Seattle Mariners: Felix Hernandez Ends Winter League Stint

Felix Hernandez made two appearances in the Venezuelan winter league over the last couple weeks. The Seattle Mariners star hurler will hope to get himself right over the offseason after a pair of underwhelming seasons.

Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez elected to pitch in the winter league in his native Venezuela this month in an effort to stay sharp before next spring’s World Baseball Classic. After a rather disappointing season by his lofty standards, the veteran right-hander was also likely hoping to get himself back on track with some strong innings before the new year.

Hernandez’s winter league stint – his first since 2003 when he was only 17 – is now over, perhaps a bit sooner than some may have expected. King Felix made two starts for the Navegantes de Magellanes before the team was eliminated from playoff contention. Hernandez could have continued pitching if he wanted, as the league allows players from non-playoff squads to be re-drafted onto the remaining clubs.

However, Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto confirmed that the six-time All-Star has turned down that chance and will continue preparing for next year on his own. He is not due to pitch again until Spring Training.

Hernandez made his first winter league start on December 22, and it didn’t exactly go as planned. He was on a strict limit of either two innings or 25-30 pitches, according to the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish. Hernandez made it through just one frame, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks. He also struck out a pair, tossed a wild pitch and committed a balk.

Divish is quick to point out, however, that most of the batters Hernandez faced were about 60 games deep into their season. Having not pitched in a game since September, some noticeable rust was not unexpected from the King. Hernandez’s second outing on Thursday was much better, as he surrendered two runs on three hits and a walk over four innings. All the damage came in the first frame, and the righty was unblemished over his last three innings.

Hernandez threw to a familiar face during his winter league excursion, Mariners teammate Jesus Sucre. The 28-year-old catcher has appeared in 90 games for the M’s over the past four seasons, slashing .209/.246/.276 in 264 plate appearances. Earlier this month, Seattle avoided arbitration with Sucre on a one-year, $630,000 contract.

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Hernandez made 25 starts for the Mariners in 2016, putting up an uncharacteristic 3.82 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 1.88 K/BB ratio over 153.1 innings. He missed some time with a calf strain suffered while, yes, celebrating a home run. The 2015 campaign fell considerably short of Hernandez’s previous Cy Young form as well. Though he won 18 games that season, he posted a 3.53 ERA and 1.18 WHIP, well below the career-best 2.14 and 0.92 marks he managed only a year earlier.

Diminished velocity has played a key role in King Felix’s decline over the past two seasons. His average fastball speed has dipped from 92.5 to 92.1 to 90.5 mph each year since 2014, as per Fangraphs PitchF/X. As a result, he has featured it less prominently in his repertoire, relying more on his sinker, changeup and curveball.

Learning how to pitch with lesser stuff is something most big league hurlers have to deal with at some point, and for many of them it can take years to figure out how to effectively adapt. Due to turn 31 next April, it might be happening sooner than Hernandez would have liked, but this is a guy who has been racking up a lot of mileage on his arm from a young age. Nevertheless, it also gives him a lot of time to work things out.

While he might continue struggling to overpower hitters like he used to (career-low 7.2 K/9 this year), Hernandez will try to trim down the career-high 3.8 BB/9 he conceded in 2016.

Next: M's Must Get Felix to Postseason

The two winter league starts are just the first step in what Felix Hernandez and the Mariners hope will be an encouraging offseason of work for the 12-year veteran. MLB clubs typically aren’t thrilled with the prospect of their stars playing in the World Baseball Classic, but a good showing there by Hernandez on the Venezuelan team could springboard him toward an improved 2017 performance.