3 free agent bullpen arms the Mariners need to target for 2024

A perennial strength of the Mariners, they could be lacking 1 or 2 high leverage arms after the loss of Paul Sewald. These 3 relievers should be at the top of the Mariners list to fill that void.

Los Angeles Angels v Atlanta Braves
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Mariners Bullpen Target: Joe Jimenez - Similar to Lopez, 2/3-year deal in the 8-10 million range

Joe Jimenez is the most intriguing arm in my opinion. I think his ability to strike out guys at an elite rate (11.7 K/9) and his ability to limit walks (2.2 BB/9) make him the perfect arm to add to the back end of this bullpen. He was elite in 2023 and more of the same in 2022 (12.2 K/9) and (2.1 BB/). In those 2 years he has a 3.26 ERA and has thrown 56 2/3 innings and 56 1/3 innings. He will be 29 for all of the 2024 season and comes with playoff experience as a key part of the Braves bullpen. He relies heavily on his fastball (62.2% usage) and it is a good one at 95.4 mph, 26.3 whiff %, and a crazy 2431 average spin rate. He is a 2-pitch guy with a slider that he uses 30% of the time, but, again, it is nasty with a 45.7% whiff %.

Jimenez might be a little more expensive, a million or 2 per year, than Lopez, but he is the type of guy who would really shorten the games with guys like Brash, Munoz, Topa and Speier. If there is a reliever that I wouldn't shy away from giving 3 years and $30 million dollars to, it is this guy. He might cost that and possibly even more to pry away from the Atlanta Braves, who have some very club-friendly contracts on their books.

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