Seattle, WA
In a Seattle state of mind, Carlos Vargas impresses with retooled command
Last night’s ugly loss to the Tigers had a few redeeming moments, although mostly on the offensive side of the ball, as will be the case when the pitching uncharacteristically gives up 18 hits and nine runs. But there was one bright spot on the mound: pitcher Carlos Vargas announced himself to Mariners fans in a big way, with a heroic nearly 3.2-inning effort where he allowed one inherited runner to score and had one run score on a combination of tough-luck hits (ground ball single, parachute single that should have been caught, ground ball single well off third base that Polanco couldn’t make a play on).
“Vargy, that was huge last night, being able to give us as many innings as he did” said Mariners manager Dan Wilson. “He had so many quick innings because he was attacking the zone and his ball was moving and they weren’t able to square it up, so that really gave us some much-needed length in the game.”
Mariners fans might not know Vargas as well, but Tacoma Rainiers fans are well acquainted with the slender hurler, who was acquired in the Eugenio Suárez trade-slash-salary dump with the Diamondbacks prior to the 2024 season. While trade-mate Seby Zavala got the most big-league playing time of the two that season, Vargas was the most interesting piece in that deal, with a sinker that even outdueled Andrés Muñoz’s in heat and an equally spicy four-seamer, both of which zipped in around 98-99. The caveat, because of course teams don’t give away these kinds of relievers for free, is that Vargas struggled to command that big stuff, a primary reason why the pitching-savvy Guardians, who originally signed Vargas as an IFA in 2016, flipped him to Arizona in a minor-league deal in the first place.
Vargas spent all of 2024 with Tacoma Rainiers, working on dialing in his command. Command is famously one of the hardest things to fix, but the Mariners pitching lab saw tantalizing stuff from Vargas, whose Stuff+ grades out very well, and a possibility to coax him into a more zone-focused mentality. Mariners pitching development preaches that pitchers should trust their stuff, throw their best pitches the most often, and not be afraid to throw in the zone. Vargas took those lessons to heart; he cut his walk rate in Tacoma literally in half from where it was in Arizona, the first single-digit walk rate of his career since he was at Low-A.
“Here they teach you, attack the strike zone,” said Vargas through translator Freddy Llanos, describing the changes he’s made in Seattle not as mechanical, but in mentality. “Always get ahead in the count, go out there and compete.”
Along with the walks, Vargas’s strikeouts also dropped, as he dialed back his highest-octane stuff. His sinker now comes in at a more modest 96 vs. 99. Between the upped sinker usage in lieu of his four-seamer from his Arizona days and the scaling back of his velocity, his profile is now firmly that of a groundball specialist in lieu of a strikeout maven. Contrast the two sinkers, first from Vargas in 2023 during his big league debut season, with a firm, running fastball that has almost purely arm-side movement and minimal drop:
Take that against one of his better sinkers from his Monday night outing against Detroit, which now features a significantly more drop-focused movement profile (and a more useful visual angle, thank you ROOT):
He still throws a hard cutter, at 92, which is his primary whiff-getting pitch, with sharp late downward break. He rounds out the arsenal with two secondaries he throws almost exclusively in two-strike or favorable counts: a changeup for weak-contact outs at the bottom of the zone; and a slider with has plus drop that he’ll throw up in the zone for whiffs and flyouts (and, in one regrettable instance, a Luis Urías home run).
While some organizations tinker with pitchers’ mechanics, encouraging them to change arm angles or change their position on the pitching rubber, Mariners pitching coach Pete Woodworth said that’s not at all a part of Seattle’s pitching development, which hammers home attacking the zone and trusting your stuff. “We show them what happens in two-strike counts” he said. “It’s just that easy. No one wants to believe it, but it is.”
In fact, he says the next step for Vargas—as it is for several of his pitchers—is getting him to expand the zone low with two strikes, and getting him off the plate.
For Vargas, he’s embraced the bigger-picture mentality.
“I’m just trying to be focused all the time” he said through Llanos. “Focused on intent, and how I can stay here, and how I can help the team. And I feel like every step I take, it’s with a purpose.”
That focus was on display last night as Vargas kept the Mariners in a game that looked to be a runaway blowout early on. His efforts saved the rest of the bullpen, and demonstrated his newfound zone-focused mentality and sense of intention, as he competed with every pitch, seemingly without regard for the scoreboard.
“Player of the game,” said Wodworth. “Maybe player of the week.”
CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling New York Mets placed former Seattle Mariners second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right wrist contusion.
Mariners Injury Update: Latest on Robles, Vargas and more
The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Polanco went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old Polanco is batting .179 (10 for 56) with a homer and two RBIs in his first season with New York, which has lost nine straight.
“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took that night. … He didn’t think much of it, but just got worse the following day.
“So you just got to let it calm down a little bit and then we’ll go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets in December, also has been dealing with an ankle issue.
“He was trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said of the ankle injury. “It’s definitely going to help, obviously now with him being shut down. But the biggest thing now is that we’ve got to take care of that wrist.”
Polanco spent the previous two seasons with the Mariners, who acquired him in a February 2024 trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.
But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back for a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.
Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.
Mariners RHP Bryce Miller to begin rehab assignment
Seattle, WA
Brandon Nimmo hits leadoff homer, Jacob deGrom works 4 scoreless as Rangers beat Seattle Mariners 5-0
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – APRIL 17: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers tags out Dominic Canzone #8 of the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park on April 17, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
SEATTLE – Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff home run, Jacob deGrom threw four shutout innings and Gavin Collyer earned his first career win as the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 5-0 on Friday night.
Seattle lost its fourth straight game, and was shut out for the fourth time in 21 games, falling to 8-13. The Mariners were shut out six times during the 2025 season. Texas won its third straight game.
Nimmo led off the game with a 372-foot shot to right field off Mariners starter Logan Gilbert (1-3). It was Nimmo’s 16th career leadoff homer and second of the season. He also hit a leadoff home run on April 11 in a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
DeGrom effectively maneuvered through Seattle’s lineup, and worked out of a one out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning. The two-time Cy Young Award winner recorded two of his three strikeouts after walking Josh Naylor to load the bases. Randy Arozarena fanned on a curveball, and Luke Raley swung through a fastball.
Texas added to its lead after Nimmo’s homer. Wyatt Langford’s single to left scored Corey Seager, who led off the third inning with a double. The Rangers stretched the lead to 3-0 on an RBI single from Jake Burger in the seventh.
The Mariners’ best scoring chance came in the sixth after Collyer (1-0), who worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, left the game.
J.P. Crawford singled to left off Tyler Alexander with two out, and Mariners third base coach Carlos Cardoza sent Naylor from second base, but he was thrown out by Langford.
Texas added two more runs in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen and an RBI double by Josh Jung.
Seattle third baseman Brendan Donovan left the game early due to a left hip issue.
Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller, who started the year on the injured list with a left oblique injury, was at T-Mobile Park for the first time this season. He will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.
Up next
Mariners RHP George Kirby (2-2, 3.25) will face Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 5.40) on Saturday afternoon.
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FIFE, Wash. – A portion of southbound I-5 will be closed overnight in Fife Friday and Saturday night, according to WSDOT.
The Washington State Department of Transportation says the purpose of the closure is to install a new electronic sign and will need two nights to do it.
Crews will close southbound I-5 from 54th Avenue to Port of Tacoma Road starting at 11 p.m. Friday night until 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Closures will resume Saturday night starting at 11 p.m. as well, and lanes will reopen Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m.
WSDOT says the closure will include the 54th Avenue ramps to southbound I-5.
Detours for weekend I-5 closure in Fife, WA
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The Source: Information in this story comes from the Washington State Department of Transportation.
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