Seattle Mariners: 5 lessons learned from an unexpectedly good 2020 season
Marco Gonzales, Seattle Mariners.
Need an ace
This team needs a bonafide ace. A pitcher that other teams don’t want to face. Marco Gonzales isn’t that guy. Gonzales was excellent in 2020 with a 7-2 record and 3.10 ERA in 11 starts. There are absolutely no complaints about his work this season.
For as well as he performed, Gonzales isn’t a number one starter on a playoff-caliber team. Opponents don’t fear playing against him. No doubt, Gonzales has the goods to be a second or third pitcher in the rotation, but not an ace.
Help is on the way from the farm system. Recent draft picks Logan Gilbert, and Emerson Hancock have the stuff to be top of the rotation starters. Both are at the least a year away from cracking the Majors.
Looking at the next few free agent classes in terms of age and ability, Trevor Bauer could be the Seattle Mariners ace until the younger pitchers in the organization are ready to assume the mantle. A rotation of Bauer, Gonzales, Justus Sheffield, Yusei Kikuchi, and Justin Dunn could border on top tier next season. Bauer will be available this winter. After him, the rest of this class and the next one don’t offer as much value.
The question is can DiPoto get Bauer for under $25M per season and less than five years. Unless Seattle wants to gamble on a pitcher with an injury history (i.e. James Paxton) or someone that’s a little past his prime (i.e. Max Scherzer), they won’t find a better ace on the market.