The Mariners dropped back below the .500 mark today, as their 6-5 loss to the Guardians put Seattle’s record at 42-43. Despite the lackluster record, the M’s are only a half-game behind the Rangers for the AL West lead, and the crowded division race also has the Astros and A’s within two games of first place. The Mariners have the only positive run differential of the group, albeit with just four more runs scored than allowed.
After reaching Game 7 of the ALCS last year, the Mariners were always going to be deadline buyers this year barring anything short of a total collapse. That approach hasn’t changed, and with the trade deadline a little over a month away, the Seattle Times’ Adam Jude writes that the M’s are already exploring the market for “a right-handed hitter and a proven relief pitcher.”
For the latter, Jude writes that the club is considering trying to assemble a “super pen” of relief pitching. Between a lockdown bullpen and Seattle’s excellent rotation, the team may view run prevention as its best ticket to October success, especially since the Mariners’ offense has been shaky at best. The Mariners entered Sunday’s action ranked seventh in bullpen ERA (3.53), eighth in walk rate (8.9%), and a more modest 12th in strikeout rate (23%), but also with only 265 relief innings pitched. That is the second-fewest relief innings of any team in the league, as the strong rotation has helped keep the pen fresh.
Andres Munoz has allowed some untimely home runs and struggled with his control, resulting a 4.91 ERA over 29 1/3 innings. The rest of Munoz’s peripherals remain solid and his SIERA is an impressive 2.54, so it would seem like the Mariners wouldn’t necessarily be targeting anyone that could replace Munoz as the closer. Getting a bit more swing-and-miss seems like a must, as most of Seattle’s relievers have below-average strikeout rates.
Of course, how much trade capital the Mariners are willing to invest in their reliever search could hinge on whether or not the M’s feel they have answers already within the organization. The team’s unofficial six-man rotation will just naturally be reduced to four come the playoffs, so two of the team’s six starters (probably Emerson Hancock and Luis Castillo) will be relegated to bullpen duty. Seattle also has two of the game’s top pitching prospects in Ryan Sloan and Kade Anderson both pitching in Double-A ball, and it has been widely speculated that both could make their MLB debuts as relievers before 2026 is over.
As noted earlier, Seattle’s offense has struggled on the whole this season, and they rank dead last in baseball with an 80 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. The Mariners are generally heavy in left-handed bats to begin with, and such right-handed hitters as Victor Robles and Rob Refsnyder haven’t produced against southpaws.
A new right-handed bat would likely supplant Robles entirely, as Jude writes that the Mariners “would like to find someone who can join the right field/designated hitter platoon mix with [Dominic] Canzone and Luke Raley.” I’d suggest that a right-handed hitting infielder is also a need, as J.P. Crawford, Cole Young, Colt Emerson, and the injured Brendan Donovan all hit from the left side. Since Emerson is a rookie and Young is in his second MLB season, having a more seasoned right-handed bat on the bench could help ease the pressure on these youngsters during the playoff race.
Jude speculatively suggests four right-handed hitters (Taylor Ward, Royce Lewis, Spencer Steer, and even Seiya Suzuki) that could be possible fits, even if all are more everyday players than platoon bats. Then again, the Mariners are clearly in win-now mode and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has never been shy about swinging big trades. Even if trading from the team’s rotation may not be likely, pretty much anything else might be on the table as the M’s try to both make the playoffs and finally reach the World Series.
