AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MARINERS VS BLUE JAYS

October 12, 2025

Dan Wilson

Rogers Centre

Seattle Mariners

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. Adding Brian to the ALCS roster, what did you see from him to know that he's ready, and when can you expect him to get out there for you?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think he's made steady progress and has hits some of the milestones we were hoping for. Felt good in his last bullpen and the velos were where we were hoping to. Going to get a chance tomorrow, I think, to throw a live. He's at a point where he's feeling a lot better, and hoping that as we get into this series, we'll get a chance to see him later.

Q. Dan, do you have a Game 2 starter?

DAN WILSON: We're going to see how guys feel today, and we'll likely announce that after the game today.

Q. I'm curious, obviously, there's going to be the bounce-back physically after 15 innings, but in terms of the emotional weight of doing that in Seattle and everything it means for this city, how do you feel like the guys are bouncing back in terms of just resetting from that and the emotional sort of changeover to this?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, it was highly emotional that last game and getting here -- getting into this series as the next steppingstone.

I think yesterday helped, you know, getting a chance to travel to kind of transition out of one series and into this series. I think this is what playoff baseball is about, and you have to make these adjustments.

Our guys have done this all season long. I feel like with all the travel we have, all the things that we have to deal with, being out on the West Coast, it helps us in these kinds of situations, and being able to move on and switch gears is something that we're able to do because of that, and our guys will definitely be ready tonight.

Q. One other roster adjustment, putting on Miles and taking off Luke Raley, what was the thought there?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think having some flexibility, having some guys that can play multiple spots, and Stro is one of those guys that's able to play anywhere on the infield and can fill in in a lot of the outfield spots as well, so just kind of adding that versatility is going to be something that we're hoping for in this series as well.

Q. The Blue Jays have announced Trey Yesavage to start Game 2. I'm sure you saw what he did against the Yankees last weekend. What do you make of the challenge that he presents with the unique angle and the nasty split?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, he's definitely something that we're going to have to figure out. The big arm, the big split, they're tough pitches, clearly. Something similar -- Gausman tonight with the split as well. So something that our guys are going to have to adjust to.

This is what's great about the postseason, making the adjustments and doing the things you need to do to win games. And offensively, I thought we did some really good stuff in the Detroit series, and we've had to make adjustments in that series offensively, and we'll have to make different adjustments here in Toronto. It'll be good to get a chance to do that tonight, and we'll be ready for Yesavage tomorrow.

We can't jump too far ahead, but just being ready and putting in the preparation that we have to to get ready for that. Our hitting staff with Gar at the helm, and Seitz and Bobby do such a great job of preparing our guys. Our guys will know what they need to be doing when they get out there against them.

Q. As far as the emotion, I guess, from Friday night, I'm sure there's a comparable to that in your playing career from 30 years ago, but just as far as the exhaustion and what everyone had to go through and the five hours, is there anything you can compare that to from when you played?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, in one of the years -- I think it was '95, we had the one-game playoff, obviously a huge emotional win there, and then had to play the next day in New York.

So yes, again, moving on from games is tough, especially when you've gone through that emotional thing. But part of what makes those things so exciting is that you're getting a chance to advance.

When you do advance, you get ready quickly and you move on and get started on that next series. Baseball is a progression of series, and you move on from the one that you just finished, and you move on to the one that's coming up.

So I think that's where we're at. Yes, emotionally it's a change, but these guys have done this time and time again.

Q. As far as pitching for tomorrow, I know you don't want to confirm anything, but is it fair to speculate that Friday could have been treated almost like a side for Luis Castillo, that he may be able to be available for tomorrow?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, you could make that case for a couple guys that threw in that ballgame. That's why today is kind of a day to figure out exactly what we're going to do for tomorrow.

Q. Cal had his first pass ball of the season the other night. That's over 1,000 innings caught and he didn't have a pass ball. Can you elaborate on how remarkable that is, given also that the staff you have doesn't always make it easy to catch them?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think that's the thing for me that's incredible, not that our staff is throwing balls all over the place. They just have really good stuff, and you think about Logan and his split, Bryce has a split, George has a split, you know, these guys that have tough pitches to catch, and you would think at some point during the season you're going to miss a few, but for that to be the first one is remarkable.

Again, you just stack that onto all the incredible other things that he has done this season, and you realize what an incredible player that Cal is.

Yeah, it's almost unfathomable that that was his first one because the guys he catches can be tough. But Cal is unbelievable, and what he can do behind the plate, we've talked about it all season long. That's why he's the Platinum Glove winner from last year. He just continues to do it.

Q. Your pitchers will be facing a much different kind of offense with Toronto compared to Detroit. Detroit strikes out a lot, Toronto doesn't. What kind of challenge -- or how does that change things because you guys always pound the zone no matter what?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think playoffs are a time to play to your strengths, and our guys threw the ball very well in that Detroit series, bullpen threw the ball very well in the Detroit series, and that's what we're going to continue to do.

This is a team we know makes contact. This is a team that will put the ball in play. But our guys are still going to stick to the philosophy we have, attack the strike zone, get in control of the count, and when you do that, you're hoping to get weaker contact versus the hard contact.

Our guys won't change in some ways. They'll make their adjustments to the hitters, clearly, but our philosophy will always stay the same, and that's getting ahead and getting control of the count.

Q. Your pitching staff threw an absurd amount of sliders in the series against the Tigers. I think Muñoz was, like, 80 percent for the series. I think a lot of people watching were kind of waiting, especially for some of the relievers to start throwing fast balls, and they were very bullish with the slider. I know it's different from pitcher to pitcher, but broad strokes, can you explain the philosophy of sticking so much with that one particular pitch as much as the Mariners did?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, obviously, you look at individual hitters and it's not a blanket approach to everybody. In some ways, I think Detroit really handles fast balls well, especially some of their left-handed hitters that they had in that lineup. So it was advisable and sort of the smart thing to do to go with a little bit more spin, especially against some of the bigger hitters.

Again, you don't blanket it. You look at each individual hitter. But it just felt like in that series, with the match-ups that we had, that going with the spin was a better move, and that's, I think, why you saw a bigger uptick in the amount of spin that we were throwing.