FINAL GRADES: Eduard Bazardo Looked to Figure it Out as Season Ended
The bullpen was one of the worst parts of the roster for the Seattle Mariners in 2024.
It wasn't the biggest weakness. That (dis)honor belonged to the offense, which often times put the entire pitching staff in bad situations with their inability to put away close games.
There were several relievers responsible for blowing games, especially during the first half of the season. One of them was Eduard Bazardo.
The fourth-year reliever and former Boston Red Sox hurler started the season the injured list with a rotator cuff strain. He was optioned and recalled three separate times over the course of the year by Seattle.
Even still, Bazardo saw more playing time in 2024 than he has in any seaso prior.
After Bazardo's third call-up, he showed increased capability on the mound and ended up closing out the year on a good note.
But was it enough for Bazardo to factor into the Mariners' long-term plans?
Eduard Bazardo by the numbers
Pitching stats: 4.88 ERA, 23 appearances, 2-0 record, 27.2 innings pitched, 33 strikeouts, 1.05 WHIP, .204 opp. BA, 0.0 WAR
Advanced pitching stats: 2.38 xERA, .187 xBA, 30% Chase, 29% Whiff, 2.70 FIP, 10.73 K/9, 53.4% LOB
What I liked
As mentioned before, Bazardo closed out the year with an impressive stretch. Seattle recalled him for the final time on Sept. 1. He entered the month with a 6.27 ERA and dropped it down to his eventual final mark of 4.88 over the course of 10 appearances during the month.
Bazardo has one of the most unique pitching arsenals of any reliever in the bullpen. According to Baseball Savant, the Venezuelan signee has a four-pitch selection of a slider, four-seamer, sinker and splitter.
He's also capable of sitting batters down with all four throws. He had a put-away rate of 23% on his slider, 22.6% on his four-seam, 22.2% on his sinker and 27.8% on his splitter. The best opponents averaged against one of those pitches was .240 against his fastball.
Bazardo's ERA vs. his FIP is also intriguing. His FIP (2.70) was significantly lower than his ERA, indicating he was one of the few relievers that didn't benefit from the Mariners' defense. That statistic and Bazardo's .204 opposing batting average might indicate something great potential lying under the surface.
Best game
Seattle had to use the back-end of the bullpen a lot during the final stretch of the season. The Mariners made one final playoff push and needed to preserve the relievers for the final two weeks.
With that situation, Bazardo often saw the mound in low-pressure scenarios or when the team was losing. In a 7-3 loss against the San Diego Padres on Sept. 10, Bazardo pitched two innings against a fully healthy San Diego lineup that took the National League champions Los Angeles Dodgers to five games in a National League Divisional Series.
Bazardo allowed two hits in those two innings but gave up no runs and no extra bases while striking out three batters.
Future prospects
Bazardo isn't up for pre-arbitration until 2026. He'll be on the team in 2025. And with so many relievers up for arbitration, that's a good thing.
Strictly speaking, only five other relievers should be assumed to be guaranteed locks on the 2025 bullpen: Andres Munoz, Collin Snider, Troy Taylor, Gregory Santos and Matt Brash.
Brash won't be back on the team until June or July as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery.
There's clearly another level Bazardo can reach based strictly off advanced metrics. If Bazardo finds that level, there's a very good chance Seattle has six relievers in 2025 capable of throwing in high-leverage spots. Health permitting.
Final grade: C-minus
C-minus: Despite the evident potential and his solid September, Bazardo was still one of the team's worst relievers through five months of the year.
One solid month doesn't erase the five bad ones that came before it.
Even still, those FIP and batting average numbers make it impossible to give Bazardo a "failing" grade. He fought through injury put together and was one of the team's best relievers in September despite being moved up-and-down Triple and the majors several times.
If Bazardo can continue his strong stretch through spring training and the beginning of next season, he likely won't have to worry about playing in the minor leagues again. At least not for anything else aside from a rehab assignment.
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