3 underrated moves to help push the Mariners into the playoffs

Tanner Scott, RP (Miami Marlins)

Some baseball diehards will look at Tanner Scott and balk at the idea that he could be underrated. That's fair, but the bulk of baseball fans may not know just how good he has been. Over the past season and a half, Scott has been one of the premier high leverage arms in all of baseball. Since the start of the 2023 season, Scott has pitched to a 1.89 ERA over 123.2 innings, striking batters out at a 11.4 strikeouts per nine inning clip. He also has 30 saves over that span.

Scott is everything the Mariners need in their bullpen right now. A high leverage pitcher who happens to be a lefty. See, the Mariners have struggled this year in the bullpen with both injuries and ineffectiveness. Bullpen arms who have missed significant time include Matt Bash, Gregory Santos and Gabe Speier. Even Andres Munoz has been dealing with a nagging back injury that has kept him from pitching, or rendered him ineffective at times.

Speier has missed some time, but has not looked like himself at all this year. Tayler Saucedo has been good, but he is more of a "lefty specialist" rather than a full on high leverage pitcher. Tanner Scott provides the Mariners with an Andres Munoz level arm, which will lengthen the bullpen to the same level as it once was back in 2022 when the Mariners made the playoffs and ended the drought.

Scott's baseball savant page is exciting. His average fastball velocity is just a tick under 97 MPH, and he throws that pitch 60% of the time. He also has a knockout slider that he throws 39% of the time. Yes, he is just a two-pitch pitcher, but both of his pitches are stunning. When he is not striking opponents out, he causes a ton of groundouts. 51% of his recorded outs in 2024 are via the ground ball.

New York Post's baseball insider Jon Heyman reported that the Mariners have been one of the teams vying for Scott. Scott will be a free agent after this season, meaning he is a rental. But don't let that fool you, he will cost a serious prospect or three to pry him away from the Marlins. Heyman reports that the Yankees, Orioles, Phillies, Dodgers, and Diamondbacks, along with the Mariners, have checked in to get him. If a bidding war happens, the Mariners have the prospects to make a deal happen. The question is: Are the Mariners willing to overpay for a rental relief pitcher with tons of upside?