Mariners should regret letting failed reclamation project join Yankees’ bullpen

The 2024 Mariners bullpen was set to be one of the better units in the game. Led by Andres Munoz and Matt Brash, the team went out and added young flamethrower Gregory Santos to the mix, forming a trio that was up there with the best.

Fast forward to spring training and Brash was facing a serious arm injury, while a lot of question marks surrounded Santos' status. The bullpen still looked like it would be good enough to bridge the gap to those two, with guys like Gabe Speier, Taylor Saucedo, Trent Thornton and a few that fit the Mariners "pitching lab" mold. After losing Brash, and Santos having thrown just 5.1 innings (until his recent return), the bullpen has been carried by Munoz.

You can always trust the Mariners to develop bullpen arms. They have repeatedly shown that they are elite at it, even this year with Austin Voth and Collin Snider. But they just didn't have the type of depth necessary with two high-leverage arms like Brash and Santos out for most of the year.

Seattle should regret letting Luke Weaver go to the Yankees, where he has claimed the closer role

The Mariners could use another solid arm at the back of the bullpen, and they had a near-perfect fit on their squad last year. Luke Weaver made quite the first impression with Mariners fans in his Seattle debut, throwing two innings and striking out five of the six batters he faced. After spending much of his career as a starter, even the early part of 2023 before Seattle claimed him, the Mariners looked to deploy him as a multi-inning reliever, but just couldn't work their "pitching lab" magic. He went on to put up a 6.08 ERA in 13 1/3 innings in his time working out of the Mariners bullpen before being designated for assignment.

The Yankees, in need of a pitcher after losing Nestor Cortes, opted to let him start the final three games of the 2023 season and he was pretty good, (1-1, 3.38 ERA in 13 1/3 innings). Though he had a short run of success as a starter, the Yankees brought him back in 2024 with the intentions of moving him to the bullpen on a full-time basis, and it has been a genius move. The 30-year-old righty has thrown 83 innings with a 2.93 ERA and a career high 11 K/9, while maintaining solid walk numbers. Weaver has been a key part of a Yankees bullpen, even claiming the closer role, that has been one of the best units in baseball, especially since the calendar flipped to September. In 11 innings in the month, Weaver has a 1.64 ERA and an impressive 23 strikeouts to just three walks, as the Yankees have taken a half-game lead all the way up to six over the Baltimore Orioles. Weaver will certainly play a huge role if the Yankees were to make a deep postseason run.

The Mariners don't miss on pitchers very often, but Weaver being a key piece in the Yankees bullpen, while it is obvious that Seattle's 'pen is taxed and inexperienced, really hurts this Mariners team.