Hector Noesi and His Future with the Seattle Mariners

February 22, 2013; Peoria, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Hector Noesi (45) warms up before the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s face it, it wasn’t any fun to listen to Hector Noesi give up SIX runs in the first inning of the Seattle Mariners vs. San Diego Padres spring training opening game. Maybe he was taking the idea of “charity” seriously, and thought that the charity game meant “let the other team win.” I’m more convinced it’s because he isn’t as strong of a pitcher as he should be for the big leagues. I mean, look at his ERA – 14.73 for this year’s spring training.

Noesi’s MLB career average ERA is 5.36, and his minor league career total is 3.54. Sure, the minor league ERA may look good – but it seems that he just doesn’t have what it takes, historically, to make it in the Major Leagues. If I were making decisions about what the regular season’s team will look like, I would be inclined to replace Noesi with someone else, and send him back to the minor leagues.

While some argue that he may be better than we are giving him credit for, I’m with the camp who is looking at his place at the 40-man roster who didn’t think he’d be back in the rotation this year. I’m a bit confused, frankly. Noesi will need to make sure the ball is good – and that it’s fast enough to avoid contact with the opposing team’s bat – if he has any shot at staying on the roster. Most likely, Blake Beavan will take his space and Noesi will be heading to the bullpen, or back down to the Triple-A club.