Angels' successful reclamation of Tayler Saucedo is salt in Mariners' 2026 wounds

There's more than enough blame to go around for a Seattle Mariners team which has secured a sub-.500 season and their most losses since 2019. In the less pleasant version of a team-wide effort, this includes a bullpen which has been besieged by injuries, inconsistency and a dearth of quality options all year. It only makes Tayler Saucedo's success in Anaheim even more frustrating to watch.

Saucedo was an underrated key component of the Mariners bullpen in 2023-24, producing a 3.54 ERA over 86.1 innings which spanned across 105 appearances. Last season however, he dealt with injury issues and a loss of form which resulted in a 7.43 ERA in 13.1 combined innings over 10 games at the Major League level, and was ultimately non-tendered in November. The southpaw subsequently signed a minor league deal with the Angels, but few could have anticipated just how effective he would become.

What was interesting last season was the fact Saucedo pitched well in Triple-A Tacoma, highlighted by a 2.75 ERA in 19.2 innings over 22 appearances. This season though, he's effectively swapped things around, struggling to a 6.10 ERA in Triple-A Salk Lake, while looking excellent whenever he's played for the Angels. And by excellent, we mean to the tune of a 2.89 ERA, 2.51 FIP and 1.018 WHIP which all project to be career-bests.

To get an idea of just how effective Saucedo has been, consider that his 0.5 bWAR this season has been achieved in just 18.2 innings. However, what really sells this success in 2026, is that he accrued a 1.0 bWAR in 2023-24, when he threw his aforementioned 86.1 combined innings. Further, several of his expected results this season are even better than what he's actually produced:

The Mariners are sweating uncomfortably as the heat rises for Tayler Saucedo in Anaheim

Back in May, we did touch on how the 33-year-old had more sauce on his fastball, which included reaching 95.5 mph for his fastest pitch since 2021 and the eighth-fastest of his career. However, he's had more velocity on all five of his pitches in general, highlighted by an uptick of 4.2 mph on his slider. As such, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that he has a career-best 28.0 strikeout rate, with a 35.5 Whiff% that would be second-best in the majors if he qualified.

Along these lines, it will be interesting to see what lies ahead for Saucedo, more specifically if he can continue to produce so effectively at a higher usage rate in the majors? You would assume that the majority of Mariners fans are happy for his success, although it is somewhat baffling that the Angels of all teams fixed him, with them not exactly being a franchise renowned for smarts. The Rays? Sure. But the Angels???

Ultimately, you can objectively still understand why the Mariners did not attempt to re-sign Saucedo after last season, but it doesn't make it any less painful. Think they could have used him as a third lefty this season, with how dreadful bullpen has performed? We all know the answer, but we dare you to try and say it without adding any expletives.

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