The Seattle Mariners tried their damnedest to make the AL West a three playoff team division this season. Oakland’s collapse helped keep them in the race, and on September 8th, Seattle was a season-best 15 games over .500 and had a half-game lead on the Tigers for the second AL playoff spot. But the Postseason wasn’t in the cards for the Mariners – they went 8-11 after reaching that high water mark, and their year ended on the final day of the season.
Preseason Prediction: It’s easy to question what the Mariners did this offseason because there seems to be a total lack of long-term planning, but at the same time, the moves they did make should mean a reasonably improved club for 2014. A push for .500 doesn’t seem out of the question if they can avoid significant injuries. While the higher-ups in Seattle seem to be expecting more than that this season, the Mariners haven’t been above .500 since 2009, so it’d be hard to call that kind of season disappointing. (Jaymes Langrehr, February 18th)
What Went Right: Robinson Cano slapped together a five-win season, and even though he only homered 14 times, he was more than worth the absurd amount of money that the Mariners paid him this winter (well, in one season at least). The real star of the Mariners offense was Kyle Seager, who hit .268/.334/.454 with a team-leading 25 homers, his third-straight year of increasing offensive numbers. Dustin Ackley seemingly fixed himself after a couple of lost years, though his OPS still finished under .700 for the season. Mike Zunino launched 22 homers while serving as the team’s every day catcher. Felix Hernandez was dominant at the top of the rotation. Hisashi Iwakuma was nearly as good through August, but completely imploded in September. Fellow rotation-mates Roenis Elias and James Paxton both held their own, or pitched even better than that in the case of Paxton. The bullpen, led by Fernando Rodney, Danny Farquhar, and Dominic Leone, pitched quite well for most of the year.
What Went Wrong: Austin Jackson, Kendrys Morales, and Chris Denorfia were all brought in at the trade deadline to bolster the offense, and all three flopped. First baseman Justin Smoak remained terrible. Corey Hart only played 68 games, and was terrible when he was on the field. The team got middling offensive production from several part-time players, including Stefen Romero, Abraham Almonte, Brad Miller, Willie Bloomquist, James Jones, Cole Gillespie, and John Buck. Breakout candidate Erasmo Ramirez flopped in the rotation, as did Brandon Maurer (before being switched to the bullpen). The team was unfortunate enough to play in the same division with two of the best teams in baseball.
Most Surprising Player: Robinson Cano is a fantastic player, and there’s really no question about that. Yet when he signed with the Mariners, there was this prevailing sense that he would end his first year with the club in disappointing fashion. And while Seattle didn’t make the playoffs, you can’t blame Cano. He actually hit slightly better at home than on the road, and homered more at Safeco Field than away from it (nine home, five away). The drop in power Cano suffered this season can be traced to him hitting more ground balls than in any season since 2007, but he still lashed 37 doubles, hit .314, and got on base at a .382 clip that was a hair under his career-best mark. Considering the dire production the Yankees got from second base this season, I bet they wish they gave some of the money earmarked for Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann to Cano.
Most Disappointing Player: Coming off of knee surgery that ended his 2013 season before it began, no one really knew what to expect from Corey Hart. The Mariners threw $6 million (plus incentives) at the 32-year old, and even though he only played 71 innings in the field, Hart simply couldn’t stay healthy. He missed a month and a half with a strained hamstring. He missed another month with a knee contusion. Hart’s power never appeared all year, as he hit just six homers and posted a career-worst .116 ISO for the season. Seattle would have been better off taking that $6 million and giving it to Kendrys Morales for the first half of the season, given that they ended up paying him the pro-rated amount of $12 million for the two months he was with the team after being acquired from the Twins anyway.
The Future: Seattle is in a great position in the future. Hart and Morales are both free agents, but the only other players that will be leaving the team are bench pieces like Denorfia, Joe Beimel, Endy Chavez, and fifth-starter Chris Young. But with Rodney, Iwakuma, and Jackson all scheduled to hit the market after 2015, Seattle may feel tempted to make another big splash to challenge for a playoff spot. Given the strength of the Angels and A’s, that could be a tall order for the Mariners, but they’re set up pretty well to contend next season.
