With the World Series about to wrap up, I thought it would be a good time to reintroduce the MaiLLbag to answer your burning questions about the Mariners and the wider world of baseball. We got a pretty good response from the initial call for questions so I’m hoping to make this a regular feature through the offseason.
I’ve picked three questions to tackle this week (with an assist from Max), so if you asked a question in the site comments or on BlueSky and don’t see it below, don’t worry, I’ll get
to it soon. If you have a question, feel free to leave it in the comments, send it to me on BlueSky, or email me at jake.mailhot[at]gmail.com.
“How do the Mariners approach their bullpen this offseason? It seems like it’s the easiest place to strengthen the team for next year with trades or free agency.”
You could make the argument that the Mariners were one good reliever away from advancing to the World Series — I won’t make that argument because it’s pretty reductive and Eduard Bazardo was put into an impossible situation in Game 7 of the ALCS with no good alternative options. Bazardo’s breakout does give the Mariners a bit more bullpen depth to work with in 2026. Andrés Muñoz, Matt Brash, Gabe Speier, and Bazardo should form a pretty potent quartet at the back of the bullpen, and as it stands, the relief corps looks seven or eight arms strong right now.
I think the Mariners will approach upgrading the bullpen like they have over the last few offseasons: smaller moves for overlooked veterans or projects the development team can lean into. In other words, I don’t think Devin Williams is going to be a Mariner in 2026. There is one glaring concern with the bullpen that could be tricky to solve: there really isn’t much depth in Triple-A or Double-A and six of the eight projected arms in the bullpen don’t have any minor league options remaining — and you might as well call it seven because even though Brash has options remaining, if he’s sent to the minors next year, things will have gone really wrong. If there’s an opportunity to move one of their established relievers in a trade, the Mariners might be inclined to pursue it if they can get an optionable reliever in return or in another deal. That roster flexibility is incredibly important to be able to cycle through relievers during the regular season, though the Mariners reliance on their deep starting pitching gives them some leeway in this regard.
“In your estimation, how sustainable is Bazardo’s ‘no whiffs; all called strikes’ approach? I know his peripherals improved some by the end of the season, but the swinging strike% still wasn’t great, and it certainly wasn’t on par with his actual results.”
I’ll admit, this is a legitimate concern for Bazardo. From June 15 through the end of the year — encompassing the period when he ditched his four-seamer in favor of his sinker — his 8.5% swinging strike rate was the 15th lowest among 171 qualified relievers. His called strike rate was the second highest during that same period thanks to the second highest zone rate and the 25th lowest swing rate. Paired with his sweeping slider, the sinker appears to be a legitimately deceptive pitch that he can command on the edges of the strike zone to both left- and right-handed batters. But you can bet that batters will make an adjustment if he continues to pound the zone with his pitches.
If there’s a reason for optimism, it’s that his slider has been a swing-and-miss weapon in the past. In 2024, he earned a 33% whiff rate with his breaking ball but that rate fell to 21.4% this year. The pitch has outstanding horizontal and vertical movement but he increased its zone rate from 40.8% last year to 53.1% in ‘25. Bazardo doesn’t need to live in the zone so much, especially with a slider that’s run chase rates over 40% in the past. If opposing batters start aggressively swinging at his pitches over the plate, he’ll need to make an adjustment to pitch off the plate more often. Luckily, his slider gives him the perfect tool to earn more swings and misses on the edges of the strike zone.
“Which of Kade Anderson/Ryan Sloan/Jurrangelo Cijntje do you think is most like to make the major league roster at some point next season? Conversely, which of those three do you think is most likely to be included in a trade this offseason?”
Of the “Big Three” pitching prospects you’ve mentioned here, I’d have to say Jurrangelo would be the most likely to see big league time in 2026, although I’m not necessarily banking on any of the three to actually realize that reality. Cijntje has the most “stuffy” arsenal of the three and could reasonably fill in as some sort of leverageable bullpen arm if they needed someone down the stretch, but I think they’ll want to take their time with him as much as they can to make sure we don’t get another 2024 Logan Evans scenario that winds up derailing half a year of development. There’s a world where Anderson winds up pitching as a starter late next season, but there’s a long chain of events that would have to happen for that to come to fruition. Sloan is just too far down the organizational ladder for it to make any sense at all.
As for the potential of an offseason trade, I’d be floored if they let go of Anderson before he threw a pitch in the organization. It seems like they covet Sloan just a bit more than they do Jurrangelo, and Cijntje’s proximity to the majors should make him attractive to prospective trade partners. I’ll go with him. —Max
Quick Hitters
1. Who was the winner of the mustache sweepstakes? Who wore it best?
The originator of the mustache trend, Cal Raleigh, obviously.
2. Who is the most stat-focused player in the clubhouse? Who knows when to use xWOBACON?
With absolutely no insider knowledge, I’m gonna go with Ben Williamson.
3. Does Dan have a pet rock?
He used to, but it died a few years ago and he buried it in his backyard.
4. Have you been forced by your last name to maintain a Hotmail address?
Funny story, back when Hotmail was first introduced (I’m dating myself here), I tried creating an account with my first and last name as the account name. That account name was denied because it was “infringing on Microsoft’s copyrighted properties.” But my friends all called me “Hotmail” in high school.
5. Does Luke Raley know that when he runs he looks like Luke Raley running?
Absolutely, and at this point, he leans into it for effect.
6. Have the Mariners re-signed Josh Naylor yet?
No, and I think it’ll be December or January before Naylor makes a decision about his future.
Do you have any questions about the Mariners you want answered? Or any questions about the wider baseball world? Ask away!
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