Seattle, WA
Seattle Mariners' intriguing option if 3B defense is lacking
The Seattle Mariners had well documented offensive issues for much of the 2024 season, but one thing they could almost always count on was solid defense at an important position: third base.
That’s probably not going to be the case in 2025, at least at the start of the season.
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This offseason, Seattle did not tender a contract to Josh Rojas, who was the team’s primary third baseman in 2024. He was statistically one of the best players defensively at the position, but he isn’t much of an offensive threat. So instead, the Mariners are going into 2025 with Jorge Polanco penciled in at the hot corner.
Polanco has much more power and a higher ceiling at the plate than Rojas, but he’s not known for his defense. And in fact, he’s not really that familiar with third base. The 31-year-old switch-hitter came up as a shortstop with the Minnesota Twins and has primarily played second base since 2021. In his MLB career, he’s appeared at third in just 24 of his 917 games.
The Mariners recently brought Polanco back on a one-year contract for 2025, and it’s a move MLB Network insider Jon Morosi termed as “not a bad risk.” But Morosi isn’t sold on Polanco as a third baseman, especially since the Mariners are built around their elite starting pitching and put a high priority on suppressing runs.
Morosi: What the Mariners’ reunion with Polanco says about offense
“I’m just not sure how that looks in the end because he’s been a middle infielder for basically his entire career,” Morosi said Wednesday during his weekly conversation with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob. “So now he’s going over to third base, he can probably handle it, but this is a pitching and defense team that needs third base to be played at an above-average level, I believe.
“Yes, (Seattle’s pitchers) miss plenty of bats, but that’s a really crucial defensive position to have someone at a relatively advanced baseball age – at least a mid-career player – move there and do it for the first time in the major leagues. So yeah, I heard (Polanco will be the Mariners’ third baseman) and raised an eyebrow a bit at at that.”
The Mariners may have a backup plan if Polanco’s defense isn’t up to par, though, and it’s one that’s pretty intriguing defensively even though it has gone under the radar at this point.
Keep your eye on Ben Williamson
The Mariners’ farm system is loaded with players ranked in the top 100 of all baseball prospects by various publications, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other prospects in the organization who could help the big league club.
Specifically in this case, there’s 24-year-old third baseman Ben Williamson, a second-round 2023 MLB Draft pick by Seattle out of the College of William & Mary.
Williamson spent the majority of 2024 with Double-A Arkansas, and his numbers at the plate were solid but not eye-popping (.273/.365/.374 slash, .749 OPS, three home runs in 95 Double-A games). It’s his glove that makes him interesting, though, and it’s easy to see a scenario this year where the Mariners want to keep Polanco’s bat in the lineup as the designated hitter while Williamson comes up to provide a defensive upgrade at third.
The MLB Pipeline profile of Williamson calls him “a plus defender at the hot corner who will prevent runs for whatever pitching staff he plays behind, and he can even move to shortstop when needed. His success is rooted in his body being in sync, having the instincts to read tough hops to go along with above-average arm strength.”
Mariners assistant general manager Andy McKay raved about Williamson to Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk just this week when he spotlighted some prospects to watch this spring.
“Recently he graded out in one of the industry sources … as arguably the best defensive infielder in Minor League Baseball. And whether he is or isn’t, he’s definitely in that conversation,” McKay said. “High baseball IQ, tremendous competitor. He was a part of that championship team in Arkansas last year and is just a true professional.”
McKay’s three under-the-radar Mariners prospects to watch this spring
Mariners general manager Justin Hollander also pointed at Williamson, who is one of the team’s non-roster invitees to MLB spring training, as an option at third when he joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy in studio Wednesday.
“(He’s) an awesome defender who advanced through Double-A last year, will likely start a Triple-A this year,” Hollander said, “and you’ll see a lot of Ben at third in spring.”
Seattle Mariners news and analysis
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Seattle, WA
Kraken Extend Streak In Comeback OT Loss | Seattle Kraken
And while Dunn’s head coach insisted afterwards he doesn’t believe in “measuring stick games” the Kraken measured up fairly well in this one considering they played a pretty poor first period and needed half of the second frame to get any type of offense going against the league’s No. 2 defensive unit.
But they eventually got it going and the salvaged point, as Dunn mentioned, was huge in that it allowed the Kraken to remain in third place in the Pacific Division – just two points behind leaders Vegas and Edmonton – as they now embark on a five-city road trip. They extended their points streak to 10 games in the process, going 8-0-2 that stretch to transform a season hinging on the brink.
Mats Zuccarello got the overtime winner for Minnesota, converting a Kirill Kaprizov pass off a 2-on-1 break after the Kraken had been foiled just moments prior on their own odd-man rush. That foiled an outstanding night for Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer, who’d made several huge stops in both overtime and the third period to keep things tied, as well as prior to that frame to give his team the shot at a comeback.
The Kraken had spent the past week filling opposition nets with pucks but waited until the final 17 minutes to score their first goal of this game. By that point, they’d been trailing 2-0 since a pair of 42-foot wrist shot goals by Ryan Hartman and Brock Faber in the first period silenced the home crowd.
“The first period was awful, and our execution was probably the biggest part of that,” Dunn said. “It’s just tough when you’re chasing the game a little bit to start the game. So, we kind of set ourselves up for the second period to come out and play the right way and I thought as the game went on, we got a lot better.
“And I thought it was a pretty competitive game both ways. A lot of chances both ways.”
Grubauer kept things close from there, stopping 31 of 34 shots on the night to give his team a chance to get back in it.
Adam Larsson then got the Kraken on the board three minutes into the final period with a slap shot goal from the right circle after Dunn had rung one off the post on a prior blast seconds earlier. And the Kraken weren’t done yet.
The Wild ran into penalty trouble not long after and the Kraken capitalized on the power play with Matty Beniers banging home a net front rebound off a Jared McCann shot that lifted the home side into a 2-2 tie and sent the Climate Pledge Arena crowd into a frenzy.
Seattle, WA
Valter Walker vs. Marcin Tybura booked for UFC Seattle
Heavyweights will collide in “Rain City.”
MMAmania.com confirmed with multiple sources today (Thurs., Jan. 8, 2026) that No. 10-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Marcin Tybura will take on surging Brazilian prospect Valter Walker at UFC Seattle on Sat., March 28, 2026, inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.
Walker (15-1) stumbled out of the gate in his UFC debut, suffering a loss to Lukasz Brzeski in 2024. Since then, however, “Clean Monster” has completely rewritten the narrative — and the UFC record books.
Walker opened 2025 by submitting Don’Tale Mayes with a heel hook (watch highlights), his second straight victory via the technique. Five months later, he followed it up with another first-round heel hook against Kennedy Nzechukwu (watch highlights), setting a new UFC record for most consecutive heel hook submission wins with three.
But he wasn’t finished.
At UFC 321 in Oct. 2025, Walker once again locked in a first-round heel hook — this time against Louie Sutherland — tying Rousimar Palhares for the most heel hook submissions (four) in UFC history while extending his own record for consecutive heel hook finishes (watch it).
A win in Seattle would almost certainly vault Walker into the Top 10 of the Heavyweight rankings.
Tybura (27-10), meanwhile, will be defending his No. 10 spot when he steps into the cage. The Polish veteran went 1-1 in 2025, handing highly touted U.K. prospect Mick Parkin his first professional loss at UFC London before suffering a quick knockout loss to debuting Ante Delija at UFC Paris (watch highlights), snapping a two-fight win streak.
Now 40 years old, Tybura is 5-3 over his last eight appearances.
Here are some other bouts currently scheduled for UFC Seattle:
Casey O’Neill vs. Gabriella Fernandes
Alexa Grasso vs. Maycee Barber
Nicolle Caliari vs. Carol Fiori
To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.
Seattle, WA
Around 200 protest fatal ICE shooting in front of Seattle’s federal building
SEATTLE, Wash. – There were at least 200 protesters that showed up in Seattle Wednesday night in what speakers called an “emergency protest” in response to the fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis Wednesday.
“We want justice, we want peace, we want justice, we want peace, we want ICE off our streets, we want ice off our streets…” they chanted.
Seattle protesters outside the Federal Building following a fatal shooting by ICE agents in Minneapolis. (FOX 13 Seattle)
After listening to speakers, protesters went on the march and circled the blocks near the Federal Building in Seattle.
Though the protest was organized on short notice, some protesters say they were compelled to come out Wednesday with urgency because they felt what happened in Minneapolis was a bridge too far.
What they’re saying:
“ICE has gone too far. We’ve felt this, we’ve known this for a long time. There have been people protesting,” said Raleigh Watts, protesting the ICE shooting. “We’ve been hearing the news. Today I came out because when I heard, it was my sign that a line has been crossed that I can’t stand anymore. So, I’ve come to say, ‘No ICE, you’ve gone too far’.”
“A lot of people out here are really, really angry, confused and sad, but I think we have what it takes to fight back,” said Sophia Van Beek, protesting the MN ICE shooting. “I’m certain there are going to be actions.”
Sophia says in order to make a difference, protesters need to create an actionable political program.
Seattle protest on fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis
Members of law enforcement were in the area and helped to block off the streets during the protest and march. There were no clashes during this protest and it wrapped up at around 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
“I am proud of all the hundreds of people who have turned out tonight at the federal building in Seattle. I’m proud of the people who are in Tacoma that are protesting at the ice detention center and in Minneapolis and in cities across the country. This is not okay for ICE to kill somebody,” said Watts.
What’s next:
Some people at Wednesday’s demonstration said they were planning to organize more protests in the coming weeks.
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The Source: Information in this story came from original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.
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