Mariners Hypothetical: Imagining a Healthy Pitching Staff

Mariners could have an all-time bullpen if healthy

“Hold on, all-time?”

Yeah, I think you could make an argument. The bullpen has been incredible this year. Due to some of the injuries, time missed, and call-ups, it doesn’t look as spectacular as it could. Think of it this way.

Ljay Newsome. Nick Margevicius. Casey Sadler. Kendall Graveman. Hector Santiago.

They’ve all missed time. If not, we wouldn’t have seen the likes of Daniel Zamora, Yacksel Rios, Wyatt Mills, Aaron Fletcher, Brady Lail, or Vinny Nittoli. That’s 22.1 innings and 26 earned runs, for an ERA of 10.48. I’ll even keep the first 25 appearances by Rafael Montero, and we can boot him when Sheffield gets moved to the pen when they call Gilbert up.

That still gets rid of another 20 runs by Montero in his last 17 innings, for an ERA of 10.59. See what I mean? I’ll even keep Will Vest around the entire time, and when you look at it all together, the Mariners bullpen gives you an ERA of 3.18.

3.18!

That’s an amazing ERA to have from your bullpen, especially in today’s game.

I understand all the projection, wishing, and silver lining that goes into this. That’s the point. I wanted to see what the Mariners pitching would look like if they were healthy. You know what? I’m real happy about it. OH! That’s not even mentioning that they have Ken Giles and Andres Munoz that will be back next year. I really like this Mariners pitching staff, and am excited about what it will look like when/if they become healthy.