Here's what J-Rod thinks of his season

This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer's Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BURIEN, Wash. -- Julio Rodríguez admitted that he watched most of the postseason and felt a sense of “what if” after the Mariners came up short, finishing as the first team on the outside looking in on the American League Wild Card standings for the second straight year.

“I watched a lot of the games,” Seattle’s center fielder told MLB.com last week. “Every time I could, I would watch with my dad and my friends. That's where you want to be at. Unfortunately, I was the one watching this year, but that's where we want to be at. I like where we're at as a team, and I feel like I'm not going to be watching next year.”

Rodríguez was in town as part of a toy drive that he spearheaded through the No Limits Foundation, the philanthropic initiative that he launched earlier this year, and with support from the Mariners Care Foundation.

Over one hour at Rairdon's Honda of Burien, Rodríguez welcomed dozens of fans to donate toys and baseball and softball equipment in exchange for pictures and autographs. Proceeds will support those in need in Seattle and his hometown of Loma de Cabrera in the Dominican Republic.

He also shared his thoughts on what went right and wrong this past year and his outlook for 2025.

“I've had some time to reflect, and obviously there are some areas for improvement,” Rodríguez said. “But at the same time, we ended on a really good note as a team, and not just like personally, but like as a team collectively. And I just feel like I'm excited to see that playing out from Day 1. I feel like a lot of people are not excited to see that, but I am.”

Specifically, Rodríguez pointed to the Mariners’ finish after their leadership change that saw manager Scott Servais replaced by Dan Wilson on Aug. 22 -- and with it, the addition of temporary hitting coach Edgar Martinez, who had a great influence within the clubhouse and especially on Rodríguez.

Seattle went 21-13 after the managerial change, which would correlate to a 100-win season over a full 162 games. In that same stretch, Rodríguez slashed .313/.364/.537 (.902 OPS) with nine of his 20 homers, compared to a slash line of .260/.310/.364 (.675 OPS) over the season’s first 4 1/2 months.

“I feel like we ended on a really good note as a team,” Rodríguez said. “And I feel like, if you take that over six months, I feel like we're going to be in a completely different spot. I feel like that team, how we finished, we're a dangerous team. And there is no secret about it. We have really good pitching. We've got guys that can score runs on anybody. And I just feel like if we continue to build on that, I feel like that's our next step.”

Aside from eventually getting back to full health after returning from a high left ankle sprain before being at 100 percent, Rodríguez said “the simplicity” of the club's team-wide approach played a pivotal role in finishing strong, for both himself and the rest of the team.

“I feel like Edgar was a really huge part of it,” Rodríguez said. “Just his experiences, his approach to the game. He just kind of brought the naturality of the whole team back. So I'm grateful that [the front office made the change] at the right time, and I'm looking forward to the future.”

Martinez is expected back but his role remains ambiguous, as the club has yet to finalize its coaching staff for Wilson’s first full season. Sources have said that the Mariners are seeking two candidates, sans Martinez, after assistant hitting coach Tommy Joseph left for a comparable role with the Orioles. Rodríguez said that he’s spoken with Martinez multiple times this offseason.

“We'll see,” Rodríguez said. “I mean, it's his decision at the end of the day. But I'm excited, just to kind of have him in my corner, whatever that might be that he decides.”

In the offseason’s greater scope, the front office is operating with logic similar to Rodríguez, banking on a five-week sample over the 26-week season being a tell to the team’s trajectory for next year.

President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said at season’s end that most of the roster will remain intact, and general manager Justin Hollander added last week that they’re preferably seeking two infield bats, leaving little on the club’s shopping list this winter.

Rodríguez took off for a trip to Tokyo after the toy drive and will have the big giveaway in the D.R. slated for early January. Other than that, he’ll be in Tampa, Fla., training as he always does each winter -- eager to build on a strong finish.