It seems so recent that the Seattle Mariners were sitting atop the American League while the rest of us—like the Mariners fans we are—were already trying desperately to figure out how we’d find the time and money to travel to every away playoff game. This could be the season! This is the one we’ve been waiting for!
Team General Manager Jerry Dipoto had taken a masterfully crafted offseason plan and turned it into a viable contender. The new managers and rising-star hitting coach were making the most of the talent on the field, Robinson Cano was (still is) on pace to have the best offensive season of his career and our defense-first centerfielder was suddenly raking the ball out of the park like Willy Mays. This, indeed, was looking like the year we break through!
And … thump goes the head on the desk.
They got us again, huh?
The frustrating reality is that baseball isn’t won in April and May. It’s won over the course of a six-month long, arduous, travel-filled and injury-ridden grind. It’s won in every three-game series and no team gets there without some bumps and bruises along the way. In the last 17 games, Seattle has not done well. They have stumbled, but they haven’t fallen … yet.
As of their rare day off this past Monday, the Mariners record sits at 34-29. That’s five games back of the division-leading Texas Rangers, and 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race. I can clearly recall recent late season moments when I would die to be only 2.5 games out of the playoffs. This team has plenty of time left to regain the lead in the AL West, but they are going to have to decide how long they’re willing to wait-and-see with some of the players who are underperforming.
One of the most obvious needs for Seattle was well demonstrated in their recent losing stretch, where the team was without Leonys Martin and opted to move Nori Aoki to centerfield and bring up Stefan Romero to slot into a corner spot. It’s become a yearly ritual in Seattle to call up Romero and watch his bat not translate to the big leagues at all. I wish the man no ill will, but it just doesn’t seem to translate at the next level.
Watching Nori Aoki play centerfield did wonders for the fan’s love of Leonys Martin. Aoki wasn’t awful out there, but he looks like a little-leaguer compared to watching Martin glide across gaps and then wait patiently for the ball to get there. But even with Martin back in centerfield, one still has to wonder, wouldn’t this team benefit greatly from having another everyday corner outfielder? Wouldn’t it give you a warm and fuzzy feeling, having someone who could play decent defense and threaten at the plate? I know I’d like Aoki a lot more coming off the bench in late innings, or giving someone a day off here and there. His overall value might actually go up if he had fresh legs more often and played a bit less. So, finding another bat for the outfield is definitely a direction the Mariners could go in. And then maybe they could not ever play the Romero game again, hmm?
Another direction worth consideration would be to add a starting pitcher. News recently came from the Mariners organization that Felix Hernandez, who’s been sidelined with a strained calf muscle, is going to be out much longer than originally expected. What was thought to be, maybe two or three missed starts, is now sounding more like two missed months. The silver lining being that James Paxton has looked very good since returning from Tacoma, but he’s been nothing if not unreliable in his time with Seattle. Even in a scenario where Paxton is great the rest of the year, the team still has question marks.
Taijuan Walker has been good in the majority of his starts this season, but still seems to be suffering from the “big inning”. That’s not terrible for now, and can be dismissed as simply being a part of the development of a young pitcher; one who someday may become the ace of this team. Personally, I’m willing to let him work through that, providing he keeps showing signs of improvement.
Wade Miley has, at his best, been a serviceable fifth man in the rotation, and at his worst been a detriment to winning. The days when he gets roughed up early are starting to happen a little often for a team that hope to compete for a playoff spot. The Mariners’ brass have come out and said that they’re willing to do what it takes to win now and with good reason.
The window to win a championship with Felix Hernandez at the helm is obviously not going to be open forever, and could be closing fast. You also can’t expect Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz to produce at this level into their late 30s. Time catches everyone sooner or later and most baseball players hit the down slope around now. So yeah, this might be our best shot in the era of our king, Felix, to go get a ring.
There are always players available at the trade deadline in late July, and many start to become available in June as teams begin to fall out of contention. In the American League, there are still a lot of teams contending. Out of all of the second place teams in the AL, the Mariners are the furthest back, with 4.5 separating them from Texas. In the NL, however, it’s starting to look a bleak for most teams. San Francisco, Chicago and Washington are each leading their divisions by five games or more, with the Cubs running away with the NL Central. This means it’s a buyer’s market in the NL, as many teams look to rebuild and dump salaries, and fewer teams at the top bid for that one extra piece to put them over the edge.
Outfielders, Carlos Gonzalez and Ryan Braun, are examples of top-level of production available. Each has been rumored as available. Either of those guys would add an intimidating presence in to the line-up, but neither would provide much in the way of a defensive improvement and both would come at a steep price. Jay Bruce is another name that’s come up before and could likely be pried away from Cincinnati for the right pile of players, but while his offense has started to look more like what we’ve come to expect from Bruce, his defensive metrics have taken a dive.
I think the Mariners were wise in the offseason to focus on defense, speed and on-base percentage. And just recently, a player became available who could fit the mold, but of course he comes with some risk as well.
Carl Crawford was just released by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now, stay with me here. I know I could lose you on this one, so give me a minute. If you’ve been watching, you may have noticed that this year Crawford hit .185/.230/.235 in 30 games with LA. He’s 34 and he’s definitely on the decline, but over the past four years he’s hit .278/.320/.400. He’s a veteran who still has some speed, can still play decent defense at the corners and is currently available as a free agent for likely next to nothing.
The Dodgers and Boston Red Sox are on the hook to pay Crawford the remaining $12 million he’s owed this year and another $21 million next year. The guy does need a bunch more money. What he could want, however, is a chance to be a veteran role-player on a contending team. I’m not saying he’s the answer to all of your prayers. I’m saying he might still have juice in the tank. He would add depth to a shallow area on the team and could be the kind of piece to help get the Mariners through a long summer. And, seriously, he costs you nothing. You don’t have to give up the farm to get Carl Crawford. You probably do if you want to pick up a player like Carlos Gonzalez. And while Gonzalez is worth it, I think the combination of big-league players and prospects the Mariners would have to give up to add him would leave them far too shallow somewhere else, which brings me to my point.
If you’re going to give up the farm for a player who helps push your team over the edge, I think the prospects we have would be better spent making sure your starting rotation is as formidable as possible. And there’s one pitcher, who’s likely available, and I think would take our team to the next level. The last-place Atlanta Braves have let it be known that they’d be willing to listen to offers for Julio Teheran. The 25-year old right-hander is sporting a 2.85 ERA this season and would instantly make our team a lot deeper for this year and next. The Braves have also put word out that they’d want a serious haul in return.
Teheran is young, talented, and has a very high ceiling. Slotting a pitcher like that into a rotation with Walker, Paxton, Hernandez and Iwakuma would be nearly criminal. Teams would dread any three game series they play against Seattle, and the Mariners would be set up with a nasty rotation and could then look at Karns and Miley as depth.
I know Carl Crawford isn’t a flashy move, but picking him up not only adds outfield depth at little cost, but also means the team still has some players to part with so they can go get a premier starter.
The window for contention might close quickly on the Mariners if they do nothing to prop it open. While it is a buyers-market, other contenders will be looking at the same pool of available talent that we are. The front office needs to be aggressive ahead of the deadline this year, because if not now, when?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
