TEREN'S TAKE: Matt Brash's Return Will Help Seattle Mariners More Than Fans Realize
Many Seattle Mariners fans have been clamoring for the team to get an elite bat (or two) since the season ended on Sept. 29 against the Oakland Athletics.
Fans and content creators alike have mentioned players like Josh Naylor, Nico Hoerner, Cody Bellinger, Brandon Lowe and Yandy Diaz as potential offseason acquisitions. Some have been praying to whatever deity they believe in that maybe the Mariners can actually shift gears and go after a big-name free agent like Juan Soto or Alex Bregman.
Seattle will likely make several moves in the offseason. As to whether or not All-Star-level players will be included in them, that's another question entirely.
But there's another player that would make a much bigger impact for the Mariners than fans realize. He's not a hitter, but he is already on the team: reliever Matt Brash.
Brash missed all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in the second week of May. He's projected to return sometime between late June or July.
Brash led the team in appearances in 2023 with 78. He had a 3.06 ERA with 107 strikeouts in 70.2 innings pitched. He had four saves in nine opportunities.
Brash's absence was noticeable in 2024.
2023 PitchingNinja Award for Filthiest Slider of the Year. ☠️🪦🏆
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) November 18, 2023
Winner: Matt Brash pic.twitter.com/eSIzjt7HHF
Seattle's bullpen was arguably the team's second biggest weakness aside from the offense. Especially during the first half of the season.
The offense often failed to build decent leads despite quality outings from its starting rotation. It wasn't uncommon for the bullpen to take over in the sixth or seventh inning with the lead. It also wasn't rare for the relievers to blow that lead.
Ward brings home Adell! 💪#RepTheHalo pic.twitter.com/JiSbASsqFp
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) July 23, 2024
The bullpen was significantly improved during the second half of the year. Trades for Yimi Garcia and JT Chargois proved positive until Garcia started to slow down before being placed on the injured list on Aug. 23, which ended his season. The fact that the Mariners were eliminated in the last week of the season (again) makes those blown games a lot more important in hindsight.
But those middle-inning, close-game scenarios are ones that Brash thrives in.
Brash is one of the hardest throwers on Seattle's staff and averaged 98.1 MPH on his fastball. His slowest pitch is a mid-80 MPH curveball.
The fourth-year hurler has one of the most diverse and effective pitching arsenals on the staff. If Seattle had that pitch selection in 2024, odds are a couple of those close losses would have swung the other way and the Mariners would have made the playoffs.
As for the bullpen's prospects for 2024, Brash's return will also be important in that regard.
Seattle has five relievers up for arbitration that could all be non-tendered candidates: Tayler Saucedo, Gabe Speier, Austin Voth, JT Chargois and Trent Thornton.
Speier is likely to be non-tendered due to him struggling this season and being up-and-down between Triple-A and the majors. Saucedo, Voth, Chargois and Thornton's fates are less certain.
Gregory Santos, who also dealt with injury troubles this season, will presumably be back healthy for the start of 2025. But odds are there will be a couple more roster spots in the bullpen that will need to be sorted before Opening Day.
Brash won't take up a spot until he's healthy. But the Mariners will likely fill out their bullpen with Brash's future return in mind.
Brash will return to a bullpen that will already have its back-end relievers sorted (Troy Taylor, Collin Snider, Andres Munoz). And Brash is a versatile enough pitcher that he can be used in whatever role Seattle sees for him.
I'm not saying that Brash's return is more important than the Mariners getting solid bats in the offseason.
But as bad as the offense was in 2024, those struggles often went hand-in-hand with the bullpen's.
If the relievers can improve in 2025, it would limit how much better the offense actually has to be to make the playoffs in 2025.
Brash's impact on the team and the clubhouse was something that was mentioned by former manager Scott Servais, current manager Dan Wilson and current President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto.
And that impact will be on full display by July 2025.
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