Seattle Mariners: Sign or Decline — Adam Warren

We were all pretty excited when the Mariners acquired Adam Warren from the Yankees the day before the trade deadline. Instead, we exited the season feeling rather underwhelmed. Warren wasn’t necessarily bad, but he wasn’t the steal we had initially thought he was.

Now, Warren’s a free agent and it’s hard to determine whether or not the Mariners will have interest in bringing him back. They didn’t give up a whole lot for him, dumping a healthy chunk of their international slot money, which isn’t near as valuable this offseason as it was last year. So there isn’t much of a pill to swallow, if at all.

Warren appeared in 23 games for Seattle, posting a 4.82 FIP in 21.2 overall innings pitched. The biggest disappointment coming out of the season was the significant dip in his strikeout numbers, only notching a 6.23 K/9 after coming to Seattle with a K/9 well over 10. His history of missing bats didn’t follow him to Seattle, and thus, he struggled.

In my mind, 23 games are too small a sample size to judge Warren on. He’s been one of the more consistent, underrated relievers in the MLB over the last few years and his time with the Mariners was likely no more than a simple slump. He also has the flexibility of starting on occasion, or even full-time, which would definitely be of value to where the Mariners are in their current state.

That said, the Mariners have quite a bit of talent waiting to join the big league bullpen. Art Warren and Wyatt Mills will surely make their Major League debuts sooner rather later, and Matt Festa has already gotten a small taste of the show. The free agent market for relievers is also pretty rich this Winter, and the Mariners will likely be active in that department. Simply put, losing Warren wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Warren does seem like a relatively low-risk, bounce-back type of free agent who could fill the role of the Mariners’ long reliever, a la Chasen Bradford. If the Mariners were to, unfortunately, suffer an injury in their rotation, Warren would be able to fill in without requiring a corresponding move with a starter, giving them a bit more flexibility in how they construct and manage the 40-man roster.

Still, I just don’t know how important he may or may not be to the Mariners this offseason. I’m leaning toward probably not.

Sign or Decline? Decline, I guess.

Prediction: Seattle lets him walk.