What three teams are a threat to the Mariners raiding the waiver wire?
This is a big list of players that teams have the ability to claim and some of these are pretty big names that can help a playoff contender. Right now the Mariners are number 26 in the waiver order. The only teams with a worse pick are the Rays, Dodgers, Orioles and Braves. I am going to look at the teams ahead of the Mariners in the waiver order that could claim players mentioned by Passan and Rosenthal. On a side note, the Angels are pretty much that friend in your fantasy football league that gets mad toward the end of the season and starts dropping their players because they are out of it.
Team 1: Texas Rangers
The Texas Rangers could use a lot of the players on that list and currently . The Rangers just snapped an eight game losing streak yesterday with win yesterday over the Mets. The Rangers can hit but their bullpen can't finish games, they carry a 4.71 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, and they give up 1.29 homeruns per 9 innings, one of the worst in baseball. The Rangers are 13th worst bullpen in baseball according to Fangraphs. The Rangers could use Matt Moore who owns a 2.30 ERA , .977 WHIP, 47 K's, and 20 holds through 43 innings this season.
Another name on the list is Reynaldo Lopez, who has pitched well since he was trade to the Angels. Owning a 2.31 ERA, 1.457 WHIP, 19 K's, over 11.2 innings with the Angels. He has an incredible 14.7 SO per 9 innings with the Angels. He would definitely be someone that could help the Rangers bullpen. These are 2 players that could really hurt the Mariners chances if they made it through waivers to the the Rangers, who hold the number 24 spot. The Rangers are currently tied with the Mariners a top the AL West.
Team 2: Houston Astros
Houston is 23rd in the waiver order ahead of the Mariners and Rangers. The Astros like the Rangers are about middle of pack in the MLB with their bullpen. So they could use Moore and Lopez as well in their bullpen. I also think they would love to have Giolitio like everyone else in the playoff race, I presume. Giolito was having a pretty good year until he got traded to the Angels. With the White Sox he had and ERA of 3.79 and an ERA+ of 117. So he was an above average SP. With the Angels though he has been more of the pitcher we saw in 2022. In 6 starts with the Angels he has a 6.89 ERA and an ERA+ of 66. The Astros are known for making pitchers better when they get them on their roster. Giolito is not someone I would want to see go to the Astros. The Astros are currently tied with the Mariners a top the AL West.
Team 3: Blue Jays
The last team that I don't want to see claim any of the players above is the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays have dealt with pitching injuries to relief pitchers like Jordan Romano (who was activated off the IL a couple weeks ago with a back injury), and Erik Swanson who just landed on the IL with spine inflammation. They have also had to deal with the fall off of Alek Manoah a Cy Young candidate from 2022. I think the Blue Jays would have to be in on all of the pitchers Passan and Rosenthal mentioned, because of the things I mentioned above. The Blue Jays are currently 3.5 games back of the Mariners, Astros, Rangers for the third wildcard spot and hold 21st pick of the waiver order.
Lets hope none of the teams I mentioned get any of the players they claim and that teams before them on the waiver order like the Diamondbacks, Reds, Cubs, Marlins and Giants get them. Lets cross our fingers and hope the NL teams claim all of these players.