Will the Mariners' recent coaching change help them avoid embarrassing record?

The 2023 Seattle Mariners team was a very frustrating team to watch. It seemed like a nightly occurrence that there would be a runner on third and less than two outs and it would be a pop-up and strikeout. It was so easy to predict. You knew it was going to happen. But hey, at least they got runners on base and into scoring position, something that the 2024 Mariners are terrible at right now.

The emphasis of this offseason was to improve upon the strikeouts. There was such a heavy emphasis placed on it that they tore apart this roster and sent away three of the biggest contributors in that category (Suarez to the Diamondbacks, Kelenic to the Braves and Teo signed with the Dodgers after the Mariners declined his qualifying offer).

They even added an "offensive coordinator" in Brant Brown. Brown had great successes in changing players' offensive careers as guys like Jorge Soler enjoyed breakout-type seasons with him as a coach. A lot of fans were calling for a new hitting coach last year, but the addition of Brown seemingly satisfied a lot of fans craving for change. However, that move didn't seem to change the offensive philosophy and he was ultimately let go midseason.

The roster changes seem to be mute as the Mariners are on pace to set another record, one that fans and the players shouldn't be excited to claim. This Mariners ballclub is currently on pace to break the single-season strikeout record for a team after the Twins set the record in 2023 (the Mariners weren't too far behind them last year).

The Mariners are on pace to break the single-season strikeout record

After getting rid of those previously stated high strikeout players, the additions don't seem to be much better. That, paired with career-high strikeout rates for guys like Cal Raleigh (35.3%), Mitch Garver (32.1%), Jorge Polanco (31%), Julio Rodriguez (27.7%), is just is a recipe for disaster. The Mariners may not have someone reach 200 strikeouts (like last year when Teo and Geno did it), but it seems like six or seven of their everyday starters will approach 150-160 strikeouts. That is a big concern, it is almost one through nine that are striking out at a very high rate.

This offense has been terrible to watch, and hopefully, things will change soon. The way that this pitching has been dominating, the offense being just an average offense with more consistency (which is what they were trying to improve upon in the offseason) could make this a World Series type of team. The middle-of-the-order players need to get things on track and focus on the rest of the season. The team still sits in first place, despite the offensive struggles, and if from here on out, they can show some improvements, we could be looking at a potential AL favorite.