It is Lent right now, so the number 40 comes up.
Certainly, it's going around the M's front office too.
Picking the 25 players that open the season with the M's is going to be interesting enough, though most of the wide open battles are between relatively little-known players vying for relatively low impact positions. It's hard to get all that pumped up because of it.
However, the real interesting battle will be with the 40-man roster. There are going to be players cut, and some might grab headlines.
Here is the issue: the Mariners don't think many of their younger players are ready for the majors yet. So, stopgaps have been brought in as non-roster invitees. A handful of them are very strong candidates to make the roster. However, to be added, they have to also be on the 40-man roster - meaning someone has to get removed.