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?

Josh Bell, 1B (Miami Marlins)

Why trade for Josh Bell, when you had Ty France at home? Yeah, that was my terrible try at a joke. But in all seriousness, if you compare the slash lines of Josh Bell (.239/.305/.394.699 with an OPS+ of 92) and Ty France (.223/.312/.350/.662 with an OPS+ of 94), they are almost identical. The only real difference is the OPS< which Bell leads by almost .040 points.

Bell and France may be similar, but they do have a distinct difference: power. Josh Bell may not hit for average like he did a few years ago, but he still has plenty of power in that bat. He has hit 14 home runs, 18 doubles and a triple. Compare those to Ty France's 8 home runs, 14 doubles and no triples, and you can now spot the difference. France was let go because he couldn't hit for any power, or contact, but Bell can still hit for power.

Like France, Bell was placed on waivers by the Marlins last week. As of writing this, he is still active on the roster for the Marlins. It is unlikely that Bell will be claimed by anyone, so the Marlins and Mariners could still work out a trade once he officially clears waivers. Bell exercised his player option for $16,500,000 earlier this offseason. He will be a free agent after this season.

While I would much rather the Mariners pay the price for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from the Blue Jays, Bell would be a decent consolation prize for the Mariners. He is a switch hitter, who hits right-handed pitching (.256/.325/.441/.766) much better than left-handed pitching (.219/.281/.342/.623). He could platoon with Tyler Locklear at first, with Locklear sitting against righty's.

Bell is a true "Low risk" type player. If he doesn't perform, the Mariners are off the hook for him financially after this season. If he performs well, then you get that performance the Mariners have needed since 2022 at first base. Bell will turn 32 years old this August, and he for sure has seen his best seasons behind him. But given the choice to roll out a rookie who strikes out 40+% of the time, or a veteran who can still hit for power, give me the vet 100% of the time.