Mariners Analysis: M’s OK Despite No Deadline Deals

The Mariners have come out no better or worse after a frantic and event-filled trade deadline.

The picture says it all, and it was taken back in April. Jerry Dipoto looks to be hard at work trying to sell Scott Servais that the team he built will be the solution to the M’s long playoff drought. After today’s deadline, they won’t have as many options to make a deal -although they can still make moves, it will just have to be through the waiver process- thus Dipoto will be on his pitch once more. But it seems that the lack of movement in the organization may not come back to bite the Mariners because their likely Wild Card competition made (and didn’t make) deals that could keep the M’s in contention.

It was quiet on the Mariners front, but it was an equally quiet day for their American League West rivals. The Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays, who hold the two Wild Card spots going into tonight were the most active deal-makers at the deadline, but they couldn’t muster big time deals that would have made them locks for the postseason.

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The Red Sox picked up Fernando Abad, who has had a respectable season with the lowly Minnesota Twins. He has managed a 2.65 ERA, and only allowed 2 HRs to be hit off him. And while he will sure up the bullpen, which frankly, is already above average, one man, this man, is not the piece to send them into late October. The question for the Red Sox is: Will David Ortiz (who leads the team in HR, RBI and OBP, and is 2nd in BA) keep up his remarkable pace in his last season, and will the other offensive powerhouses like Mookie Betts and Xander Bogearts taper off as well? If these men fall off the wagon, or even stumble for a significant span, the M’s could over take them.

Staying in the highly contested AL East, the Blue Jays will be the most likely team to play spoiler to the M’s post season hopes. Their addition of Fransico Liriano  could be the key piece to a playoff run, but they will need the Liriano of old, not the guy who this season has a 5.46 ERA, which would be his highest in a full season since coming into the league in 2005. With the Blue Jay Bats being as good as they are, and the expectation that Jose Bautista will break out after a disappointing first half, the M’s will need Liriano, and their aces, J.A. Happ and Aaron Sanchez to come back down to earth if they hope to surpass them too.

As for the Houston Astros and Detriot Tigers, who will also challenge the M’s in the final 2 months and change, they all stayed put. The Altuves, I mean Astros, were stagnant today, which keeps them level with the M’s. Just 2.5 games ahead in the AL West, It will not take much for M’s to surge past the Astros, especially since 6 of the last 16 games are against the M’s. With one series at Safeco Field and the other in Houston, the Mariners will need to win the away series to help their chances for a wild card spot.

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The Tigers were also tame during the exciting scramble for talent. They had hoped to bolster the bullpen but ultimately weren’t ready to compete with the big buyers that were on the hunt. With the 4th worst bullpen ERA and WHIP in the AL, that may not have been the wisest of choices, but ]they are riding high during this 6 game winning-streak, so maybe they don’t need the help. But if that decision comes back to haunt them, that will leave the Mariners with a chance to hop the tigers in the standings.

In other news, the New York Yankees have come to terms with reality, and have shipped their usual older talent elsewhere, in the hopes of rebuilding. Their changes, while great, will take them out of the race for this year, as they look to prepare for the future.

Next: M’s win duel against Cubs

All of this action, or lack their of, provides the Mariners with some reassurance that they can get all their current pieces to come together (i.e Felix and Kuma consistently dominating and the heart of the lineup pound the ball well)  their competition will not pose as great a threat as it could’ve if they had stepped up to make deals. So no deal, no problem for the M’s down the stretch, as they hope to end their 14-year playoff drought.