3 Seattle Mariners players that missed all of 2020 that will be back in 2021
Last year was a crazy year for the Seattle Mariners. Many trades were made and multiple players were out all year so you may have forgotten about these 3 impact players.
The 2020 shortened season not only saw 102 fewer regular-season games for the Seattle Mariners, but it also included 0 games of three players who will have huge roles next season and in the future.
The first of which was a piece in the Austin Nola trade with the San Diego Padres. Even with top prospect Taylor Trammell and probable 2021 lineup regular Ty France in the trade, the Mariners acquired a reliever who may have the most potential of all three.
Andres Munoz
Andres Munoz missed all of last season due to having Tommy John Surgery in March which was a big blow to the Padres bullpen, but then they traded him the Seattle in the Austin Nola deal. Even Though Trammell and France were both in the trade Munoz has back of the bullpen stuff and is yet to turn 22, which means he could end up being a big part of the trade.
Munoz has a fastball that averages 99.9 and he hits the 100’s regularly. He uses two pitches, a 4 seamer and slider, and only throws the slider on a third of pitches. During his only season in the majors, Munoz threw out of the bullpen 22 times and had a 3.91 ERA and a 3.17 FIP in 23 innings pitched.
Munoz is on track for a June return according to Scott Servais, which would be a 14-month recovery from his Tommy John Surgery. However, at the age of (in June 2021) 22 and with his potential, I would not be surprised if he gets more time than that to recover.
Mitch Haniger
Mitch Haniger missed all of 2020 after suffering a ruptured testicle in 2019 that kept him out for over half of that season as well. Now, Scott Servais says he is fully recovered and will be ready to go for spring training.
In 2018 he had a batting line of .285/.366/.493 with a .859 OPS and then before getting injured in 2019 he was still somewhat productive with a .778 OPS and 15 home runs in just 63 games (on pace for 35-40 home runs in a full season).
In 2018 Haniger had some insanely good statcast metrics as well, ranking around the 90th percentile among MLB hitters for xSLG, xBA, and xwOBA. Haniger will be a welcome sight in right field as a right-handed hitter who hits lefties well after the Mariners were the worst team against left-handed pitching in the league last year.
There were many times last year that I forgot about Mitch Haniger watching Seattle try to figure out who to put in the outfield with Lewis and Moore, so after not seeing him for a year and a half and forgetting about him multiple times, which I am sure many reading this did as well, I am excited for him to be back in right field.
Tom Murphy
Similar to Haniger, Tom Murphy will be a welcome sight in 2021 as he is a much better hitter against left-handed pitching than right and the Mariners were the worst hitting team against left-handed pitching last season.
Tom Murphy was a forgotten man last season due to Austin Nola’s success, but now that Nola is in San Diego Murphy will platoon with Luis Torrens according to Scott Servais. Murphy missed all of last season due to a broken foot that he suffered during Summer Camp but Servais said that Murphy will be ready for spring training.
In his first season with the Mariners, 2019, Murphy had a batting line of .273/.324/.535 adding up to an .858 OPS. He had 18 home runs in just 281 plate appearances and his power was unusual compared to his prior years with the Colorado Rockies.
The Mariners will hope that Murphy’s power in 2019 was not a fluke and will carry over into 2021, and they will also hope that Tom has worked on his hitting vs right-handed pitching as he had an OPS of .653 vs righties in 2019.
If Murphy can keep up his great hitting vs lefties and hit better vs righties while keeping the same power from 2019, he will be one of the best offensive catchers in the MLB.