3 Black Friday Bargins for the Seattle Mariners

Today, all across the United States, shoppers eagerly pushed their way through the swarm of people to try to snag a quality item at a massive discount. Would the Seattle Mariners be wise to do the same?

Every team in Major League Baseball wants to find bargains. However; the lust to find a bargain often drives up the prices of these players, until you are paying full price or higher. It is hard to find a bargain in MLB free agency.

But the Seattle Mariners need to find some of these players. They could be critical to the success of 2018. They can help restock your farm system if things go south. These “bargain bin” free agents come at low risk, with tremendous upside. They are scratch-off tickets.

But who are these bargain bin players? It is tough to pinpoint, considering we cannot possible gauge a players market with much certainty. However; finding value in a player everybody overlooks is critical for Seattle.

Here are 3 players who could be a tremendous bargain for Jerry Dipoto and the Seattle Mariners.

Jeremy Hellickson

After a breakout season in 2016, right-handed pitcher Jeremy Hellickson appeared primed to cash in on his first shot at free agency. After all, the 29-year-old had just made 32 starts with a 3.98xFIP over 189 innings. He was worth a whopping 3.3 fWAR, averaging a respectable 7.3 K/9 and a rock solid 2.24 BB/9.

Unfortunately, the Phillies slapped a qualifying offer on him. His market shrank to near existence, and Hellickson was forced to take the $17.2 million offer. Let’s not feel too bad for the guy, but the offer did negatively impact his potential pay day in 2016.

Hellickson’s second chance at a big deal were torpedoed but a truly awful 2017. The 30 year old saw his K rate drop to a poor 5.27 K/9, and his xFIP skyrocket to 5.58. Hellickson has always profiled more as a back-end starter, and 2016 appears to be a major outlier. Why should Seattle consider him?

Because he is cheap. Hellickson is likely looking for a 1 year deal in an attempt to re-establish his value. At 31 years old, there is still some potential upside to explore. If Hellickson can come close to repeating his 2016 season, he would be a solid, and cheap #4 type to help round out this rotation.

Tommy Hunter

Entering this off-season, he Seattle Mariners probably needed to add at least 1 veteran arm to its bullpen, if not 2. Now with the trades of Emilio Pagan and Thyago Vieira, the need is only intensifying.

What doesn’t make much sense for the Mariners is spending substantial money on the likes of Wade Davis or Greg Holland. What could make sense is buying 2 solid relievers for the price of 1 elite one.

One possibility is veteran reliever Tommy Hunter. Always a solid middle inning’s guy, Hunter did something he had never done before: he struck guys out. The career 5.97 K/9 is abysmal for a high leverage reliever. But in 2017, Hunter posted a whopping 9.82 k/9 without substantially raising his BB/9.

Hunter’s 3.29 xFIP is thanks in large part to an adjustment he made in 2017. After using a cutter as a 3rd pitch for most of his career, he doubled its usage in 2017, making him more of a cutter/curveball pitcher than a straight fastball type.

The adjustment has turned Hunter from a journey men 6th inning guy to a legitimate high leverage reliever, something the Mariners desperately need.