Seattle Mariners 2023 bullpen continues to be a strength
Ed Stein
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The Seattle Mariners are off to a tepid start in 2023. Where would they be without their outstanding bullpen?
As fans continue to complain about the Seattle Mariners woeful offense, at least the overall pitching has been good. Digging a little deeper, the M’s relievers have been among the best in baseball.
Going into Wednesday’s game against the Athletics, Seattle’s bullpen has a 2.92 ERA (4th), 10 saves (6th), allowed 6 home runs (2nd lowest), 34 earned runs (4th), 27% of inherited runners score (T-7th), 218 batting average against (9th), 9.92 strikeouts per 9 innings (9th), and 88 hits (11th).
Throw out two bad innings from flame thrower Matt Brash, and this is a top-three relief staff). Even Chris Flexen, who was miserable in 4 starts this year, has a 1.50 ERA as a reliever,
That’s outstanding for a team with a 13-16 record. It also shows how badly the Seattle Mariners offense is underperforming.
New Players, Same Success
The M’s relief core was top-tier last year and set a difficult path for this season’s group. Still, the tradition continues.
Their success comes after the Mariners’ front office rebuilt the bullpen in the offseason. Justin Topa, Gabe Speier, Trevor Gott, and Tyler Saucedo are all new to the team in 2023.
The quartet replaced Andres Munoz (injured), Diego Castillo (designated for assignment), Matt Festa (demoted), Erik Swanson (traded), and Matthew Boyd (free agent) from last season’s playoff team.
Closer Paul Sewald once again leads the way. The man with the electric slider allowed runs in only 4 of his 16 appearances. He is also 8-for-8 in save opportunities, which ranks behind only San Diego’s Josh Hader.
Lefties Dominate
Maybe the most significant uptick to the bullpen comes from the left side. Last year’s lefties Boyd, Tommy Milone, Ryan Borucki, Anthony Misiewicz, Justus Sheffield, Roenis Elias, and Brennan Bernardino combined for a 4.44 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 1.5/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Their ERA was 1.25 runs higher than their righty counterparts.
It’s still early, but this year’s southpaws, Speier and Saucedo, haven’t allowed an earned run in 13.2 innings over 15 appearances. Further, they have a 0.80 WHIP, 5.5/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and only 22% of inherited runners scored.
Now, about those cold Seattle Mariners bats.