5 Under the Radar Pitchers Seattle Mariners Should Target

As the Seattle Mariners shake off the disappointment  of not landing Shohei Ohtani, they will turn their attention to other starters in the market. While the focus will be on Alex Cobb and Yu Darvish, there are other names to consider.

We have discussed a few of these names in the past. They include the likes of Jaime Garcia and Jake Odorizzi. Today we discuss some of the names that most people will ignore or not have considered.

While these names will not cause anybody to rise from their chairs, they will none the less help the 2018 Seattle Mariners. With a rotation of 3 established starters; James Paxton, Felix Hernandez, and Mike Leake, and a plethora of #5 options, the Mariners need to add at least 1 veteran to stabilize the rotation.

Seattle has stiff competition for most of these arms. But the Mariners have no choice. They must be aggressive in this endeavor. Their livelihood in the 2018 playoff race depends on it.

With all this in mind, let us now discuss the names that we may have all overlooked. And we will begin our list by looking at a couple of arms from a rebuilding A.L. Central team.

Jason Hammel and Ian Kennedy

The Kansas City Royals are believed to be rebuilding. If this is the case, they have a pair of veteran starters who could be useful to a team like the Mariners. While Danny Duffy could be the real prize, it is unlikely the Mariners have the weapons to go out and get the Royals ace.

Ian Kennedy, the soon to be 33-year-old, is perhaps the most likely pitcher to be dealt. Coming off a poor season with a 5.25 xFIP in 154 innings, Kennedy decide to exercise his player option. Kennedy is now slated to make $49 million over the next 3 years.

A bit of a hefty price, but that should make him relatively cheap on the trade market. Kennedy has been nothing but durable in his career, making 30 or more starts in 8 consecutive seasons. A flyball pitcher, Kennedy has also shown an ability to miss bats, as evidence by his career 8.25 K/9 ratio.

The other name that might make more sense is Jason Hammel. Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto admitted last season that the Mariners were after Hammel until the acquisition of Drew Smyly from Tampa Bay.

Hammel, the 35-year-old, has just 1 year left on his contract, with an option year in 2019. This shorter term commitment might make more sense for the Mariners. Hamell has made 29 or more starts each of the past 4 years, with fWAR’s ranging from 1.5 to 2.4 in that stretch.

Hammel’s consistency and good control, coupled with a relatively low-cost to acquire, make him a solid choice to round out an injury riddled rotation.

Matt Harvey

Yes, that Matt Harvey. At one point, a legitimate discussion could be held about who would have a better career: Matt Harvey or Noah Syndergaard? Oh where those happy days for Mets fans everywhere.

Unfortunately for the Mets, and Matt Harvey, his career has gone completely off the rails. After missing the entire 2014 season, Harvey returned and shocked baseball in 2015. In 29 starts, he threw 189 innings of 2.71 ERA baseball, averaging 8.94 K/9 and just 1.76 BB/9. The revival was quite short, however, and he suffered more injuries in 2016, and pitched horribly in 2017.

So why should the Mariners be interested? Upside. If Matt Harvey can return to 2015 form, the duo of Paxton and Harvey is as good as anybody west of Cleveland. With a potential low acquisition cost, Harvey is the type of dart throw that can turn the Mariners from fringe contender to dangerous playoff team.

John Lackey

Finally, whether you love him or hate him, John Lackey makes a ton of sense. The 39-year-old, 15 year vet can still sling it a little, and has been durable as hell the past 5 years. Lackey has made at least 29 starts with 170.2 innings or more over that stretch. He has amassed just over 12 fWAR in that stretch.

While no longer a big strike out pitcher, Lackey brings a fiery style and solid back-end stuff to the 2018 Mariners. You don’t have to go that far back to find an ultra-valuable Lackey. In 2016, he produced a solid 8.6 K/9 over 188 innings on his way to a 3.1 fWAR.

Next: Yu Darvish to the Mariners?

None of the names above are particularly exciting, they do all make the Mariners better. We all want the splashy move. However; in the wake of the Ohtani decision, any move that makes Seattle better should be welcome with open arms.