The Seattle Mariners were one game away from making the 2025 World Series. It would’ve been the first appearance in the Fall Classic in franchise history.
The Mariners ended up falling just short at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays, though. But as a postscript, one member of that Seattle team didn’t have to wait long to get to the World Series.
When the Tampa Bay Rays won the ALCS on Monday night over the Cleveland Guardians, it ensured one member of last season’s Mariners would be on the field in the 2026 World Series.
It’s obviously not the same feeling for Seattle, but it is a fascinating follow-up to consider.
Ex-Mariners Infielder in World Series With Rays
The player heading to the World Series a year after the fact is Ben Williamson.
The glove-first infielder made his MLB debut with the Mariners in 2025. He had been a second-round pick of Seattle in the 2023 MLB Draft out of William & Mary.
Williamson reached the major leagues for the first time in 2025 with the Mariners, and he played in 85 games. Williamson batted .253 with a .604 OPS that included 13 doubles and one home run. He stole five bases and had a 1.2 Wins Above Replacement, mostly on the back of great defense.
Seattle didn’t keep Williamson around for another season, though. Instead, he was involved in a three-team offseason trade.
The Mariners got Brendan Donovan from the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Rays got Williamson from Seattle.
The Cardinals got Jurrangelo Cijntje, Tai Peete and Colton Ledbetter from the two other teams.
It was a very Rays-style move, because they weren’t involved in much of the trade — just sending Ledbetter out — yet ended up with an MLB-ready contributor.
Ben Williamson With Rays
This season, Williamson appeared in 88 games for the Rays. He batted .238 with a .620 OPS that included 10 doubles, a triple and three home runs. He was also 8-for-9 stealing bases.
In the playoffs, Williamson is 1-for-8 with two walks and two runs.
The Rays played Williamson this year the most at second base, as well as 22 games at shortstop and seven games at third base.
Amusingly, he was also Tampa Bay’s pitcher in blowouts when they needed to turn to a position player — and he had a 3.60 ERA in 5.0 innings (2 runs).
The Mariners didn’t take a giant step back just because of the Williamson trade, but it was a disappointing year in Seattle as they couldn’t even finish first or second in a bad AL West Division.
So they’ll watch from home and wonder how much the Rays might use Williamson in the World Series — potentially at least against left-handed pitching in a second-base platoon with Richie Palacios.
Ex-Mariners Infielder Going to World Series With Rays