The Mariners were an okay MLB team last season. They finished the season with a record of 76 wins and 86 loses. They weren’t able to make into the playoffs but their fans have high hopes for this year’s season.

The main reason for their bad performance last season was their lack of depth in the bullpen.

“We were just 10 games under .500 (12 games) and our bullpen was responsible for 33 losses,” said Long time Mariner’s fan, Niall Silberman.

This left the Mariners with little to no help. They did receive some grace from pitcher, Hisashi Iwakuma. But the main source of hurt for the team was, their closing pitcher, Fernando Rodney.

Fernando Rodney was a closer for the Mariners, he played for the mariners for two and a half years.While he was here, he had an overall ERA of 5.68. This hurt the Mariners because on countless occasions they were up by a good amount and many people thought that they were going to win. Then they decided to put Rodney in and he would let multiple runs in and lose the game. Half way through the 2015 season he was traded to the Chicago White Sox.

Now because of the bad performance from the bullpen, the Mariners have revamped it.

“We brought in top bullpen pitchers from around the league including Nick Vincent and Steve Chisek,” said Silberman.

Now without Rodney, a way better bullpen, and a not so great season under their belt, I do believe that the Mariners will have a better season this year than last.

“I think the Mariners will figure everything out this year and make the playoffs,” said Shafer Newton, long time Mariners fan.

The season has already started and they already have 3 wins and 6 loses. If they want to be able to make the playoffs then they have to pick up their play and get off to a stronger start. They are currently at the bottom of the American League West division. Other teams in their division are the Angels, the Rangers, the Athletics, and the Astros.

Their players are already starting out way better than they did last year with great performances already from Robinson Cano.

“This year Cano has opened up with 5 homeruns in his first 9 games. This was the same amount that he had last season in August,” said Silberman.

They are going to have some great help from their players to help push them towards the playoffs this season.

“I believe the Mariners will be able to get to the playoffs because of their star power like Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano, Felix Hernandez. They will also have great help from their role players like Kyle Seager, Chris Ianetta, and Franklin Gutierrez,” said Newton.

That is only because if they can stay healthy and avoid injuries. They were mostly healthy all of last season except for Gutierrez who was injured on multiple occasions.
Now if they are able to stay healthy and their pitchers and great players actually come out and perform like they are supposed too, then they will have a much better season than last years. They may even make the playoffs which the Mariners have not done in a very long time.