2021 MLB Team Preview: Seattle Mariners

2021 will likely be the third year of rebuilding for the Seattle Mariners although they should be primed for a small improvement this season. They finished below .500 last year even in a struggling division but hope to turn some things around. Seattle is a very young team and could possibly make some noise in the AL West division if a few things end up going their way. But how good can they actually be?

What Happened Last Year

The Mariners weren’t expected to dominate the league or anything like that in 2020 but ended up playing decent throughout the year. Finishing in third place in the AL West with a 27-33 record while failing to make it into the postseason once again. This was just another year added onto their 20-year playoff drought that they hope to break in 2021. They displayed fantastic defensive abilities across the board while not matching that level of success on the offensive end. The Mariners were also without Mitch Haniger for the majority of the season once again, as injuries have been killing him lately. They also boasted the Rookie of the Year in Kyle Lewis.

Offseason Changes

The Mariners piqued the interest of the baseball world after such a slow start to the offseason. They let both Dee Gordon and Yoshisha Hirano walk in free agency before signing numerous players that intrigued a lot of fans. They picked up Chris Flexen, Kenyan Middleton, James Paxton and Ken Giles. While none of those names truly pop off the page at you, they are definitely a group of guys that can fill in a few holes scattered across their roster. Although none of their signings were the biggest part of their offseason. Their president and CEO Kevin Mather was forced to resign after extremely inappropriate comments that he made to a Rotary Club in February. He received tons of backlash and left the Mariners without a man in charge, putting a lot of new eyes onto Seattle.  

2021 Outlook

If all is able to go right for the Seattle Mariners, then they definitely have a chance to finish as high as second or third in their division. However, after a few years of rebuilding it doesn’t seem like they are there just yet and could finish right below that mark in fourth place. While they have the talent to finish above .500 and make a postseason push, it just doesn’t seem likely this season. Next season could be an entirely different story because they seem like they are just one more year away from competing for first place in the AL West but right now they have too many unknowns. Their offseason improved their roster even though it caught a lot of people guard but then too many people lost focus on their improvements over the situation with their CEO and his comments. Ignoring that it was a very successful offseason for a team that is just on the cusp of competing for the division.

Pick: 4^th In Atlantic League West