Seattle Mariners: 2017 Team Preview

Important Subtractions

Starting Pitcher Taijuan Walker—Traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in November as the key piece for the Diamondbacks in the Jean Segura trade, Walker has flashed potential in his young career but has yet to put together a strong full season. He’s still young, just 24 years old this season, but has a career ERA of 4.18. He has enough talent that the Mariners could regret trading him, but he’ll have to take a step forward to make that happen.

Infielder Ketel Marte—Marte was also part of the Taijuan Walker/Jean Segura trade. He was a very nice surprise for the Mariners when he came up from Triple-A in 2015 and hit .283/.351/.402 in 57 games. They had hopes that he would solidify the shortstop position, but he struggled mightily last year when he hit .259/.287/.323.

Outfielder Seth Smith—Smith was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Yovani Gallardo. In his two years with the Mariners, Smith did what he was supposed to do—hit right-handed pitching. He wasn’t very good on defense and will be 34 years old, so the team swapped him for a pitcher they hope can eat 160 or more innings without being terrible.

Pitcher Nate Karns—Karns was traded to the Kansas City Royals for Jarrod Dyson. The Mariners had hoped Karns would be a solid part of their rotation last year, but he had a 5.15 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in 22 games (15 starts). He was better than his ERA, though. He had a 4.05 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching).

Relief Pitcher Vidal Nuno—Nuno was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for catcher Carlos Ruiz. He was the Mariners’ most-used left-handed reliever last year, but he should be easy to replace.