Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais.
Seattle Mariners Manager Scott Servais led the team to 90 wins in 2021 and came up just two games short of making the playoffs. He relied on one of the best bullpens in the second half, which he needed to overcome a minus 51 run differential. Despite all of the accomplishments last season, it still wasn’t enough to land him American League Manager of the Year.
Servais is his player’s biggest fan and believes in them so much. At times that can be a detriment to the ball club. For example, sticking with Rafael Montero and Jarred Kelenic for too long. Montero was eventually traded away as part of the Joe Smith and Abraham Toro deal. Kelenic went back to Triple-A. There he regrouped, made his return, and helped contribute to the Seattle Mariners on their playoff push.
It’s fair to say (from a certain point of view) that in the beginning part of the year, Servais was trying out his relievers. He knew he was going to use Montero as his closer, a plan that backfired gloriously. Also, in the beginning, Kendall Graveman excelled in his appearances and eventually took over the closer’s gig when Montero failed.
So, in the beginning, Servais had two guys he could count on or at the very least had defined roles. The rest of the bullpen took time to figure out. It’s the reason why there were hiccups early on. Subsequently, once he had his relievers figured out, the fans saw how effective the relief staff was.
An underrated aspect of a manager’s job is to keep his team playing hard, especially when adversity strikes. Not every team could overcome season-ending injuries to their biggest offensive weapon (Kyle Lewis) and projected number one starter (James Paxton) all before May. There was no bigger adversity for the Seattle Mariners this year than the highly unpopular Graveman for Toro deal at the trade deadline.
Many reports came out about the Mariners locker room. Reactions ranged from players crying to anger, frustration, and bewilderment. Seattle dropped some games after the trade, but Servais got them back on track, and the M’s made a push for the playoffs.
The Seattle Mariners fan base was divided about Servais coming into 2021. Some looked at him and felt it was time for a change, that as long as he managed the M’s, they would never reach the playoffs or win the division. Further, they thought he caused more harm to the team with his bullpen usage.
While others felt that Servais did well with the talent at his disposal. Over his first three years, he had MLB talent on offense. But on the pitching side, he had Felix Hernandez followed by a lot of prayers that the patchwork would hold.
In Servais’ first three years, the Seattle Mariners finished second and third twice in the AL West. Those were followed by three years where the M’s ended up fifth, third, and second. Pretty impressive when you consider the Mariners weren’t flush with lots of high-level talent.
You won’t find many Seattle Mariners fans out there who will say 2021 isn’t Servais’ best managerial season. As previously mentioned, he got this team through some challenges during the season and two games shy of the playoffs. For that, Servais earns an A grade.
Early in the season, I shared my thoughts on Tim Laker. While I still stand behind my initial statements, I have to give credit where credit is due. After Laker read my article, the team turned around their hitting. Ok, so that’s not all true. I doubt he read it.
When that article came out in May, Seattle was hitting .179. The Mariners rebounded to hit .245 in June, then dipped to .227 in July. From then on, the team’s overall batting average got better as the year went on. Increasing to .231 in August and then .239 in September and October.
So, while the team struggled early, their hitting continued to get better under Laker’s tutelage. Due to the team’s hitting progress to finish the year, Laker receives a grade of C-.
Consequently, he will not return to the Seattle Mariners. Tony Arnerich takes over as the M’s hitting coach in 2022.
If Laker’s coaching showed progress, Pete Woodworth’s showed consistency. Unfortunately, that consistency wasn’t particularly good. The Seattle Mariners finished the year with a team ERA of 4.30, which was good enough for 16th in the MLB.
The pitchers made progress as the year went on. With the team ERA sitting at a season-high of 4.89 for May, it trickled all the way down to 3.52 for August. However, when the M’s were making their final playoff push, the team posted a 4.23 ERA in September and October.
A few bright spots in the starting rotation are Chris Flexen, Yusei Kikuchi’s first half, and the development of Logan Gilbert. In the bullpen, look no further than, Graveman, Paul Sewald, and Drew Steckenrider. The dark spots were Montero, Kikuchi’s second-half collapse, and the ineptitude of Justus Sheffield.
Woodworth will return as the Seattle Mariners pitching coach for 2022. However, his 2021 grade is a D+.
If you missed any of the previous parts of this series, please click the link. Part 1 – Infield, Part 2 – Outfield, Part 3 – Catchers, Part 4 – Starting Pitchers, and Part 5 – Relief Pitchers.
How would you grade the Seattle Mariners manager and coaches? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.