I think it’s time to put those questions about trading Felix Hernandez to the Yankees to bed, at least for now. If you look at the standings right now, the Mariners are 31-30, and although they are only one game above .500, they are only 2.5 games out of first place in the AL West. They just snapped a 6 game winning streak with their two past losses, but still remain within a couple games of the Wild Card spot. At this point in the season, Seattle is a contender. Any team in contention wouldn’t want to trade their best starter, at least at this point in the season. Could you imagine being a fan of the Mariners and them trading your best pitcher while you are still contending?
Hernandez is easily within the top 5 best starters in the American League. Some may even say he is the best. I don’t know whether he is the best or not (I prefer Verlander), but I will say between Michael Pineda and King Felix the Mariners have the best 1-2 starting pitching combo in the American League. Although their wins/losses may be skewed because the Mariners provide no run support, their numbers are impressive. Hernandez has a 6-5 record with an ERA of 3.29 with 97 strikeouts on the season already! While Pineda has a 6-3 record with a 2.33 ERA. Over his last five games he is 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA. It doesn’t look like Pineda is fizzling out like some rookies. With an amazing 1-2 combo like this, Seattle doesn’t want to trade either of these guys.
Even the remaining starters for the Mariners are doing pretty well. Jason Vargas is their #3 and he is 4-3 with a 3.96 ERA. Their #4 is Doug Fister with a 3-6 record and 3.29 ERA and Erik Bedard is their 5th starter with a 3-4 record and 3.46 ERA. As I previously said, you can’t really look at their wins/losses because the team doesn’t help them, but every one of their starters has an ERA under 4.00. They have the 2nd highest shutouts & complete games pitched this season. In fact, the Mariners have the 2nd lowest ERA in the entire American League, averaging 3.35. (A’s are #1 with 3.23).
The Mariners probably have the best pitching staff in the AL, as they top the charts in most categories. They have the 2nd highest strikeouts (thanks to Pineda & Hernandez) with 435 and have the second lowest amount of walks with 170. Not only do they strike out batters, but they don’t allow men on base as they have the 2nd lowest amount of hits allowed (492), and home runs (40). This ultimately gives them the least amount of runs allowed in the major leagues with 223. As the numbers illustrate, the pitching staff gives this team a way to win every night of the week. The rest is on the offense.
This team shouldn’t be trading away their best pitcher – they should be trading for a bat or two or three! Eric Wedge seems to be losing his mind with the way the offense is struggling. In particular their projected leadoff and #2 batters, Ichiro & Figgins are struggling. Ichiro is batting a career low .260 (.331 career batter), and he’s not on pace to hit his customary 200 hits. Figgins is doing so bad that he is now batting 8th in their order. He only has 3 hits in his last 40 at bats and is hitting a mere .185, with the worst OPS in the league. (It’s almost funny how the media doesn’t bother Ichiro about his age. He is older than Jeter and a lower batting average!)
Meanwhile, the mariners have rookie Justin Smoak (traded for Cliff Lee last year) as their 3rd batter in the lineup being backed up by cleanup man Jack Cust. Smoak is doing a heck of a job, but probably shouldn’t be carrying the weight of a #3 batter as a rookie. Smoak is only hitting .245, but does have a .349 on base percentage and an impressive slugging percentage of .535%. The Mariners should be in the market for a #3 hitter, or a batter with an impressive OPS and some experience. Smoak is doing a great job, but could really use a lift with a more experienced hitter in this role.
The emphasis for a big bat is even more necessary as Jack Cust is the cleanup hitter playing DH, but only hitting .225 with a mere .335 slugging percentage. This is not the type of guy you think of when cleanup hitter is mentioned. In an effort to gain some more offense, the Mariners just called up their minor league phenom Eric Carp, who has been lighting it up in the Pacific League as their big bat. So far in the minors, Carp is hitting .433 with 11 Home Runs. He would most likely replace Cust as the DH or even play the outfield in place of rookie Carlos Paguero. Carp may have great numbers down in the minors, but the Mariners need more than just another rookie in their lineup as a big bat. Rookies make mistakes and strike out too much. They need to get serious and sign a big name or even just a couple veteran type sluggers with high OPS’.
Without spending some money or making a decent trade for themselves they will continue to struggle offensively. Right now the Mariners have the lowest batting average with .229, lowest on base percentage with .300, lowest slugging percentage at .337% and the lowest OBP at .637. Each of these categories can be improved by replacing the #3 or #4 batters with a big bat. They have the pitching which is the tough part, now all they need to do is get some decent hitters in their lineup and they could easily take the AL West or the wild card if Texas stays hot.
The worst move the Mariners could make at this point would be to trade King Felix. They have the potential in their starting rotation to advance to the post-season, and all they need is one or two moves to fill out their lineup. If they land a #3 or #4 hitter, they can surround Smoak with dangerous hitters and Smoak will see better pitchers. Nobody is threatened by Cust batting .224. At some point, Figgins & Ichiro will put up better numbers and before you know it, the Mariners could have a decent lineup. At the very least, the Mariners could be a competitive team again. If they trade Hernandez though…. It’s over!
As much as I would love to see King Felix come to New York, it’s not practical thinking….. YET!
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