The Farther They Go, The Fresher The Mariners Bullpen Arms Become

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Aug 12, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Marco Gonzales (7) celebrates following the final out of a 3-1 complete game victory against the Texas Rangers at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

Isn’t it wonderful that the “bullpen day” spot in the rotation has become a thing of the past? Since the Tyler Anderson trade, the Mariners have fully transitioned to a 5 man rotation. The members of that 5 man rotation (Kikuchi, Anderson, Gonzales, Gilbert, and Flexen) have had recent success eating up innings since the trade deadline.

With this success, it has allowed the bullpen arms to receive some well-deserved rest. Going from full bullpen days to days where the bullpen hasn’t been used at all (well done Marco) has been enjoyable to see as a fan.

So, what has happened to cause the bullpen arms to stay fresh?

Starting pitchers have gone 5 or more innings since July 28th.

Since Yusei Kikuchi’s on July 28th, Mariners starting pitchers have gone at least 5 innings in each outing. While the length of the starts has not guaranteed victories, it has provided the bullpen with more opportunity for rest. FanGraphs has a great chart that shows innings pitched and how many pitches were thrown by each pitcher. In this article, we will take a look at each starting pitcher and how they have eased the burden on the bullpen each time they take the mound.

Marco Gonzales has found his front-of-the-line starter abilities and has contributed to the pitching staff’s streak of starts that have seen each pitcher go at least 5 innings. Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports /

Marco Gonzales has kept the bullpen arms fresh in his last three starts.

Marco Gonzales has led the way with innings pitched over his last three starts, pitching 21.2 innings while giving up only 2 earned runs. In those starts, the bullpen has only been used for 6 innings, with an average of just under 3 bullpen arms having to be used per outing. Gonzales has been waiting for his “dad strength” to kick in.

Well, I think Marco has definitely received his dad strength now! He was even considerate enough to give his bullpen a gift yesterday and with the bullpen getting a full day of rest, they will be refreshed and ready to go as they head into a series vs the Blue Jays that has Wild Card implications.

Fun fact: Marco has thrown exactly 108 pitches in his last two starts. The only difference between the two outings was that he pitched 6.2 innings on August 6th and yesterday he threw a complete game (9 innings). His ability to limit the need for bullpen arms to be used has been much appreciated. Earlier in the season, we were wondering what was wrong with Marco Gonzales, but now we are just grateful that he has returned to form.

Jul 10, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; While Chris Flexen has not been overly noticeable, he has continually provided the Mariners with consistency in his spot of the rotation. Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

Chris Flexen has kept the bullpen fresh in his last 2 starts.

Chris Flexen has been a revelation for the Mariners this season, especially at home. Though he has had some rough starts this season, he has had success recently. In his last two starts, he has pitched 11.2 innings while giving up 5 earned runs. In those starts, an average of 3 relief pitchers have been used.

Flexen has been an effective innings-eater for the Mariners this season. His pitch counts have been reasonably high the last two starts (113 and 98 respectively) but he has been consistently pitching well.

With his consistent ability to go at least 5 innings while limiting runs scored, it has set up the bullpen nicely to come in and take care of business. It has been said many times but I will mention it again: This has been one of the better Free Agent pitching pick-ups that Jerry Dipoto has found. After a successful year overseas, it did seem like his success over there would be difficult to replicate in a more difficult league.

However, Flexen has come over and been quite dominant. Flexen will be looking to extend the recent streak of 5 plus innings for starting pitchers as he takes the mound today against Robbie Ray and the Blue Jays.

Aug 10, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; Logan Gilbert has been as advertised: A solid contributor to the starting rotation with the potential to be a star. Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

Rookie Logan Gilbert has eased the burden on the bullpen this season.

Logan Gilbert’s meteoric rise to the Major Leagues has been justified over the last 12 starts. In 10 of his last 12 starts, Gilbert has gone at least 5 innings. If you take out his first 3 starts (which I did in the above stats), Gilbert has tasked the bullpen with 4 innings or less of work in 10 of his last 12 starts. More recently, in his last 3 starts, Gilbert has gone 16.2 innings while giving up 9 earned runs. In those starts, just under 4 relief pitchers have been used.

What Logan Gilbert has done for the bullpen in the majority of his starts this season has been extremely important. He has shaken off the early season struggles and has transitioned into an extremely reliable starting pitcher who consistently missed bats and eats up innings.

Little discussion has occurred about whether the Mariners were manipulating his service time intentionally or if he truly needed the extra innings in the minor leagues to be better equipped for the MLB. Regardless, it has been great seeing parts of the young core like Gilbert, Kelenic, and Raleigh see meaningful time in the MLB this season. Hopefully, they will get the opportunity to play in October this season!

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – AUGUST 11:Tyler Anderson has lived up to the expectation the Mariners had for him when they traded two prospects for him: Eat innings and stabilize the rotation. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /

Tyler Anderson and Febreze are similar: They keep things fresh.

When the Mariners traded for Tyler Anderson, I was honestly not sold that this was the best idea. When we looked into trading for Tyler Anderson, it seemed like we would be giving up a little too much for a rental. The ultimate cost (catcher Carter Bins and right-hander Joaquin Tejada) ended up being more reasonable than we originally believed.

Plus, if the Mariners are trying to stay competitive and pursue a Wild Card spot this is the right move. Since Anderson has joined the Mariners, he has stabilized the starting rotation and has eliminated the need for bullpen days.

Anderson’s three starts as a Mariner have resulted in him pitching 15.2 innings while giving up 6 earned runs. In his three outings as a Mariner, an average of 4 relief pitchers have been used. His ability to consistently go 5 innings has allowed for there to be minimal surprises for game planning purposes.

The average of 4 relief pitches per outing is beneficial to the Mariners because they know only 4 innings will be needing to be filled with relief pitchers. In my opinion, this trade for Tyler Anderson has already paid off. Hopefully, it will result in Anderson pitching for the Mariners in their first playoff game in 20 years.

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – JULY 17: Yusei Kikuchi has returned to his All-Star form after stumbling out of the All-Star Break. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) /

Kikuchi Returning to All-Star form will keep the bullpen fresh.

Yusei Kikuchi struggled in his first 3 starts coming out of the All-Star break, but since then he has returned back to All-Star form. This has proven beneficial to both the Mariners and their bullpen as Kikuchi was the one who started the streak of outings that have gone at least 5 innings. It was rumored that Kikuchi may have been injured both going into the All-Star break and coming out of it, but there was never any clarity regarding what had happened.

Ultimately, it was evident that something had happened because Kikuchi has completely flipped the switch and has returned to All-Star form. Over his last 3 starts, Kikuchi has gone 16 innings while allowing 4 earned runs. Those are All-Star numbers for sure. About 3 relievers have been used per game in his last 3 outings.

Limiting the need for bullpen arms to be used is valuable for the Mariners as they head down the stretch run and if Kikuchi can continue doing what he has been doing, the Mariners will be better set up for success. Hopefully, Kikuchi can continue to provide the Mariners with a quality start each time he takes the mound so that the bullpen can continue to stay fresh.

Aug 8, 2021; Bronx, New York, USA; Drew Steckenrider and his bullpen crew greatly appreciate the starters going 5 plus innings so they can keep their arms fresh. Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports /

More fresh arms mean the Mariners can game plan better.

If it wasn’t already clear, having fresh and available relievers ready to go for high leverage situations is extremely important. The starter’s ability to consistently provide a quality start has been beneficial to the structure of the bullpen. Typically during the season, there is some shuffling between AAA or even AA to get fresh relievers on the major league club.

However, recently it has been noticed that there has been a significant lack of roster moves that involve pitchers. Outside of Paul Sewald going on the Paternity List (congrats Paul!!), there have been zero roster moves involving a pitcher recently.

The continued health and performance of the pitching staff will help keep the Mariners alive in the Wild Card hunt. From here, the next challenge for the Mariners is getting their offense to provide some run support. Now that the team has proven that it can stay healthy (for the most part) it will be interesting to see what potential reinforcements are going to come when the rosters are expanded in September.

Will the Mariners bring up more hitters for bench depth? Or will they bolster their bullpen with more fresh and ready arms? Hopefully, the Mariners can find a way to break the 20 year playoff drought and bring playoff baseball back to Seattle!

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