifinal and championship games, surprisingly unseating the 2025 AL MVP runner-up.

Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez recorded three hits with a homer and three RBI in the Dominican Republic’s debut against Nicaragua … after which he went 0 for 12 in his next four games. That included a particularly scary sequence in Sunday’s semifinal loss to Team USA, when Paul Skenes’ 98-mph fastball clattered off Rodríguez’s wrist.

The Mariners’ other position players — Arozarena (2 for 13 with five strikeouts in four games), Canada captain Josh Naylor (4 for 20 with zero extra-base hits and two RBI in five games) and Italy designated hitter Dominic Canzone (3 for 16 with one HR in four games) — similarly sputtered. And though Italy’s Miles Mastrobuoni went 2 for 3 with an RBI in two games, he exited the tournament early because of a calf injury.

Seattle’s bullpen pieces — Mexico’s Andrés Muñoz (two hits, two walks and one earned run in two innings), USA’s Gabe Speier (two earned runs, two homers and a 7.71 ERA in three games) and Venezuela’s Eduard Bazardo (two hits and one earned run in 3 1/3 innings) — teetered at times as well.

Plus, Rodríguez made minor waves when he told FOX’s Foul Territory: “I love the Mariners. They know I give my best every single time I step on the field, but winning a World Baseball Classic would be top of the list [of career accomplishments, ahead of winning a World Series].”

The tournament also produced some local positives, such as prospect Michael Arroyo’s four hits and .500 on-base percentage in four games with Colombia, and Rodriguez’s home-run robbery of Team USA captain Aaron Judge. But the Mariners’ misses outnumbered their hits.

None of which should worry Mariners fans.

After all, Raleigh — an incomparable catcher and clubhouse leader — is so much more than a controversial moment or a three-game slump. The Mariners, en masse, are more than this microscopic sample size, as evidenced by the banner about to hang above T-Mobile Park. MLB players and teams are judged by six-month marathons for a reason.

Rodríguez’s investment in the Mariners is also beyond dispute, as is his rightful pride in the Dominican Republic. And if Raleigh's and Arozarena’s doomed handshake divides the clubhouse, then this group was bound to crumble in the season to come.

The Mariners’ primary pieces exited the WBC without injuries, and that’s what matters most.

To be clear: Seattle enters the season with several genuine concerns — such as the status of starting shortstop J.P. Crawford, whose ailing shoulder has yet to bounce back. Or the readiness of starting pitcher Bryce Miller, who tweaked an oblique in February. Or the challenge to flourish as a favorite in the American League, after seasons spent chasing the Houston Astros’ shadow.

But a rejected handshake? A supposed spat between teammates? A tepid tournament for Raleigh, Rodríguez and Arozarena?

Those don’t qualify as genuine concerns.

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