Mariners Pitchers I’m Most Excited to Watch in 2022

Okay, one more reliever. Ken Giles was an addition the Mariners made last offseason knowing he would not be available for the 2021 season. This tells me Dipoto and company have enough confidence in this guy from what they’ve seen from him during his years with Houston and Toronto to invest in him upfront with the long-term in mind.

Giles excelled in the role of the flame-throwing closer during his last three full seasons, as was evident by his ever-rising K/9 % (14.09% in 2019). However, it’s unfair to expect him to fill that same role coming off of Tommy John surgery, but if he can demonstrate the same command of the strike zone he did during his last two full seasons (BB/9 was 1.25 in ‘18 and 2.89 in ‘19) he should still be able to be an impact arm coming out of the bullpen.

Besides being able to provide the Mariners bullpen with another veteran arm, Giles also brings with him something that many of these young guys on the Mariners roster lack: playoff experience, and maybe more importantly, playoff success.

While the 2017 World Series was not his strongest performance (Giles allowed 5 runs in his two outings vs. the Dodgers), he did play an integral part in getting the Astros to that World Series, filling a set-up role similar to the role Sewald filled for the Mariners this past season.

Mariners brass obviously had enough confidence in him to give him a 2-year contract to play one year for the team, so I’m interested to see how much gas he has coming back from Tommy John, and what role the Mariners ask him to fill out of the bullpen in 2022.