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3 moves for the Mariners to make after the firing of Scott Servais
The Mariners had quite the off day on their way back home as they fired both Scott Servais and Jarret DeHart. Here are 3 follow up moves Seattle should make
34 games left in the season. That's when the Mariners decided to shake things up by deciding to fire both their Manager, Scott Servais, and their hitting coach, Jarret DeHart. However, it may be too little too late with the Mariners 5.5 games back of the division leading Astros while being even further back in the Wild Card picture as they sit 7.5 games back of the final spot currently held by the Kansas City Royals.
Seeing the Mariners record of 64-64 makes things feel a bit worse than they actually are. You think about years past, and you know that to get to the playoffs, you need to end up somewhere in that 86-90 win range to get a spot now that there are three Wild Card teams that earn berths. Right now, the Astros are on pace for 88 wins, so the Mariners would need to go 24-10 to match that.
However, the Mariners have the 25th-ranked remaining strength of schedule, while the Astros have the 7th-ranked when it comes to the average win percentage of teams remaining to face (.514-.486). If the Rangers falter a bit and finish in line with that mark, they would end up with 86 wins. It's not a big difference, but slight enough that it could mean the world to the Mariners. Does 22-12 sound a lot more manageable than 24-10 to you? I know it's just two games, but it seems much more doable.
The Mariners haven't been good the last 2 months, and that's still being nice about it. We are asking this team to win as many games in their next 34 contests as we just saw them win in their last 55 or so. The Mariners are a team of streaks though, as we have seen them go 6-10, 38-21, and 20-33. If they play at that exact same win rate that they did win they went 38-21... they would go 22-12 to finish the year.
All of that leads to this. The season isn't over, but it's getting tighter by the day. Let's look into it and check out the 3 next steps that the Mariners need to take after the firing of Scott Servais and Jarret DeHart to try and salvage the season.
Mariners move #1: The Mitches. Garver has to sit and Haniger has to DH
Let's start with the obvious one. I really thought that getting Garver back behind the plate part-time and getting a bit more involved in the game would help him out, possibly getting him more into the flow, and that it would help the bat get going. Yet, it hasn't happened at all, and in fact, well, it just hasn't made a difference.
- Pre-backup C: .171/.285/.316
- Since backup-C: .160/.289/.337
The average is worse and the slugging is better, but he still just isn't doing good. It's not acceptable, and you can't put a player like that into the lineup at all. There aren't a lot of options to replace him, but you could try Michael Papierski from Tacoma or maybe Jake Anchia from Arkansas, but the team should refrain from Harry Ford and ensure they don't call him up too early.
Then there is Haniger. If you are treating your OF as Randy, Robles, Raley, and Rodriguez, all better hitters and better defenders, then there isn't a spot for Haniger. You could solely DH him, and maybe that's the secret when you look at his splits. As an OF this season, Haniger is hitting .194/.273/.323 in 77 games. As a DH, he is hitting .286/.366/.460 through 20 games. That's not just good, that's downright fantastic. If the Mariners could get that from their DH (Haniger) to finish the year, it would be a massive boon to this team.
Mariners move #2: Canzone needs to be in AAA
Dominic Canzone was definitely a fun piece when the Mariners were able to get him from the Diamondbacks last year as a part of the Paul Sewald trade. Although it seemed like a win/win move at the time for each team, Sewald's struggles this year makes it seem like a convincing win for the Mariners, especially with Rojas's defense and all the control on players that the Mariners acquired.
Canzone has just not been able to put it together though. I think he needs more time in AAA to get regular at-bats and grow in his experience and confidence before taking on this much playing time at the major league level.
Since July 2nd, Canzone is hitting just .146/.217/.293. He did miss a month of time with the injury which is another part of the reason that I think he needs to go to Tacoma. If he isn't fully healthy, trying to hit major league pitching becomes that much harder. Give him time down in AAA, and let the big dawgs earn their keep in September when the team really needs them.
Mariners move #3: Officially give Wilson and Martinez their titles
It does look like the Mariners named Dan Wilson not just the interim manager, but the full-time manager going forward. That's what it looked like in their press release, at least, where there was no mention of interim, and there was even a note that he was going to be the teams' 18th full-time manager. It caught everyone off guard, but he has been with the team for just over a decade, so plenty of the players are familiar with him.
Then, there is Edgar Martinez. He was the team's hitting coach back from 2015-2018 while leading the team to have OPS marks of 15th, 8th, 17th, and 19th. It's nothing special, but still worlds above what we have seen from the team over the last couple of seasons. While it sounds like he is just taking over in the interim right now, it would be good for the team to just make it official and belay any uncertainty about his role so the team can focus 100% on the remainder of the season.
Outside of that, I don't think that the team needs to make any coaching changes. Acta and Negron seem like great fits as your base coaches. Pete Woodworth is a massive stud as the team's pitching coach, and they need to make sure that they keep him locked up and around for a long time.
I don't know if I am in the minority here, but I think you need to keep Dipoto and Hollander in their roles as well. They've done the most with the tight circumstances and allowances they've been handed, and if we ever see the checkbook open up just a bit, and I mean only pushing them to around 10th in baseball for payroll, you could see them really cook and get wild with this team.
Make those adjustments to the lineup. Cement those roles for Wilson and Martinez. With 34 games left, it's not over, and how sweet would it be to chase down Houston and get them back after watching the team drop 15.5 games in the standings since June 18th. It can happen, and I'm back on board with this team going forward after a brief spell of negativity. Go Mariners!