Robbie Ray (Pending Physical) is a Seattle Mariner
Joe Swenson
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Let’s Start With the Rotation.
Ray adds a lefty arm to complement the two righties that the Seattle Mariners already have in the rotation in Chris Flexen and Logan Gilbert. He’s a flame thrower who has above-average speed on all four pitches that he throws. However, he’s primarily a fastball/slider pitcher (91% of his pitches).
The rotation will likely look like this. Robbie Ray will occupy the #1 spot, Chris Flexen the #2 spot, Marco Gonzales the #3 spot, and Logan Gilbert the #4 spot. The Mariners don’t have a reliable option for the #5 spot yet, but that would likely be filled through free agency, a trade, or one of the most major league-ready prospects the Mariners have.
The Mariners Shouldn’t Be Done
While George Kirby is the next big prospect on the list of prospects to hopefully make the Gilbert jump in 2022. He’s not the only one and the Mariners could benefit from adding another quality starting pitcher to the roster. At the time this article was written, there had been rumors that Marcus Stroman was a possible answer. He would obviously answer a lot of rotational questions.
There are possible trade partners out there as well. The Padres have been a constant partner over the last two seasons, they could be the answer again with their abundance of starting pitchers. The Orioles could be the team to look to as well with two decent starting pitching options on the trade block. These might not be the most amazing answers, but it gets the M’s where they need to be.
A rotation of Ray, Flexen, Marco and Gilbert is very solid, on paper. Lots of ways to go for the fifth starter. Some young guys (Matt Brash, George Kirby especially) are moving fast.
— Larry Stone (@StoneLarry) November 29, 2021
Next: Page 3 – Future Starters