Final season, the Seattle Mariners made the playoffs for the primary time in twenty years. This season, they’re contenders to win the World Sequence for the primary time within the 47-year historical past of the franchise.
The Seattle Mariners have seldom counted themselves among the many MLB’s elite. Since enjoying their first recreation in 1977, the workforce has an all-time profitable proportion of .474, and has made the playoffs simply 5 instances.
Depend MLB Insider Jeff Passan amongst those that consider the Mariners have seldom had a greater shot at profitable a title.
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“I don’t suppose playoffs are the one limitation at this level. I feel the ceiling for this workforce is championship.” — MLB Insider Jeff Passan on the Seattle Mariners
Passan believes Seattle’s near-endless cycle of tearing down and constructing again up has reached an finish, saying:
“The concept they’re coming in with a roster that’s championship-caliber this yr, I feel, speaks to the success of this rebuild” “We are able to say fairly definitively now (that) it’s labored, and I feel it has an opportunity to work even higher this yr than it did final yr.”
The Mariners boast a top-notch beginning rotation in Luis Castillo, Robbie Ray, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Marco Gonzales. If any of these 5 slumps or endure an damage, reliever Chris Flexen has seen success as a starter previously.
In line with Passan, the added beginning pitching depth is essential:
“You simply can’t go right into a season pondering that your whole starters are going to remain wholesome,” stated Passan. “That stated, beginning pitching is a gigantic power for this workforce. Nearly as good as Robbie Ray has look this spring, nearly as good as Luis Castillo sorted the commerce, with Logan Gilbert including the splitter and coming into his personal in his third yr and with George Kirby’s first full season, that’s fairly a quartet of starters there.”
Seattle Mariners have loads of hitting, too
Buoyed by 2023 American League Rookie of the 12 months Julio Rodriguez, the Seattle Mariners additionally function a number of offensive punches. The workforce has a brand new cleanup hitter in Teoscar Hernandez, who was acquired by way of commerce from the Toronto Blue Jays this previous offseason. Additionally they have an array of sluggers, reminiscent of Ty France and Eugenio Suarez. As soon as-heralded prospect Jarred Kelenic can be hitting .353 inspring trainingg after struggling to hit simply .168 in two seasons on the major-league degree up to now.
