3 biggest question marks for Seattle Mariners 1/3 of the way through the 2024 season

Who will step up in the bullpen? Or, do they need to go get help?

What has been bar far the most consistent and elite part of Mariners teams over the last few years seemed like it only got better heading into 2024. A core of Andres Munoz, Matt Brash along with solid mid-leverage options like Gabe Speier and Taylor Saucedo, added one of the youngest relievers with elite upside in Gregory Santos.

Unfortunately, the Mariners were dealt two pretty big blows when news came out that Brash and Santos would be on the injured list to start the year. There is still hope that Santos will return this summer, but the Mariners will have to piece it together without Brash (who underwent Tommy John). Dipoto responded by adding former rival, Ryne Stanek, to the bullpen to give Scott Servais even more options.

While Andres Munoz has been one of the best relievers in baseball, he is also on pace to throw nearly 70 innings this year (his career high is 65 in 2022, and threw just 45 in 2023). This is a lot to place on Munoz and we saw down the stretch last year how overuse can really catch up with them pretty quickly.

This begs the question, who will be the guy to step up to be the other high leverage option for Servais? The likely candidates are Gabe Speier or Ryne Stanek. Both have been up and down but possess the elite stuff to fill that void. In an average bullpen, they are probably solid high-leverage options, and maybe they revert back to their traditional roles when the team gets Santos back.

But you are still looking to replace the loss of Matt Brash as well. Does it make sense for the team to go out and get a solid high leverage option? Perhaps Jimi Garcia could be that answer. Maybe even Garcia and a big bat from the Blue Jays could solve all of the Mariner's problems... highly unlikely, but it's fun to talk about.

In all seriousness, this bullpen could use another arm and whether that is getting Santos back and healthy or acquiring another solid reliever, they will need help at some point as the season will likely catch up with some of these pitchers.