Can Mariners Hernandez Extend His Career in the Bullpen?

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The King is entering the final year of his contract with the Mariners, barring an extended DL stint for an elbow injury. The former Cy Young Award-winning starter, who has been loved by all of us fans since he broke into the league at 19, looks to be starting to decline.

While we all hope last year was a fluke and The King will bounce back and retake the throne, there were no indications of that on the horizon. So how about a move to the bullpen, more specifically, the Mariners closer? Here are 5 starters in recent history that have found success transitioning to the bullpen.

First things first, Felix Hernandez does not deserve to be relegated/demoted to the bullpen (well statistically maybe). He is our King, we hold him in high regard for a reason. He has dominated baseball for well over a decade, only missing substantial time once. That being said, last year was atrocious and sadly he is trending the wrong direction.

It was his first season with a negative WAR and by all accounts, he very well could bounce back but there weren’t any signs of that happening last year. As of right now, Steamer projects him to go 7-9 with a 4.79 ERA with 127 IP in 23 starts.

That leaves the M’s pondering what should be done about Felix in this final year. Throw him out there every five days and take what you get. Use an opener to hopefully help him avoid those 1st inning woes, waive him or get creative. We’ve already heard the Mariner’s are looking to turn newly acquired infielder Kaleb Cowart into a part-time pitcher, why not change things up and see if we can get a couple more years out of Felix? Here are 5 starters that have made a successful transition and some are a lot more similar to Felix than you think.

5. Bob Stanley

Stanley broke into the league in 1977 as a starter. Starting 13 games at age 22 while also getting his first 3 saves that season. Throughout the next four years, he would continue to start as well mix in a handful of saves. In 1982, following a disappointing ’81 season, he moved to the bullpen full-time, accruing 93 saves over the next 5 years. He returned to the rotation in 1987, but it did not go well and begun the downturn of his career.

4. Kerry Wood

CHICAGO, IL – MAY 18: Kerry Wood #34 of the Chicago Cubs pitches against the Chicago White Sox on May 18 2012 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. Kerry Wood faced one batter that he struck out in the eighth inning. It was announced that Kerry Wood is retiring from baseball today. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /

Wood exploded onto the scene in 1998, going 13-6 with a 3.40 ERA and taking home the Rookie of The Year trophy. Unfortunately for Wood, and fans everywhere, the phenom missed the next season due to injury and while he stayed relatively successful, he didn’t live up to the expectations laid on him after his rookie campaign. In 2007, at the age of 30, Kerry moved into the closer role for the Cubs and saved 34 games. The next season he piled up 28 between Chicago and Cleveland but started to dwindle after that.

3. Tom Gordon

SEATTLE – AUGUST 29: Pitcher Tom Gordon #36 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch against the Seattle Mariners during the game on August 29, 2005 at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington. The Yankees won 7-4. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

Dee’s dad was drafted by Kansas City in 1986. He made his first two starts in ’88, returning in ’89 with a spot in the rotation. He racked up 144 starts in his first couple years with Kansas City before signing with Boston in 1995 and transitioning to the bullpen. In 1998 Flash led the league in saves converting 46 of 47 opportunities, also earning his first All-Star appearance. Although he would not be an elite closer again, he became a very reliable reliever with a couple of years as closer mixed in throughout the rest of his 21-year career.

2. Dennis Eckersley

30 Jul 1998: Pitcher Dennis Eckersley #43 of the Boston Red Sox winds up for the pitch during a game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Red Sox 6-5. Mandatory Credit: Otto Greule Jr./A /

Perhaps some of you enjoyed the latest MLB Network Present’s Eck: The Story of Saving, I know I did. You saw that after years of being a dominant starter with both Cleveland and Boston, he started to lose some of that “zing” during his tenure with the Cubbies. When he was traded to Oakland to play under Hall of Famer Tony LaRussa, he was moved to the bullpen.

An idea that sounds familiar to the Mariner’s current needs. LaRussa figured that Eckersley could stay sharp in the bullpen until one of their unreliable starters went down with an injury, which at that point he could move back into the rotation.

Eck was about the same age that Felix is now, he had just about the same career path to this point and the conditions that moved him to the bullpen (loss of velocity and five better but unreliable starters) is one of the best comparisons to Felix’s current situation.

We all know that besides that memorable home run to Kirk Gibson, Eckersley went on to be one of the games best closers and cemented himself into the Hall of Fame. When Boston thought he was washed up, he transitioned to reliever and extended his career another 12 years!

1. John Smoltz

NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 12: John Smoltz #29 of the Atlanta Braves throws a pitch against the New York Mets during their game on September 12, 2007, at Shea Stadium in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

If you look at Felix’s Baseball Reference page you will see a “Similarity Scores” section. In my opinion, it’s the most fascinating area of the entire website. Using a particular scoring system they compare current and former players who are on the same career path statistically. Felix started his career similar to that of Catfish Hunter at age 20, at 24 & 25 he was on the same path as the aforementioned Dennis Eckersley. Age 28, Greg Maddux, 29 & 30 Don Sutton and as of the end of last season at age 32 he is most similar to John Smoltz. Smoltz missed all of the 2000 season with an injury, that would be his age 33-season.

When he returned he moved to the bullpen with a couple of spot starts, before committing to closing full time for three seasons. My favorite thing about Smoltz is he was given the opportunity to move back to the rotation after three full seasons without a start and he returned with force. Leading the league in 2006, at the age of 39, with 16 wins in 35 starts. He too seemed to prolong his career from serving a few seasons in the pen, pitching 21 years in total.

Wrap Up

SEATTLE, WA – MAY 01: Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners pitches in the first inning against the Oakland Athletics during their game at Safeco Field on May 1, 2018, in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

I for one would love for a full career path similar to John Smoltz. If you think about it would work great for our organization. We are not planning to compete for the next 2-3 years so a transition to the bullpen, a smaller workload and a new sense of purpose, followed by the opportunity to rejoin the rotation in 2021 or 2022 when the Mariners are set to be competitive would be thrilling.

If it works out with him as a closer and he doesn’t find the arm strength in a few years to return to the rotation then something more along the lines of Eck would be fantastic as well. At the very least, I wonder what a couple of seasons of 60-80 IP, mixed with the new mindset and demeanor that Eckersley spoke about, could do for Felix.

In my humble opinion not only is this a win-win opportunity for the Mariners and Felix, but it’s also a must. We cannot go through the motions and trot The King out every five days and then just wave goodbye. For one, it will just suck to watch and it will put a sour end to a tremendous career.

Secondly, he will go somewhere else and they will not feel they “owe” him a spot in the rotation and he very well could find an opportunity to succeed as a reliever somewhere else. Which as Mariners fans, we are fed up with watching former M’s rebound and succeed with other teams.

What do you think about Felix as the closer next season? If he can find some success would you be open to resigning him in hope that he continues on the Eckersley or Smoltz career path? Or do you prefer to gather together the King’s Court and hold up your K card for one more season and say goodbye?

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Personally, I want Felix to be a lifer! For better or worse, I think it is in everyone’s best interest to find a way to make this work and find a way to make Felix the hands down best Mariners pitcher of All Time!

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