Seattle Mariners: Building up the Bullpen

The Seattle Mariners dealt bullpen arms at the deadline in exchange for prospects, but now they must focus on building the bullpen back up for 2016 and beyond.

The moves that the Seattle Mariners made at the 2016 trade deadline showed that they wanted to not only try their best to compete in 2016 in a jam packed Wild Card race, but also to get ready to contend for the American League West title in 2017 and beyond.

The Mariners traded Mike Montgomery to the Chicago Cubs early in deadline season in exchange for a very good hitter in Dan Vogelbach. It was a good move for both teams, and the Mariners definitely benefit getting a strong hitter that can play either first base or designated hitter in the future. The other major move the Mariners made at the deadline did not affect the bullpen.

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The Mariners bullpen is an odd one, no doubt. They have Edwin Diaz, a closer who has come up this season and shocked many outside of the Mariners fanbase. Diaz has been one of the best closers in the American League where there are quite a few elite relievers. Outside of Diaz, the Mariners have a bunch of “guys” with no particular standouts.

With Montgomery gone from the bullpen, the Mariners jumped at an opportunity to improve the bullpen with two different moves on Saturday. In a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Mariners received Arquimedes Caminero, a relief pitcher that will report to the Major League team. Caminero has struggled with command this season, walking 11.8% of batters faced, and his ERA is up in a range that isn’t super ideal (3.51). Caminero has disappointed so far this season for the Pirates, but could figure some things out for the Mariners in the bullpen.

The other addition the Mariners made on Saturday was trading with the Toronto Blue Jays for switch-pitcher Pat Venditte. Venditte was sent to AAA immediately following the trade, but the Mariners may decide to bring him up at some point before the end of the 2016 season. With Toronto, Venditte has spent almost all of his time in AAA, but he has appeared in 8.2 unimpressive Major League innings. During those 8.2 innings, Venditte gave up 11 hits and 5 earned runs while still striking out almost a batter an inning (7). Venditte is still an interesting pitching prospect for the bullpen because of his switch-pitching ability. During his 35 innings in AAA this season, Venditte has posted a 4.37 ERA with a 1.49 WHIP and 32.3% strikeout rate.

The additions of Venditte and Caminero are not incredibly significant for the Mariners, as most non-elite reliever additions are not. However, these moves show that the Mariners recognize a major need in their team moving forward. Teams have recently shown how much they value having a great bullpen, building on what the Kansas City Royals showed as a strength during their impressive run from the end of 2014 through their World Series Championship in 2015.

Next: Is This the Year for the Cubs?

The Mariners know that if they want to compete in the near future that they must build around Edwin Diaz in the bullpen. These moves show that they are taking steps in the right direction.