Seattle Mariners: 2017 Season Review and Offseason Preview

What Went Wrong

Overall, the Mariners’ position players were solid, but there were some offensive holes. For a stretch early in the season, no one was hotter than Taylor Motter, the long-haired utility guy. He hit .239/.316/.523 in his first 29 games. Then cold, harsh reality set in and Motter hit .176/.225/.224 in the last 63 games he appeared in. He ended up being a below replacement-level player.

Also below replacement-level was first baseman Danny Valencia. He hit .256/.314/.411 in 500 plate appearances and was awful in the field. Valencia’s primary skill is his ability to hit left-handed pitching, which he was able to do. He was 18% above average against lefties. Unfortunately, he was 14% below average against right-handed pitchers and there are far more righties than lefties pitching in the big leagues. Valencia is much more useful to a team that has a solid left-handed bat to pair with him in a platoon situation.

In the outfield, Guillermo Heredia split most of his time between left field and center field. According to UZR, he was adequate defensively in left but not good at all in center. Based on 533 career plate appearances (.249/.322/.333), he doesn’t have a good enough bat to be an everyday player if he isn’t a top notch fielder and he doesn’t appear to be a top notch fielder according to the metrics.

It was revealed after the season that Heredia played with a dislocated shoulder all year long, so maybe there’s more here than we’ve seen, but he didn’t hit for much power in the minor leagues either. He also trailed off significantly in the hitting department from mid-August on, which could be attributed to his shoulder injury.

The Mariners really struggled on the mound this year, in part because of the numerous injuries they suffered and in part because of the ineffectiveness of a few pitchers who were expected to pitch better than they did. Ariel Miranda started 29 games but had a 4.90 ERA (and 5.60 FIP). Yovani Gallardo started 22 games and had a 6.28 ERA (5.85 FIP). That’s 51 starts given to two pitchers who combined for a 5.48 ERA between them. No one thought Gallardo would be great, but he also wasn’t expected to be as bad as he was.

Then there was King Felix Hernandez, who had the worst season of his 13-year career. Injuries limited him to 16 starts. When he did pitch, his 4.36 ERA was the second-worst ERA he’s ever had, but his 5.02 FIP was his worst. He also had major problems with home runs, allowing 17 round-trippers in 86.7 innings. The Mariners seem to know the king is no longer The King, so they expect to treat him more cautiously next season.

As mentioned earlier, Drew Smyly missed the entire season. He was supposed to be a mainstay in the rotation, as was Hisashi Iwakuma, who was limited to six starts. Iwakuma had arthroscopic right shoulder debridement surgery in September and won’t resume throwing for five months. Don’t expect either guy to pitch for the Mariners next year.