There was a point in time when an appearance from Eduard Bazardo often meant the Seattle Mariners were on the wrong side of the game.

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The right-hander generally found himself pitching in mop-up duty or, at the very least, coming in with his team down multiple runs.

That was the version of Bazardo the Mariners had last season. In 2025, it’s been a far different story for the Maracay, Venezuela, native.

Bazardo, who was acquired in a 2023 trade after he was designated for assignment by the Baltimore Orioles, has emerged as one of the most reliable arms in the bullpen over the course of the season. He leads M’s relievers and is sixth in baseball with 73 1/3 innings pitched out of the bullpen while compiling a 2.45 ERA and holding batters to .180 average.

During a conversation with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob on Friday, Mariners play-by-play voice Gary Hill Jr. highlighted Bazardo as an unsung hero of the club this season.

“He has really put the bullpen together,” Hill said. “He’s been the glue.”

Bazardo’s breakout year has answered a big question that was facing the Mariners bullpen, Hill said.

“Who’s going to be that next leverage guy that they really needed? It’s been Bazardo. He’s pitched in every role.”

No fluke

Bazardo’s stellar season has come after he posted a 4.88 ERA over 27 2/3 big league innings while bouncing between the majors and minors last year.

The dominance of his sinker and slider this year are a major reason for the big year-over-year improvement. Batters are hitting just .168 with .280 slugging percentage of his slider, which he throws 44.3% of the time, and .137 with a .215 slugging percentage of his sinker, which he throws 37.4% of the time.

“When you look at individual pitches, he’s got two great pitches. He’s got the two-seam and he’s got the slider,” Hill said. “So this isn’t happenstance. This isn’t luck. He’s been great, and there’s a reason for it. He’s got two elite pitches, and he knows how to use them.”

A rubber arm

The volume of work Bazardo has provided the Mariners may be his biggest impact on team, especially with the starting rotation not going as deep into games consistently as it did last year.

He’s recorded more than three outs in relief 15 times (tied for the team lead) and pitched three times in four days on numerous occasions throughout the season. He was even starting to get loose during the Mariners’ 13-inning win over the Cardinals on Wednesday, which would have marked a third straight day on the mound.

“He takes the ball seemingly every day,” Hill said. “I mean, we watched him the other night when he was down, and there he was in extra innings stretching it out, getting ready just in case they need them.”

Mariners analyst and former MLB pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith also highlighted Bazardo’s durability during a recent episode of Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy, pointing out how the right-hander’s stuff on the mound doesn’t falter while shouldering a heavy workload.

“I went back and looked at his velocity and pitch metrics on Day 2 of like a back-to-back, and nothing slips,” Rowland-Smith said. “There’s no slip in velocity. The stuff’s good. He puts up really good numbers on Day 2.”

Hear the full conversation with Mariners play-by-play voice Gary Hill Jr. at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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