Seattle Mariners bullpen in the middle of an overhaul
The Seattle Mariners disaster of a bullpen is undergoing a remodel. Several relief pitchers expected to be with the team in 2021 departed.
In general, the Seattle Mariners bullpen was absolutely awful in 2020. Not only were they bad, but every time manager Scott Servais brought in a relief pitcher, it was like a dark cloud enveloped the field. A sigh of despair from M’s fans everywhere was palpable.
Aside from Yohan Ramirez (2.61) and Kendall Graveman (3.60), no M’s reliever with 8.0 innings pitched or more in relief had an ERA under 4.02. Injuries had much to do with the bullpen’s failures. The M’s had to make do with a relief staff primarily made up of young pitchers getting their first chance in the Majors and other team’s cast-offs. The results weren’t pretty.
- Losses – 13 (22nd)
- Home Runs Against – 40 (26th)
- Batting Average Against – .258 (26th)
- Strikeouts per 9 Innings – 8.29 (26th)
- ERA – 5.92 (28th)
- Home Runs Against per 9 Innings – 1.69 (29th)
- Strikeout to Walk Ratio – 1.63 (29th)
- Walks per 9 Innings – 5.08 (30th)
Between the end of the season (October 27) and leading up to the start of free agency (November 3), the Seattle Mariners made some personnel moves and shuffled the mix.
Out the hard way
This past season was like none other in baseball history. Now the expanded rosters and non-roster invitees at Tacoma make getting an offseason 40-man roster very challenging. Those on the injured list must be added back in, so that means there has to be room for them. Consequently, some players had to go. Several players had to clear waivers for the Mariners to put them back in their minor league system. Two of them got claimed by other teams. Art Warren is now with Texas, and Arizona snapped up lefty Taylor Guilbeau.
Major league teams can never have enough left-handed relief pitching, so losing Guilbeau hurts a little bit. Although his season was cut short by a shoulder injury, a 1.17 ERA over eight outings seemed to be his ticket to a shot at the roster in 2021.