By: Mahal Domingo-Anderson
The Mariners' pitching lab may have finally met its match in developing high-leverage relievers after a brutal start to May for the Mariners bullpen. Following early injury concerns in Spring Training that have shifted into major injury concerns, the Seattle Mariners signed veteran reliever Ryne Stanek to a one-year, $4 Million contract. This signing was the cherry on top of what could be a historic Mariners bullpen. In April, the bullpen looked to be well on their way to that dream as they were once again a force to be reckoned with for the Mariners, but since the calendar shifted to May, it has been nothing but stressful, and ideas have shifted.
Longtime Mariner fans are sure to remember the days of Fernando Rodney shooting his arrow out to centerfield. Unfortunately, the die-hards also remember the utter stress Rodney gave them when he toed the rubber. The Mariners bullpen has all but turned into a seven-man team of Fernando Rodneys and a lock-down Andres Muñoz. Ryne Stanek has been peak Rodney as he has struggled to pitch more than 0.2 of an inning and has handed the ball to Muñoz more times than fans can count. Due to this, Muñoz has achieved five 4-out saves and two 5-out saves. These lengthy outings have limited Muñoz's day-to-day workload while making him throw a lot of innings and pitches, which could be a cause for concern as the season ages. Worries have also continued to creep up as Gabe Speier has lost all control, walking 6 and giving up 4 earned runs in 3 outings and 2 innings pitched in May.
Since the beginning of May, the Mariners bullpen ranks 17th in fWAR, 23rd in ERA, 28th in saves, 20th in walks, 16th in strikeouts, 12th in BB/9 and K/9, yet retain a solid 9th in HR/9 (As of 5.15.2024). Overall, for a team in first place and with goals of a deep postseason run, this bullpen has not been up to par in May. To combat this slide, Seattle hoped to get stud reliever Matt Brash back from an elbow injury that had sidelined him since the beginning of spring training. But Brash struggled to recover from high-intensity throwing and has now undergone Tommy John Surgery that will sideline him until at least June of 2025. Another arm the Mariners will be without for a period of time is Taylor Saucedo, who left a game on May 7th with a right knee injury that will sideline him until middle-late May. Lastly, the Seattle bullpen also got bad news with Gregory Santos, who will now be out until late June after sustaining a setback from his lat injury that he sustained in Spring Training.
With the bullpen struggling, it might be time for Jerry Dipoto to wake from his early season slumber and acquire a high-leverage reliever. An obvious reunification with Paul Sewald is the first thought, but Sewald would not be available until closer to the deadline, if he is even available, while Seattle needs help now. Looking through struggling teams' rosters, there was one name that caught my eye. Adam Ottavino of the New York Mets. Ottavino, a veteran reliever, is in his 14th season and has found the fountain of youth since joining the Mets before the 2022 season, throwing more than 60 innings in the past two seasons. Ottavino is off to another solid start as the setup man to Edwin Diaz in the back of the Mets bullpen with 6 holds already, half of what he marked in 23’ and a third of his total in 22’. Ottavino would be a rental as he is a free agent at the end of this year and is already 38 years old. Ottavino has been an elite strikeout man this season, as he is in the 99th percentile of K% on Baseball Savant and has a K/9 of 13.78. Ottavino has been almost unhittable against lefties, as they are hitting just .115 with just 3 hits total. Opponents total are hitting just .167 and the xAVG is even better at .159. Ottavino has limited flyballs and hard contact at a better-than-elite rate with an average exit velocity of just 83.1 MPH, which is good enough for the 98th percentile in the entire league, and a GB% of 58.8%, which is in the 94th percentile. Lastly, Ottavino’s WHIP and limit of baserunners has continued into 2024. In 2024, Ottavino has a WHIP of 0.98 on 10 hits and 6 walks. Ottavino is exactly the high-leverage reliever that the Mariners bullpen is begging for.
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