Brian Matusz is a good fit for the Mariners

Going in to this offseason, every Mariners fan knew that the M’s were in need of a little bit of run support in order to compete for a playoff spot next year.

Well, they have that now, with the addition of Nelson Cruz, Justin Ruggiano, and Seth Smith, or at least that’s probably what the upper management is thinking.

Right now, I imagine management sitting in their conference room above the home plate entrance, looking at every option available to them, and contemplating who they should pick up next.

My thought is that it should be a pitcher.

The Mariners lost Brandon Maurer to the trade market, and the fates of reliever Joe Beimel and American League Comeback Player of the Year Chris Young have yet to be decided.

More from Mariners Rumors

While it is my hope that the M’s bring back, at the very least, Beimel, I have a feeling that neither will be on the roster when spring training rolls around.

So, who could the M’s add to the bullpen to fill the void?

Brian Matusz, from the Baltimore Orioles.

The dude is pretty much a baller. Ten years Beimel’s younger, the 27-year-old threw for a 3.48 ERA in 63 games with Camden Yards as his home park in 2014. He also sported a 3.12 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 1.32 WHIP.

In the confines of Safeco Field, and with the backing of the Mariners defense, I would be willing to bet that all of those numbers would look noticeably better.

Besides, who doesn’t want somebody with the last name “Matusz” on the team? where else are you going to see an “sz” combo like that? Jack Z knows what it’s like to have a weird last name, so there’s no way he doesn’t go for this trade.

I can hear it now, you’re asking me “Who do the M’s send over to Balty to get such an awesome player?”

The answer, my impatient reader, is James Jones. And maybe some money or minor leaguers. But yes, James Jones.

Baltimore needs outfielders, and Jones is an outfielder (duh). But beyond that, Jones stole 27 bases last year (only got caught once), and in his first year at the biggest stage in baseball, hit for a .250 average, which isn’t bad, considering how good pitchers have got over the past few years.

By the way, projecting Jones’ steals over 162 games gives him 41 in a year. Not bad.

Matusz is a lefty in the bullpen, which I’ve found frighteningly few of in the MLB. He also has experience as a starter, and while it’s not likely that he would ever see starting duties in any capacity besides an emergency one on the M’s roster, he would be able to pull through for extended innings if somebody like Taijuan Walker were to have a rough start and need to be taken out early.

He’s under contract until 2017, so he wouldn’t be a dreaded “rental player.”

He’s only going to make around $2.5 million next year, which isn’t a whole lot in the grand scheme of baseball.

He also would get to rejoin former teammate Nelson Cruz, although I won’t pretend to know that they were any kind of friends. Familiarity is important though, and is exactly why Robinson Cano wanted the M’s to sign his good friend Melky Cabrera.

Overall, the dude is a stud on the mound.

The one thing I will say, however, is that he doesn’t have much postseason prowess. In just 5.1 innings of postseason experience, he’s given up two home runs. But hey, he’s got more postseason experience than most of the current Mariners roster, so he has that going for him.

What do you think? Would Matusz be an acceptable Beimel substitute, should the M’s not resign him soon?

Home/Mariners Rumors