The Modesto Nuts, the low-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, will be staying in Modesto for the 2025 season.

The Nuts put the message out on social media on Tuesday night.

Today, the City of Modesto voted on extending our lease through September of 2025! We want to thank all of our fans and partners for their continued support. We will see you at John Thurman Field next season!

This has been a wild saga for the Nuts franchise, who thought they were going to leave at the end of the season. It’s all been centered around ballpark issues at John Thurman Field, but apparently those issues have been resolved – at least temporarily. The lease with the Nuts and the ballpark had been scheduled to end at the conclusion of this season.

Without knowing the full story, it’s hard to say exactly what’s going on here. John Thurman Field is old, having opened in 1955. Perhaps the Mariners want the team to get a new ballpark but wants the city to pay for it? Perhaps the city wants a new ballpark but wants the Mariners to pay for it? Either way, the issues have been alleviated, at least temporarily.

The Nuts have served as a minor league affiliate for the Mariners, Colorado Rockies, Oakland A’s, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City A’s, Houston Colt .45s, New York Yankees, Milwaukee Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Browns in its history. They’ve won 10 league titles, most recently in 2023 for the Mariners. They’ve housed some of the best prospects in the M’s system this year, including Colt Emerson and Laz Montes.

NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast is out as Brady Farkas talks about the Mariners getting closer to the Astros in the AL West race. What is his goal by September? Furthermore, we examine the recent comments by now-fired hitting coach Brant Brown, the approach at the plate from Julio Rodriguez and our takeaways from the first few games of the Dan Wilson-era. CLICK HERE:

HISTORIC STAFF: With Bryce Miller’s dominant outing on Monday, three different Mariners pitchers are now part of the record books. CLICK HERE:

NO SOTO: The Seattle Mariners apparently aren’t likely to be in play for Juan Soto this offseason. Here’s why. CLICK HERE:

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE:

We now know the initial 53-man roster for the Seattle Seahawks as they prepare for Week 1 of the NFL season on Sept. 8 against the Denver Broncos.

Who made Seahawks’ initial 53-man roster, and who didn’t

As is always the case, there is some intrigue coming off the announcement.

Here are a few things of note based on who made the cut, who didn’t, and which players are (and aren’t) hurt to begin the season.

1. Business as usual with Nwosu is good news.

Seattle had a scare in its preseason finale win over Cleveland on Saturday with outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu suffering a knee injury on a cut block that earned the Browns a penalty. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday, Nwosu suffered a sprained MCL and is expected to miss two to six weeks.

Luckily for Seahawks fans, Nwosu was listed on the 53-man roster Tuesday – not on either injured reserve or the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. That would have ruled him our for at least four weeks, so this seems to indicate the Seahawks are optimistic he can be ready to go before Week 5.

Nwosu is Seattle’s most established edge rusher, and there’s no doubt the Hawks are eager to have him back on the field after he missed most of last season with a pectoral injury.

It’s not all good news on the injury front, though. The troublesome knee of tackle Abraham Lucas landed him in the reserve/PUP list category.

2. The Seattle Seahawks cuts that may catch your eye.

There are always players waived that will jump out, whether it’s because they’re a surprise or it comes with the harsh reality of expectations not being fulfilled. This year is no exception for the Seahawks.

Wide receiver Dee Eskridge not making the cut is notable for a few reasons. He was a second-round pick in 2021, for starters, and then there’s the fact that he had an impressive 79-yard punt return for a touchdown on Saturday.

NFC West Check-In: Holdout Trent Williams not on 49ers roster

Running back George Holani, an undrafted running back out of Boise State, seemed to have a lot of momentum in training camp and the preseason, but he is not one of the three RBs that Seattle decided to keep.

Linebacker Jon Rhattigan is worth mentioning due to the fact that he was due $2.985 million this year as a restricted free agent tender.

One of the Seahawks’ 2024 NFL Draft picks was left off the roster in cornerback D.J. James, a sixth-rounder out of Auburn.

There’s another rookie to mention: linebacker Michael Barrett, a seventh-round pick out of Michigan by Carolina, didn’t make the cut. Seattle traded just last week for Barrett, who played one season under new Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald when he was Michigan’s defensive coordinator in 2021.

3. The surprises to make the roster.

If you’re looking for an answer why the aforementioned James didn’t make the roster, look at undrafted rookie Dee Williams. The Tennessee product provided a highlight in the preseason with a 41-yard kick return, and now joins fifth-round pick Nehemiah Pritchett (James’ Auburn teammate) as rookies in Seattle’s cornerback room.

Another undrafted rookie making the team is center Jalen Sundell from North Dakota State. He provides insurance with recently-signed center Connor Williams coming back from an ACL injury last December, but it does make you wonder about the team’s plans with second-year center Olu Oluwatimi.

At linebacker, 24-year-old Drake Thomas appears the last to make it. Undrafted out of North Carolina State in 2023, he appeared in seven games last year for the Seahawks after being claimed in August from the Las Vegas Raiders.

Others worth noting that made the cut are tight end Brady Russell and wide receivers Laviska Shenault Jr. and Dareke Young.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Chris Petersen: Three things going for Seahawks’ Macdonald
• Seattle Seahawks make another trade for a pass rusher
• Video: Wyman, Raible share their 2024 Seahawks preseason standouts
• Rost: Three things that stand out after Seahawks’ preseason finale
• Seattle Seahawks Notebook: RB McIntosh caps strong preseason in style

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The Houston Astros have enjoyed a great deal of success over the past two months. After looking dead for much of the first few months of the season, the Astros responded as everybody expected them to. 

Now 4.5 games ahead in the American League West, Houston looks poised to win the division yet again. 

While they should be credited with their impressive play over the past two months, it’s also important to note that the Seattle Mariners have struggled in unexpected ways. That hasn’t changed over their past 10 games, going 3-7. 

If things get interesting down the stretch, the Astros take on the Mariners in their second to last series of the year. That could decide the division. 

As of right now, it doesn’t look like that’ll be the case, 

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report doesn’t expect that to happen, either, predicting that Houston will win the division. 

“While those teams fell apart, Houston just kept doing its thing, putting together an eight-game winning streak (all on the road) against Texas, Boston and Tampa Bay to just about bury the Mariners in the span of a little more than a week.”

The Astros winning the division is also very important for their playoff chances. As it currently stands, they wouldn’t make the postseason if they didn’t win the division. 

The Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins all have better records.

If that stays, that’d also mean Seattle wouldn’t make the playoffs.

It’ll take Houston another couple of weeks to solidify the division. If the Mariners continue to play how they have and they go on a decent stretch over the next few games, it could be as good as over entering September. 

That won’t be easy, considering they take on the Philadelphia Phillies and Royals in their next seven games, but they should continue to play well against two of better teams in baseball.

Towards the middle of September, the schedule gets easier. If it gets to that point, they’ll need to take care of business.

More importantly, the Astros should be better positioned to play well heading into October, as they’re getting healthy. The injuries they’ve dealt with add to how impressive their campaign has been.

Only time will tell, but they seem to be in a great position to win this division again.

They’ll look to win another title to solidify their dynasty when the time comes.