Three Mariners that could cause the team to miss the Playoffs

The end of the season is here. Texas. Houston. Texas. The Mariners are essentially in a three-way tie for the AL West with those Texas teams. Then you need to look at the fact that there is still Toronto sitting there in the Wild Card, just hoping that we all beat each other up enough that they don't have to worry too much about their finish to the season (@Rays, Yankees, Rays) and can slide into the playoffs.

The good thing is, that everyone other than Texas controls their destiny. Toronto has to feel the best, because of the AL West inter-play situation. Houston wins out, they win the division. Seattle wins out, they win the division. Technically, if Texas and Houston both win out, Houston still wins the division due to their 9-4 series lead on Texas. That's all a story for another day.

Let's shift to the players that could most impact the Mariners on the way there. We are going to be doing two articles for this, taking a look at both the 3 Mariners that could have the biggest impact on them MAKING the playoffs, and then the 3 Mariners that could cause them to MISS the playoffs. I've decided to look at the negative for once, and check out the 3 Mariners that could cause the Mariners to miss the playoffs.

Yeah, we could look at some of the big names, and talk about how if they fail, the Mariners are going to fail alongside them. Instead, I want to look at the others on the team that need to supplement instead of carry, and how they could sink the proverbial Mariners playoff ship in 2023.

Mariners #3 Culprit: Eugenio Suarez

It really stinks when the "good guys" are struggling. You want to see them succeed, they are good in the clubhouse, and they raise the spirits of everyone around them. When things are going good, they're some of the best guys to have in all of baseball.

You can even handle the strikeouts. Geno struck out a league-leading 196 times in 2022. However, he hit .236/.332/.459 with an OPS+ of 128. This year, his OPS+ is only 100, and his slash is a pitiful .231/.323/.390, he's broken his own club record with 200 Ks already, and will likely finish top 10 all-time for the worst mark in a season. We need power and pop from Geno. The saving grace there has been his defense staying average to above average, making a handful of good plays at third.

September hasn't been kind to the bat though, as he is hitting just .200/.260/.386. We cannot expect to see those kind of numbers from Geno over the rest of the season and have a legit shot at making waves in the playoffs... if we can even get there with numbers from a contributor like that. He's 10 HR behind his pace from the last two seasons, and there isn't really an argument that he has been disappointing on offense this year. Maybe he can turn that around to finish out the season.

Mariners #2 Culprit: Ty France

I want to defend Ty France. I really do. He was an amazing pickup from the Padres trade a couple of years ago that also snagged us Andres Munoz. However, this year has not been good.

There really does need to be some kind of change made with France. Crowding the plate is one thing when you are hitting .300. You are forcing pitchers to throw into a particular spot in the zone or risk hitting you. In turn, you can focus on those spots and punish them with your bat.

Well, he is still crowding the zone, as evidenced by his league-leading 33 HBP. However, it doesn't work when you are hitting just .249/.338/.360. Those are acceptable slash numbers for a speedy second baseman or outfielder who plays solid defense. Not for a first baseman with only 10 HR and a sprint speed that ranks 533 of 571 possible players.

September has been even worse for France. He is hitting a pitiful .210/.319/.226 this month, with only one extra base hit, a double. Is it bad to suggest that he needs to pinch hit, and be relegated to the bench? If he keeps playing over the remainder of the season and hits like this, a lot of the blame is going to fall on Ty France if the Mariners miss the playoffs.