Another Day Goes By Without A New Mariners Pitcher

Another day has gone by and it’s another day that the Mariners haven’t made that trade they’ve been talking about for a veteran starting pitcher. This gives fans and journalists time to speculate who the M’s could acquire in their hunt for a skilled veteran hurler to give them more depth in the rotation.

A trade hasn’t been imminent on the Mariners front for quite some time now, and GM Jerry Dipoto is fine with that. There’s no doubt that it is frustrating for some fans, though.

Those fans have a point. While others watch their teams go out and grab the players they want or need, their Mariners sit back and wait for the perfect option, as the player pool shrinks. But for writers, this lull in the action gets our gears turning as we try and speculate what the next move will be.

But for writers, this lull in the action gets our gears turning as we try and speculate what the next move might be.

There have been more than half a dozen pitchers linked as possible additions to the Mariners roster, but nothing has developed yet.

One of the lesser talked about men that could soon be coming to Seattle is the veteran, current Los Angeles Dodger, and six-foot-seven right-hander, Brandon McCarthy.

The Mariners are well versed on McCarthy’s skill on the mound. In his combined five years in the AL West -he played for the M’s divisional rival Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers- McCarthy had his share of brilliance performances.

In his fourteen appearances versus the Mariners spread over seven years, he faced Seattle’s team as a reliever and a closer.

Coming out of the bullpen in his only relief stint against the M’s, he struggled mightily with a 4.91 ERA, giving up six hits, four walks and a home run in just 3.2 frames.

As a starter against the Mariners, he faired better with an overall ERA of 4.06, but he was most impressive in 2011 when he pitched three quality outings in four starts including a complete game three-hit shutout.

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Yet the M’s and Dipoto don’t just care about how McCarthy played against them, they care about his entire resume, which is in all fairness is underwhelming.

While McCarthy has had some stellar moments, it’s impossible not to look past the nine seasons where his ERA was above 4.00.

More relevantly, since his return from Tommy John surgery in 2015, Mccarthy has never played with any kind of consistency. He has had three quality starts, but he’s also had as many outings giving up five or more runs.

To make McCarthy look even less desirable, all you have to do is check out how much he’s worth. On his current contract, he is still owed eleven and a half millions dollars a season for the next two years.

Sure, the Mariners could negotiate something where the Dodgers eat some or most of that contract, but a deal needs to be on the table first before diving into those complex financial issues.

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So, could McCarthy join the Mariners? Yes, but so too could the handful of other pitchers linked to the M’s. And with so much physical baggage and poor recent numbers, maybe the M’s should spend more time on their other possible options.