Seattle Mariners: Why King Felix deserves another shot

A once-dominant starter, Felix Hernandez has struggled over his past three seasons to find his groove that made him a 6-time All-Star.

Any team who played the Seattle Mariners 5-years ago would know that if Felix Hernandez was on the mound, they were going to have a difficult road to winning the game that evening.

The 6-3 right-hander from Valencia, Venezuela has spent his entire 15-year career with the Seattle Mariners, signing long term contracts in both 2010 and 2013 after making his major league debut in 2005.

With Hernandez cruising since his debut, it seemed like the “king” would finish out his career with the Mariners, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest pitchers for the team. He currently leads the club record-books in lowest ERA for a starter (2.27), wins (169), innings pitched (2729.2), and strikeouts (2524) to name just a few.

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It was in 2016 that the train started to derail for one of the most consistent starting pitchers in the 2010s.

First, it was a calf injury that wouldn’t heal halfway through the 2016 season, causing Hernandez to miss over a month and half of the season. This season also saw his ERA climb past 3.60 for the first time since 2007, and also saw Felix throw less than 200 innings for the first time since 2007 as well.

It would only spiral downhill from here, as Hernandez would see his ERA keep climbing year after year and injuries piling up almost every season.

The 2019 season was the death blow, as another injury would see Hernandez limited to only 15 starts and see his ERA balloon to a career-worst 6.40 and an abysmal -0.7 WAR. With this being the last season on the contract he signed in 2013, many believe that the 2019 season will most likely mark the last for a storied icon in the city of Seattle.

It is an unfortunate turn of events for Felix Hernandez, considering the right-hander would win a Cy-Young Award in 2010 as well as being a 6-time All-Star during his 15-year tenure with the Mariners. He would also become the first and only Seattle Mariners pitcher to throw a perfect game.

Now he will be most likely searching for a new gig this off-season and given his pedigree in a hitter-friendly ballpark all his career, Felix Hernandez may be searching for a short term contract to finish out his days in an unfamiliar ballpark.

I have no doubt that he will find a team to pitch for this off-season, whether it be in Seattle or not, on a spring training invite or a short-term contract. For a player like Hernandez to struggle these past few seasons, it seems only fitting that the baseball gods can allow King Felix to ride off into the sunset on a high note, knowing he went out on his terms and not because he couldn’t perform at the major league level.

When the 2020 season is set to begin, Felix Hernandez will most likely walk into a new facility, with new teammates and a new catcher, trying to revitalize a career at the ripe age of 34. While it is not impossible, he does have a few hurdles to overcome if he wants to continue playing in the major leagues.

All hail the King.