The Seattle Mariners have a World Series-caliber pitching staff. However, their offense leaves much to be desired. Despite having a lineup featuring Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh, the Mariners’ offense is one of the worst in the American League. The Mariners are wasting the time they have with their impressive pitching staff by continuously trotting out poor offensive teams.
Seattle’s Offense Hurt Them Towards The End Of Last Season
Embed from Getty ImagesIn 2023, Seattle missed the postseason only by one game. Many pointed to the Mariners’ struggles on offense as the reason postseason baseball didn’t come to Seattle. After a red-hot August, the Mariners proceeded to go 12-17 in September costing them the postseason. While the Mariners averaged 4.68 runs per game, they also had the second-most number of strikeouts in the American League at 1,603. During the last month of the season, Seattle’s offense only averaged 4.06 runs per game.
A Busy But Questionable Offseason
Embed from Getty ImagesDuring the offseason, Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto tinkered around with the lineup. He traded away strikeout-prone bats in Eugenio Suarez, and Jarred Kelenic. Teoscar Hernandez was allowed to leave as a free agent. Dipoto later signed free agent Mitch Garver and traded for Jorge Polanco and Mitch Haniger. Despite changes being made to the lineup, many critics thought Seattle didn’t do enough to fix it. This season, the critics have been proven right.
The Mariners Have Struggled To Find Offense
Embed from Getty ImagesSomehow the Mariners offense is worse than it was last year. Throughout the entire season, they’ve struggled to find any offensive production. The offense has been so poor that the team fired first-year hitting coach Brant Brown in May. Despite firing Brown, the Mariners offense hasn’t gotten better. Seattle is only averaging 3.94 runs per game. The only team averaging fewer runs is the hapless Chicago White Sox. Worst of all, they lead the American League in strikeouts per game at 10.23.
The only player in the Mariners lineup who has been productive offensively is Cal Raleigh. Meanwhile, Mitch Garver has been a bust, Julio Rodriguez is having an awful season, Jorge Polanco is on the wrong side of 30, J.P. Crawford has been hurt most of the season, and Mitch Haniger has continued to decline. The team even waived first baseman Ty France, who was an all-star just two seasons ago.
The Moves Made At The Trade Deadline Haven’t Helped
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Mariners tried to find a way to jumpstart their offense at the trade deadline. They went out and acquired veterans Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner. However, their offense hasn’t been much better. Arozarena seems to be still mired in a down year and Turner is starting to show his age.
John Stanton Won’t Spend The Money
Embed from Getty ImagesThis all comes back to owner John Stanton refusing to spend big. They’re currently ranked 16th in the league in payroll at $147,357,541. The lineup could’ve greatly benefited from signing guys like Matt Chapman, Cody Bellinger, Tommy Pham, and Rhys Hoskins. Those players weren’t that expensive to sign. They seem to have an abundance of pitching talent and should probably think about trading some of it for impact bats, Instead, Seattle’s playoff hopes are starting to fade. The margin between them and the Houston Astros is growing and they need some help in the wild card race.
Seattle Has Nobody To Blame But Themselves For A Horrible Offense
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Mariners’ pitching staff was once again one of the best in baseball this season. However, their offense left much to be desired. It let them down last season as it’s currently doing this year. They tried so many things including firing their hitting coach, shuffling the lineup, and acquiring multiple position players at the trade deadline. However, with Seattle’s postseason hopes beginning to fade, the Mariners will most likely be sitting at home with the realization they didn’t do enough for their offense.
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