Seattle Mariners
2015 Win/Loss Record:
76-86, 4th in American League West
Last Postseason
Appearance: 2001
Last World Series
Championship: None
Key Arrivals: Chris
Iannetta (C), Adam Lind (1B), Nori Aoki (LF)
Key Departures: Mark
Trumbo (OF), Brad Miller (UT), Logan Morrison (1B)
Manager: Scott
Servais, 1st Year
Overall Review: The Seattle Mariners
own the longest post-season drought in baseball, having not made the playoffs
since their MLB-record setting 116 win-season in 2001. For the third year in a row,
there are a lot of expectations for the Mariners, and after a lot of trades and
free agent signings, Seattle is determined to buy their way into contention
again. However, after a fourth place finish in 2015, the team will improve but will
only get as high as third place.
Three players in the starting
line-up are new, as is some bullpen help. There have been some rumblings that
Robinson Cano wanted out of Seattle and was looking to return to the Yankees. I
guess the big contract that caught his eye two years ago hasn’t been enough to
make him want to stay with the Mariners. So far, he hasn’t lived up to his end
of that monstrous contract, and since the Yankees probably don’t want him
anyway, I’m afraid Mariners’ fans are stuck with him.
Offense: Let’s stay on the Cano
subject. He signed a 10-year $240 million contract prior to the 2014 season. He
hit only 14 home runs in 2014 and improved to 21 last year. However, compare
that to the last four years of his Yankee career (29, 28, 33, 27) and it’s fair
to say that he has been a disappointment so far on the West Coast.
Right-fielder Nelson Cruz proved to be the best player at the plate for the M’s
last season. The former ALCS MVP batted a team-high .302, hit a team-high 44
home runs and added a team-high 93 RBIs, and all for about nine million dollars
less than Cano received.
Third baseman Kyle Seager can
also be a force at the plate. In 2015, Seager batted .266, smashed 26 home runs
and had 74 RBIs. The Mariners hope they have improved at catcher (Chris Iannetta),
first base (Adam Lind) and left field (Nori Aoki) bringing in all three players
through either free agency or trades.
Pitching: King Felix (Hernandez) rules
the mound at Safeco Field, but he’ll need some help. Last year, Hernandez had
another All-Star calibre campaign winning 18 games, posting a 3.53 ERA and
striking out 191 batters. Taijuan Walker had a decent year (11-8 record in 29
starts, a rather high 4.56 ERA and 157 strikeouts) and in only 20 starts,
Hisashi Iwakuma won nine games, had a 3.54 ERA and struck out 111 batters. The
final two spots in the rotation will likely be Wade Miley (11-11, 4.46, 147
with Boston) and Nate Karns (7-5, 3.67, 145 with Tampa).
Steve Cishek joins the bullpen
from the Cardinals and is pencilled in as the closer. Cishek has saved 95 games
in his big league career, all but one of those with the Florida/Miami Marlins.
Last year with Miami and the Cardinals, he only saved four in 59 appearances,
and had a 3.58 ERA. Joining him in the bullpen will be another off-season addition,
Joaquin Benoit. In 67 relief appearances with San Diego last year, Benoit had a
6-5 record, saved two games, had a 2.34 ERA and struck out 63 batters.
 |
| Seattle's Nelson Cruz |
Prediction: While the Mariners should
improve on their mediocre performance from 2015, they won’t be good enough to
catch either Houston or Texas at the top of the division. They should jump over
the Angels, who appear to be on their way down. If Robinson Cano can get out of
the funk he’s been in the last two years, Seattle’s chances of ending their post-season
drought should improve. But the rotation needs some more consistency for that
to be a possibility.
Follow us on Twitter at @topofthethird
No comments:
Post a Comment