We're 58-39. What's next?

Last year, the All Star Break MM article was published as “We’re 43-47. What’s next?” Now, we are happy to inform you that the 2018 Ners have moved to 19 games over .500 and appear to be in good condition for an AL Wild Card birth. But the overarching question remains the same: what should Seattle’s management do to improve the team down the stretch of the season? MM editors Patrick Leary and Travis Smith weigh in.

Patrick: Trade for a reliever & acquire a utility infielder

Over the past 18 months, the Mariners’ biggest need has been frequently identified to be their starting pitching. And while it has begun to wilt during the most recent stretch, it’s actually been the key to their fantastic late May and June.

As a result, any reasonably available starting pitcher seems either too expensive or not enough of an upgrade compared to the team’s optimal rotation. What starter do you take out of the Mariners rotation, if the five that have appeared the most this season are healthy? Felix Hernandez, club legend, will remain in the rotation as long as he’s healthy and under contract, which he will be through 2019. James Paxton and Marco Gonzalez are good. Mike Leake is under contract for another two seasons (and not cheaply), and he eats innings relative to his actual ability better than anyone in the organization.

Maybe, maybe, Wade LeBlanc could be moved to long relief, but again, follow the money here. LeBlanc just signed a fairly sizable extension, at least from a years perspective and a money perspective compared to what he has been paid his entire career. The Mariners are going to roll with these five guys out of the All-Star Break, pending Felix and Paxton recovering from their minor injuries, and also have Roenis Elias in the bullpen and Christian Bergman, who has a good start and a bad start this year now, waiting in Tacoma. Jerry Dipoto simply isn’t going to trade for a starting pitcher of significance unless one of his current five suffers a guaranteed season ending injury.

That means this team needs to improve at the margins. And the two places it could get better (without cleaning out the farm system) is in the bullpen and off the bench.

Let’s begin with the bullpen. The M’s are currently relying on Alex Colomé (right) in the 8th inning. This is fine, but not always optimal (see awards below). Plus, relievers are the cheapest position to acquire, and thus the easiest place for a team with a poor farm system like Seattle to pick up quality talent. MLB.com recently released an article suggesting reliever fits for contenders, and the name they linked to the Ners that I liked the best was Orioles closer Brad Brach.

Brach (below) is primarily a fastball, changeup, slider right-hander, and he throws his fastball nearly 60 percent of the time. That fastball has declined in velocity a bit this season, which is a bit worrisome for a 32-year-old pitcher, but it still sits around 94 MPH. Yet what I like about Brach is that he throws three pitches a significant percentage of the time, compared to Colomé and Juan Nicasio’s two. He can offer a different 7th or 8th inning look, whereas Colomé’s fastball-cutter arsenal and Nicasio’s fastball-slider repertoire are quite similar.

Plus, like Colomé, Brach has a proven track record as a closer in the American League. We’ve seen countless examples of National League relievers struggle in the more hitter-rich AL, with Nicasio (he of the NL-leading 76 ap-pearances in 2017) being the latest example. It sounds weird, but Steve Cishek is another who comes to mind, especially as he continues to thrive with the Cubs.

Beyond the bullpen, I’d like to see the Mariners upgrade their weakest bench spot. By my observations, the Ners appear committed to carrying 13 pitchers and 12 position players. That means that on any given night in the American League, Seattle has three hitters available off of the bench (Note: they had four going into the All-Star Break because they were only carrying four starters at a time.). Those three backups are whichever one of Guillermo Heredia, Ben Gamel and Denard Span don’t play in the outfield in a given game, the backup catcher (a position of little import if Mike Zunino is healthy), and the utility infielder.

Andrew Romine (left), the go-to utility infielder this season, has been quite terrible at the plate. He’s slashing a miserable .203/.250./.215 and has been worth -0.4 WAR. Whenever he’s required to contribute more than as a late inning defensive replacement or baserunning upgrade, he creates an active liability on the roster.

The tricky thing is finding a replacement, made even more difficult by the fact that Robinson Cano becomes eligible in mid-August, thus eliminating a roster spot. It’s very possible that this bench spot will go to Dee Gordon, who has been one of the worst hitters in baseball this year, especially since Cano’s suspension. If so, fine, that’s an instant upgrade.

If not, the team could seek out a cheap utility player – and one name that comes to mind is the Yankee’s Ronald Torreyes. Torreyes (below) is best known as the little guy in the size difference photos of Aaron Judge during Judge’s rookie year, but in limited action with the Yankees this season, he’s slashed .323/.343/.415. However, with the ascension of Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar, Torreyes has become less important to the major league team and featured some at AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre, although he’s currently MIA due to a personal issue.

Torreyes offers as much position flexibility as Romine, capable of playing second, third, shortstop and right field – and his bat could improve the Ners’ lineup whenever they need to give players at those positions a rest. Plus, Dipoto has a history of skimming off the end of the Yankees 40-man roster. That’s how he acquired Gamel in 2016.

Travis: Acquire a veteran catcher

Last year, we had a two-newsletter debate on which position, historically, has been worse for the Seattle Mariners: left field or catcher. The stereotypical answer has always been LF, with books even having been written about the Ners’ woes at the position. Yet our insight produced a compelling argument for catcher; when the best franchise player at a position was Dan Wilson (who we all of course love, but who wasn’t exactly a stellar player), the backstop might be the Ners’ biggest weakness.

Regardless of how you feel about that debate, you can agree that the C position is rough for Seattle right now. After being rushed to an MLB role in 2013, poor Mike Zunino has done nothing but shiver at the plate despite a ridiculous June last year. But that month of success turned out to be more of a tease than a promise, and Z’s woes have returned in 2018. He’s currently on the DL, strikes out more than any other Mariner that starts, and hits .189 for crying out loud.

Yet one thing can be said for Zunino: he’s a gem to have behind the plate. Z’s ability to frame pitches and work with a relatively young relief core – not to mention a fairly patchwork rotation that has thrived out of nowhere – often goes without notice. This is key, as it can easily be argued that a catcher’s primary role is team management over But why not have both? If the Mariners were able to go out and get a veteran catcher who is historically great at calling games/managing pitching staffs and is somewhat solid behind the plate (I’ll settle for anything above .230), it could be a massive bump to this team. Currently, we have turned to Chris Hermann or Dave Freitas to fill this role in Zunino’s absence – but neither have proven to have both sides of the stick. Hermann has shown some decency at the plate, but he hasn’t thrown out a runner yet. Meanwhile, “Big D” Freitas hit his first home run the other day – but I don’t think I’ve seen him get a hit beyond that for weeks.

There’s a few names out there who, if acquired, could split time with Zunino and give this team a veteran boost as October (and the end to Mike’s contract) approaches. My first choice is Jonathan Lucroy – but he comes with a caveat. Lucroy (left) has been nothing but stoic in his merry-go-round of a past few years, leading teams such as the Brewers, Rangers, and now A’s to decent seasons while never faltering in the batters box (he’s a career .240 hitter, which is great for a catcher). But the aforementioned caveat with Lucroy is he plays for the A’s…and while Oakland historically is up for wheeling and dealing at the All Star Break, they have suddenly ascended into the Ners’ top competitors for that second AL Wild Card spot. And while Billy Beane never ceases to surprise people, I highly doubt he’d be willing to dish out Lucroy amidst a playoff push.

Russell Martin is another name that comes to mind. Martin (below) is used to the playoffs, having been there with the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and (most recently) Toronto Blue Jays. Martin has always been a solid backstop, but his prowess behind the plate has actually seen him shift to third base on occasion, for Toronto wants him to swing the bat even on days when his legs deserve a rest. And seeing as the Blue Jays are well on their way to a fire sale, his might be a decent contract to pick up for the duration of 2018.

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