Seattle Mariners: Three realistic free agents targets
By Nick Stevens
The Seattle Mariners need multiple bullpen pieces.
The 2020 season was a rough year for the Seattle Mariners bullpen, finishing dead last among MLB teams in combined bullpen fWAR (-1.5) and posting a 5.92 ERA, a league-high 5.08 BB/9 IP rate, and a pedestrian 8.29 K/9 IP mark.
Dipoto has already stated that he wants to add multiple bullpen arms, but not necessarily a trio of the top bullpen arms available. Understanding the volatility of relief arms, the Mariners can piece together a much-improved bullpen in 2021 without spending a significant amount of money, but landing at least one of the top-tier of free agent bullpen arms would give Seattle a reliable late-inning arm they are in desperate need of.
Considering price tag and age, RHP Trevor May makes a lot of sense for the Seattle Mariners. Standing at 6-5 and 240 pounds, May has been a successful bullpen piece for Minnesota over the last four years after transitioning to the bullpen, armed with a high-powered four-seam fastball and wipeout slider capable of handling late-inning duties.
A Washington native, May produced a 47% whiff rate with his 96 mph fastball and held opponents to a .173 average with his slider, along with a 34.4% whiff rate.
Hitters are able to barrel the ball against May and he saw a spike in home runs allowed in a shortened 2020 campaign, but he ranked in the 99th percentile in whiff rate, 98th percentile in strikeouts, and among the league leaders in expected batting average and ERA.
Another name to keep an eye on is RHP Kirby Yates. Yates will likely command a very reasonable contract after an injury-filled 2020 season, but if Yates can rebound, the Mariners have a veteran bullpen arm who can hold late-inning leads and even be dangled out as trade bait at next year’s deadline, seeing as his age (33) hampers his ability to be a long-term piece.