3 underrated moves to help push the Mariners into the playoffs

In case you just woke up from a coma, the Mariners went out and made their team significantly better this week. They were able to pry Randy Arozarena away from the Rays, and got Yimi Garcia to help the bullpen. While I love both of those moves, there is still work to be done. Maybe I am just greedy at this point, but there are still holes on this team. Even after acquiring Justin Turner.

In my opinion, the Mariners still need another everyday bat for the lineup. J.P. Crawford will miss more than a month, and there still is not a concrete timetable for Julio Rodriguez to return. We know that they will be back at some point, but the Mariners still need to fill their positions. At the moment, Victor Robles is carrying the load in Center Field. His contributions have been massive, but how long can you depend on him? Dylan Moore is basically the new everyday shortstop, and while he has had moments, he can be very inconsistent at the plate.

The Mariners also need another bullpen arm or two. Yes, they acquired Yimi Garcia from the Blue Jays, but they also sent Ryne Stanek to the New York Mets. They have dealt with injuries and inconsistent play from their bullpen, and another arm or two to help Andres Munoz should be a top priority moving forward.

I would love nothing more than for the Mariners to go "All in" and trade for another superstar like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and while there have been rumors swirling about Vlad becoming a Mariner, I just don't think it'll happen. At least not this season. The Mariners front office has been among the busiest at the deadline, and I fully expect that to be the case up until the deadline.

While acquiring another superstar may be out of the realm of possibility, the rest of the roster can be supplemented with underrated players. Maybe they are veterans on struggling teams, or maybe they are having a down year. Maybe a team is looking to capitalize on a player's value. Anyway, here are three underrated bats that could help the Mariners struggling offense.

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?

Tyler and Taylor Rogers, RPs (San Francisco Giants)

Okay I know that I am cheating here with two names, but this is my list, my rules. Why would I group them together? Well, they're twins! I still think it's cool that they both made it to the Majors, and they both ended up on the same team. Now, maybe they'll both be traded together to the Mariners. The Giants have already traded away one of their best hitters, signaling the tear down.

Tayler and Tyler maybe twins, but they couldn't be much more different pitchers if they wanted to be. Tyler is a slow-throwing submarine style right handed pitcher, while Taylor is a hard throwing left handed pitcher. Tyler's average fastball velocity sits right at 82 MPH, while his brother Taylor's fastball averages 93 MPH.

Tyler Rogers, the right handed twin, may throw one of the slowest fastballs in the game today, but he is still plenty effective. He currently leads the Majors in games pitched (54), and has only walked three batters over his 49.2 innings of work. three walks! That's it. He limits hard hits as well, as he has only given up six home runs this season. Tyler may not be flashy, but he has been one of the most consistent relief pitchers for some time now.

Taylor is much more of a flashy pitcher than his twin Tyler. Once a former All-Star with the Brewers, Taylor has turn into one of the games best high leverage left handed pitchers. Taylor is a two-pitch pitcher, tossing a sinker and a sweeper. He, like his twin brother, limits hard contact at a very high rate. He has given up just four home runs this season and strikes out batters at a 9.9 strikeout per nine inning clip.

Both twins are set to become free agents after the 2025 season. Tyler is entering his last year of arbitration, while Taylor is owed $12,000,000 in 2025. That is a steep price to pay for a bullpen arm, even with Taylor's track record. Jerry and co. have done a good job managing money, and making moves to free up money to acquire players.

Just because Taylor is making a lot of money doesn't mean the Giants are going to give him away, or his brother Tylere for that matter. The Mariners would have to give up a significant prospect haul to land just one of the twins, let alone both. I know I have said it would be awesome to see both traded at the same time, but in this case, both would pack a serious punch for a bullpen desperate for length.

As always, Go Mariners!