All-time Mariners' pitching staff of best players who got away

As we did for parts 1 and 2 of this series, this pitching staff is comprised of both starters and relievers which the Mariners had control of at one point in time. If you have not looked through parts one and two just yet, no need to fear. You can find those below. This lineup consists of players who either played for the Mariners, or who just spent time in their Minor League system. All players who the Front Office let go of in one way or another that we wonder what could have happened had they stayed in the PNW.

All-time Mariners’ infield of best players who got away

All-time Mariners' outfield of best players who got away

With players such as A-Rod and David Ortiz in the infield, along with Adam Jones and Shin Soo-Choo in the outfield grass, this list has some names that could have altered the course of the Mariners for years following their respective trades.

Although the Mariners have been able to piece together one of the best Starting Rotations in all of baseball currently, along with a highly touted Bullpen, pitching has been a struggle at times years prior. With names such as Erik Bedard, Aaron Harang, 'Safeco Joe', etc. taking the mound in the past, let's dive into some pieces that we could have seen flourish in Seattle.

SP - Randy Johnson - (7/31/1998) SP Randy Johnson to Houston for SP Freddy Garcia, SS Carlos Guillen, and SP John Halama.

I know most of you are saying "Hey, Randy Johnson pitched well in Seattle, played here for 10 years, and won a Cy Young award". If this is you, just know you aren't wrong. You're very, very right. Yes, "The Big Unit" pitched the majority of his career for the great Mariner teams in the '90s, but did he go into Cooperstown with an 'S' on his hat? I rest my case.

Randy Johnson was a 5x All-Star while pitching in Seattle, and was the 'Ace' of the rotation on a team loaded with talent. Thankfully getting Freddy Garcia and Carlos Guillen back in return from Houston makes this deal look a lot better. That being said, though, who else made it on this all-time lineup already?

Randy would go on to finish the 1998 season with the Houston Astros, before he would then sign a 4-year / $52,000,000 contract (5th-year option) with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he, like several others on this list, would go on to win a World Series. Not only that, but he also went on to win 4-straight N.L. Cy Young Awards between 1999-2002. At the time, I don't think many expected Johnson to have the best seasons of his career in his 30s, but man, would he have been nice to have going into the 21st century. Don't forget about that perfect game that he tossed, either.

SP - R.A Dickey - Left via Free Agency in 2008, signing with the Minnesota Twins.

Like many Knuckle-Ballers throughout MLB history, R.A. Dickey did not have immediate or long-lasting success. As a 1st-round pick by the Texas Rangers in 1996, the once-touted phenom struggled with the injury bug and had to get creative. That is when he learned his secret sauce to make it in the Big Leagues. Life as a knuckleball pitcher is full of ups and downs, and not many people know that as well as Dickey.

He bounced from team to team, even flip-flopping between the Twins and Mariners multiple times between 2007-2009. It wasn't until around 2010, nearly 15 years after being drafted, that the New York Mets gave the 35-year-old a shot. Dickey found his stride with the Mets and even wound up winning the N.L. Cy Young Award in 2012.

I can't blame the Mariners' Front Office for not knowing that R.A. Dickey would become a Cy Young-winning pitcher or even a pitcher who would last much longer in the league. No one could have anticipated him doing what he did during this time frame, but props to him for never giving up on his dreams and for having the will to be creative to do so. Welcome to our all-time lineup, R.A.

SP - Pablo Lopez - (7/20/2017) SP Pablo Lopez, Brayan Hernandez, Brandon Miler, and Lukas Schiraldi to the Miami Marlins in exchange for RP David Phelps.

The 2017 Mariners were a team with high hopes, who just could not get the job done to make the playoffs. But they had a chance. Hence why this trade at the time wasn't too big of a deal. Any contending team needs to ensure that their bullpen is deep enough to make that push, which is why bringing in David Phelps made sense. When you look back years later though, it doesn't as much.

Phelps was a good bullpen arm, having posted a 3.45 ERA with a K/9 of 9.8 with Miami before the trade went down. He was solid with the Mariners the rest of that 2017 season as well, after pitching a whole 8.2 innings. Yes, just 8.2 innings. He left the game vs. the Kansas City Royals with an arm injury, that later turned out to require Tommy John surgery. Thus forcing him to miss the 2018 season.

All in all, looking at the 2 major parts of this trade with Phelps and Lopez, it is safe to say that the 8.2 Innings of work that the Mariners received from Phelps did not pan out. Lopez is in the midst of a very promising career, having been voted into his first All-Star game last season, ironically which took place at T-Mobile Park.

After proving himself for several years with the Marlins, the Minnesota Twins signed Lopez to a 4YR/$73.5M contract, in which he will be entering his second year. Thank you to the baseball gods for making sure the Mariners have a top pitching rotation in all of baseball now. Otherwise, this would be yet another trade that M's fans would all be losing sleep over. Pablo Lopez definitely cracks our starting rotation.

SP - Doug Fister - (7/30/2011) SP Doug Fister and RP David Pauley to the Detroit Tigers for pitchers Charlie Furbush and Chance Ruffin, 3B Francisco Rodriguez, and OF Casper Wells in 2011.

Doug Fister is not a huge name like Randy Johnson or some other players on this list, but he was able to be a nice contributor to the Detroit Tigers teams of the early 2010s. He helped Detroit make the playoffs in each of his three seasons with the team, and followed that up with his last truly good year in 2014, playing for the Nationals. In 2.5 years with the Mariners,

Fister never posted a winning record. Something clicked in Detroit; however, as he finished the 2011 season with them and posted an 8-1 record to go along with a 1.79 ERA. The prime of his career lasted 4 seasons, between 2011-2014, and then failed to post an ERA better than 4.19 after that.

Did the Mariners at least get a decent return in the deal? Safe to say, that's a no. And I know many of us liked Charlie Furbush, although his numbers may not have been anything crazy. That being said, he was a good left-handed reliever for us in the 'pen. He even was able to be a spot starter on occasion. Certainly better than David Pauley who was sent to Detroit alongside Fister, though. Casper Wells was also really nothing more than a low-percentage pull for our Immaculate Grids, retiring just a few years after the trade.

Was this an earth-shattering deal? No. Could Fister have had the same success in Seattle that he had in Detroit and Washington? Who knows. But, I know he would be a nice addition to the back end of the rotation in this all-time lineup.

RP - Edwin Diaz - (12/3/2018) Closer Edwin Diaz and 2B Robinson Cano to the New York Mets for OF Jarred Kelenic, OF Jay Bruce, RP Anthony Swarzak, SP Justin Dunn, and RP Gerson Bautista.

Perhaps the biggest loss in this trade is missing out on Diaz jogging onto the field to close a game with 'Narco' by Timmy Trumpet blasting in the background. Maybe one of the best walk-out scenes I have seen since J.J Putz walked out to 'Thunderstruck' back in the day.

Fortunately for us, the Mets decided to spend boat-loads of money last offseason for a team to finish 12 games under .500, ensuring that we wouldn't have to see Diaz blaze fastballs by hitters to close out games in the playoffs. Granted, this trade did make a ton of sense at the time, especially when you look at the cliff that Cano fell off after his time in Seattle. But, now with the Mariners parting ways with Kelenic this offseason to shed the salaries of Evan White and Marco Gonzalez, it could now be seen as another miss of a trade.

This was the first real trade that occurred to kick-start the rebuild in Seattle. Hence why shedding Cano's massive contract along with a Closer wasn't a bad thing. Who needs a closer when you aren't winning many games?

Had Diaz stayed in Seattle, though, we know he would be a huge asset to the "Los Bomberos". You can't be too mad at this trade, especially given where the Mariners were at the time. But, if we see Kelenic hit bombs and flourish in Atlanta, this could be much more of a sad sight for Mariners fans. Maybe we could see Diaz back in the PNW at some point in his career, but for now, that is only going to be in this hypothetical lineup.

RP - Paul Sewald - (7/31/2023) Mariners sent beloved CP Paul Sewald to Arizona in exchange for INF Josh Rojas, OF Dominic Canzone, and 2B Ryan Bliss in 2023.

We have now reached the most recent, and possibly most gut-punching for fans as of late. In a deal that had us scratching our heads, wondering if we were buying or selling at the deadline, the M's sent the heart-and-soul of our bullpen, Paul Sewald, to the Arizona Diamondbacks for 3 position players. 2 of which will see a good amount of playing time this year, while Ryan Bliss will be looking to crack the Major League roster at some point soon.

This isn't the worst trade on paper, especially given the fact that everything the Mariners Pitching Coaches touch seems to turn to gold. That being said, we did have to watch Sewald in the World Series this past season. As was the case for many players we traded away that are in this lineup. Safe to say all M's fans love Paul and wish him nothing but the best.

Diving into this trade, Dipoto was able to get back a decent return here. Josh Rojas will look to platoon at 3B alongside Luis Urias, while Dom Canzone will see plenty of action in the corner outfield, and provide significant depth in Right Field as Haniger has dealt with several injuries over the years and is only getting older. Ryan Bliss is an intriguing piece as well, even though the Mariners signed Jorge Polanco to play 2B this season.

The Front Office has been able to turn Relievers' careers around the last several years, and they have put together a nice Bullpen yet again this offseason. Only time will tell on this trade overall as to whether or not Paul's best ball is behind him, or if it can continue for years to come.