Seattle, WA
Why the Seattle Mariners 'feel great' about their 2025 bullpen
After being a major part of the team’s success in recent years, the bullpen was a surprising factor in the Seattle Mariners’ downfall last season.
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The overall numbers for the group were actually pretty solid. It finished ninth among MLB teams in ERA (3.71), 15th in FIP (3.91) and fourth in strikeout rate (9.57 K/9) while surrendering the second-least amount of hard contact (27.1%). But when the Mariners struggled for the first two months of the summer and saw their 10-game lead in the American League West crumble in a record-setting 24 days, a number of blow-ups from the bullpen were a main culprit.
From June 19 to Aug. 21, many of the numbers listed above declined steeply while the team went through a brutal 20-33 run. Seattle’s bullpen ranked 20th in ERA (4.20), 22nd in FIP (4.31) and eighth in strikeout rate (9.52 K/9) while giving up the 11th-least amount of hard contact (30.0%). During that stretch, the bullpen produced a minus-0.5 fWAR and nearly as many blown saves (15) as saves (18).
The Mariners didn’t add a significant piece to their bullpen this offseason, but general manager Justin Hollander is confident in the group heading into 2025. He explained why during a conversation Wednesday with Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.
The anticipated return of hard-throwing right-hander Matt Brash is a big reason.
“I mostly feel great about the bullpen because Matt is doing great, and really, really we missed Matt a lot last year,” Hollander said. “I can’t overstate how valuable he is as sort of a fixer. We would call him the pivot man or a setup man in previous iterations of bullpen construction. He’s one of the best relievers in baseball.”
Brash was a major component in Seattle’s bullpen in 2022 and 2023. He was often called upon to use elite ability to miss bats to escape jams with runners on base. In 2023, he led MLB with 78 games pitched and posted a 3.06 ERA with 107 strikeouts over 70 2/3 innings. All-Star Baltimore Orioles closer Félix Bautista was the only reliever to strike out more batters that season.
However, Brash didn’t throw a pitch during the 2024 season for the Mariners. He started the year on the injured list with right elbow inflammation before eventually undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.
“He is doing phenomenally well,” Hollander said of Brash’s rehab process. “I would anticipate that he’s back in big league games, if he stays on track, by the end of April – which is a big boost for our club.”
A healthy Brash would give the Mariners another high-leverage reliever to bridge the gap to All-Star closer Andrés Muñoz. Seattle is hoping right-hander Gregory Santos can have a healthy season, too, after he battled multiple injuries in 2024.
Hollander also pointed to the emergence of right-hander Colin Snider and the performances of fellow righties Trent Thornton and Eduard Bazardo as reasons to be optimistic about the bullpen.
“We feel like we have a really good bullpen from the right side,” Hollander said.
As for the lefties? The Mariners are set to welcome back Tahoma High School alum Tayler Saucedo (who has a 3.54 ERA over 86 1/3 innings in two seasons with Seattle) and are hoping for a rebound campaign from Gabe Speier. Speier posted a 3.79 ERA over 54 2/3 innings in 2023, but struggled after a strong April last year. After allowing only one run in 12 April appearances, Speier had five outings with two runs allowed in May before landing on the IL with a rotator cuff strain in his pitching arm. He bounced between Seattle and Triple-A Tacoma after returning and finished the year with a 5.70 ERA in 23 2/3 big league innings.
“(We) feel like he’s going to come back and has had a really good offseason building into what we think will be a big bounce back for him this year,” Hollander said.
Listen to the full conversation with Mariners general manager Justin Hollander at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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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.
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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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