Seattle Mariners celebrate after Cal Raleigh's home run sends them to the playoffs..
The Seattle Mariners won 90 games for the second straight year. This time they made the playoffs and advanced to the American League Division Series before bowing out to Houston. This season represented a huge step forward.
Let’s unpack the Mariners’ 2022 regular season. There’s a lot to unpack, so we’ll take it from significant event to significant event.
Seattle Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto started his offseason with a bang. Shortly after the World Series ended, he acquired Adam Frazier from the San Diego Padres for a pair of minor leaguers, Ray Kerr and Corey Rosier.
Frazier was coming off his best Major League season with a .305/.368/.411/.779 slash line, 36 doubles, and 83 runs scored. He was supposed to solidify second base and be a table setter for the M’s power hitters in the middle of the order.
He did neither. Not that Frazier was bad, he just didn’t live up to expectations.
Before baseball shut down for the lockout, the Seattle Mariners went out and got reigning American League Cy Young award winner Robbie Ray in free agency. By all accounts, 2022 was his third-best season in nine years.
Ray gave up one less homerun than last year, and the M’s investment in him seems mostly worth it. Even if he faltered in the playoffs.
Following the end of the lockout, Dipoto moved quickly on a blockbuster trade with Cincinnati by acquiring All-Stars Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez. One of them worked out well, while the other started rough and ended rough.
Dipoto traded away Justin Dunn (1-6 with a 6.10 ERA in 16 starts between AAA and the Major League club), Jake Fraley (.812 OPS in 216 ABs with the Reds, spent multiple stints on the IL), minor leaguer Connor Walker. and MLB Top 100 prospects Brandon Williamson (6-7 4.11 ERA with stops at AA and AAA).
In hindsight, the Mariners appear to have won this trade. But there could be some stormy seas on the horizon. According to M’s beat writer Ryan Divish on the Brock and Salk show, there is some friction between Winker and the M’s, despite Seattle buying out his final arbitration year.
Ironically, third baseman Suarez, who seemed to be a salary dump, and throw-in, proved to be a force in the clubhouse, at the plate (despite a million strikeouts), and in the field. His 31 home runs paced the Mariners this season, although a late-season injury cooled him off at the plate down the stretch.
There were many significant days in Julio Rodriguez’s rookie season. But he most anticipated was whether or not he’d make the Seattle Mariners opening day roster.
Not only did JRod make the team, but he also led the Mariners in hitting, OPS, stolen bases, and several other categories. He accepted an invitation to participate in the MLB home-run derby, losing in the finals to Juan Soto.
His season started so rough there were flashbacks to Jarred Kelenic in 2021. There was talk that Rodriguez would end up back at Triple-A to gain confidence, despite more than a dozen bad called-third strikes against him.
Things changed in May. On the first, Rodriguez hit a mammoth shot in Miami for his first MLB home run. It was one of his 28 homers, behind only Suarez for the team lead.
On August 26, Julio made it official. He will be a Seattle Mariner for life, or at least for a very long time. Rodriguez signed a mega multi-year contract with the M’s that could go as many as 17 years but is likely to be a minimum of 12.
Anyone looking for a sign of things to come should look at JRod’s September. He batted .394 with a 1.202 OPS.
After losing for the 4th time in a 5 game series against the Angels, Seattle was 29-38 on June 19. What many fans hoped would be a promising season spiraled out of control.
Among the reasons for their poor start were:
After an off day, the Seattle Mariners faced Oakland and started to turn it around, sweeping the A’s. That was part of a run when Seattle won 5 in a row.
On June 26, during a 2-1 loss to the Angels, came “The Brawl.”
Jesse Winker was hit by LAA opener Andrew Wantz in retaliation for the Mariners allegedly throwing at Mike Trout in the previous game. MLB suspended Winker, JP Crawford, and JRod due to the mele.
After losing to the A’s at home 3-1 on July 2, Seattle won the first of what turned out to be the longest winning streak by any team in 2022 and their longest-ever winning streak heading into an All-Star break.
In the middle of this streak, the Mariners faced playoff teams San Diego and Toronto for a total of 6 games. To make things even harder, all three players served their suspensions during the streak.
The M’s won 14 straight games. Going back to June 21, they went 22-3 to finish the first half 9 games over .500 at 51-42.
While not really connected in any way to the first trade other than it was the same teams, Seattle pulled off the second biggest deal at the trade deadline. It was also the one that might have created the greatest impact.
The Seattle Mariners acquired starting pitcher Luis Castillo (4-2, 3.17 ERA, 1.102 WHIP, 77 Ks in 65.1 innings with the Mariners) for top prospects Noelvi Marte (.279/.829 with 19 home runs between high A Everett and High A Dayton), Edwin Arroyo (.293/.845 with 14 home runs, 10 triples, 27 steals, and 49 total XBHits), Levi Stoudt (4.70 ERA in 25 starts, but 0-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 6 starts for AAA Louisville), and Andrew Moore (2-1, 4.29 ERA playing for Daytona and Modesto).
On September 2, with the Mariners’ first postseason in 20+ years looming, they made an emphatic statement about the club’s future by signing Castillo to a 5-year extension that includes an option that could take him through the 2028 season.
Castillo’s extension locked in the core of the Mariners rotation at least through 2024 (Ray can opt out). And maybe beyond (Gilbert 2027, Kirby 2027, or 2028, depending on how he finishes for rookie-of-the-year).
Luis Castillo was the only starter to earn a win during Seattle’s postseason run by posting a 4-0 gem against Toronto in the Wild Card Series opener.
Cal Raleigh gave Julio Rodriguez a run for his money on who was the Seattle Mariners fan favorite for 2022. Affectionately called “The Big Dumper,” Raleigh took a quick demotion to Tacoma earlier in the season and turned it into one of the best seasons of all time for a Mariners backstop.
He set a new team record for catchers with 27 home runs. More importantly, he became the backbone of a team that wouldn’t break.
His ability to catch every pitcher down the stretch and establish trust with them was just as important as his batting prowess. Afterward, M’s Nation learned he played with strained ligaments and a broken thumb during the postseason. That type of dedication is what made him a fan favorite.
On September 30, with the Seattle Mariners’ magic number down to 1 for ending the postseason drought, Cal Raleigh came to the plate in a 1-1 tie as a pinch-hitter. Manager Scott Servais gave his rookie catcher a day off against the Athletics after catching 11 innings the day before.
Once again, the Mariners needed him. With a 3-2 count, Raleigh clubbed a no-doubter down the right field line that hit off the Hit It Here Café. He walked off in a sweet, sweet victory to clinch a playoff berth for the Seattle Mariners.
His 7th home run of September became one of the biggest moments in Seattle Mariners’ history.
The Mariners 2023 and beyond looks amazing from any trajectory. In fact, while most experts had the Mariners finishing 4th or 5th in the AL West last year, it would be hard to swallow if that was the case during the 2022/2023 offseason.
Their rotation is set with Castillo, Ray, Gilbert, Kirby, and Gonzales. The offense’s core is also set and built around Rodriguez, Suarez, France, Crawford, and Raleigh, at least until 2025.
Adding a big bat to the mix will help. So will bringing in another key offensive component that can get on base. Also, a few relievers that match Andres Munoz‘s speed and Paul Sewald‘s intensity of Sewald would solidify the pen.
For the most part, the Mariners appear to be in the postseason mix for the foreseeable future.
Joe Swenson is an award-winning international playwright and a Marine Corps veteran.