Seattle Mariners: Predicting the Opening Day 30-man roster
Matt Magill, Seattle Mariners
Relief Pitchers
With six starters, Seattle will likely go with nine relievers to start the season. The relief corps has plenty of turnover from the beginning of 2019. Only Brandon Brennan spent the entire season with Seattle. With six starters to open the year, the Seattle Mariners will likely go with nine relievers at the start of 2020. There are 18 relievers at camp, including four non-roster players.
Working back from the end
Matt Magill, acquired from the Minnesota Twins on July 11, 2019, became one of the Mariners closers on August 17. He came in to play the ninth inning with a 4–3 lead in Toronto. The big right-hander shut down the Blue Jays to preserve the Seattle victory. For the remainder of 2019, Magill split closer duties with Anthony Bass, who has since been claimed off waivers by Toronto. Last September, Magill appeared in seven games with one save. He had an era of 1.35 for September, leaving him with a final 3.63 ERA in 22 total appearances.
Brennan will be one of the primary set-up men. Last year, shoulder and back issues limited him to 47.1 Innings. In the first two months of 2019, before his shoulder started to become fatigued mid-season, Brennan had a 3.00 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and .183 batting average against, in 24 games. Servais has a valuable weapon—if he’s healthy.
Reclamation projects
Carl Edwards Jr. and Yoshihisa Hirano are both pitchers the Seattle Mariners signed as free agents during the winter. Each had subpar 2019 seasons, so the team hopes to get both men back to their previous form. In 2018, Edwards had a 2.60 ERA in 58 appearances with the Chicago Cubs, while Hirano had an ERA of 2.44 in 75 games for Arizona.
The M’s are likely to open with just one left-handed reliever, Nestor Cortes Jr. Seattle picked him up in a November trade with the Yankees. In New York, his primary role was long relief. Cortez threw 66.1 innings over 33 appearances with a 5.67 ERA. His 28 walks indicate that control is an issue. On the bright side, Cortez struck out 67 batters. Erik Swanson, acquired along with Sheffield in the James Paxton trade, also projects into a long-relief role this year.
Prove it, or move it
Two men are almost sure locks to make the team. Dan Altavilla is out of options. He would have to go through waivers before going on the taxi squad. The 2018 version is a useful middle innings reliever, but the 2019 version of Altavilla will be on another roster. Rule 5 acquisition Yohan Ramirez has to remain on the Seattle Mariners roster all season, like Brennan in 2019, or be returned to the Houston Astros.
If the Seattle Mariners go with nine relief pitchers as expected, Austin Adams should be that man. The Mariners acquired Adams in a minor league trade with Washington on May 4. He made his first M’s appearance on May 13, after his recall from Tacoma. Adams showed his value to the Mariners in June, where he appeared in 12 games with an ERA of 2.08. In July, he only appeared in two games before going on the injured list for a right shoulder strain.
One of the non-roster pitchers in camp is Sam Delaplane. The Mariners have high hopes for the former Michigan Wolverines star after he dominated in Double-A ball last year. If one of the previously mentioned relievers gets injured or sick, Delaplane is the next man up.