Three days after the Texas Rangers tagged Eduard Bazardo for four earned runs and two home runs while he recorded one out, the Mariners called his name again. Seattle carried a one-run lead into the bottom of the 10th inning Friday against the Athletics . Former Mariner Donovan Walton hit a walk-off, two-run homer. Bazardo recorded zero outs. If the ending felt predictable, it's because it was.
It was reported that Andrs Muoz was down Friday after recording saves in each of Seattle's previous two games against the Rangers. The Mariners have made a habit of carefully managing rest throughout their bullpen, so asking Muoz to pitch for a third straight day was always unlikely. But still, the M's entered the night five games out of the final AL Wild Card spot with only 15 games remaining. In every practical sense, these were must-win games. Muoz's unavailability explained why he didn't get the ball. It didn't make Bazardo the right guy to get it either.
The automatic trust with Bazardo needs to end. He can still have a place in Seattle's bullpen. His current place cannot keep being whichever important inning Dan Wilson needs covered. The Mariners are asking the 2026 version of Bazardo to honor promises made by the 2025 version, and the results have become inexcusable.
On July 10, Bazardo owned a 2.01 ERA. It stands at 4.04 after Friday's loss. Over his past 24 appearances through September 11, he allowed 19 runs, 17 earned, and nine home runs in 21 innings. In his latest three outings, he surrendered seven total runs and three homers while recording four outs.
Bazardo was terrific last season. He posted a 2.52 ERA across 73 regular-season appearances and 78 2/3 innings, then made nine more appearances and worked 11 2/3 innings during Seattle's run to Game 7 of the ALCS. He earned their trust. But trusting a reliever should never be written in pen. It looks like Wilson has treated it like permanent ink.
The ugly moment in Toronto added to the unease. Bazardo fielded Cal Raleigh 's relay after a bases-loaded wild pitch and failed to see Brett Bateman racing home behind him. The crowd noise made communication difficult, as Wilson explained afterward. The play still became another poor instance during a season filled with them. The nine late-stretch homers make it even worse.
The Mariners continue to hand him important innings because of what he did last year. Maybe they feel like they don't have many options behind him. They've made a habit of carefully managing rest throughout the bullpen, yet when so much was still on the line, it's odd that they reached this point in the season without an alternative plan.
The schedule can't be shrugged off. Bazardo appeared 82 times between the 2025 regular season and postseason, totaling 90 1/3 innings. His offseason then included five appearances and 3 1/3 innings for champion Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic.
He has since pitched in 68 games and 62 1/3 innings for Seattle this season. Add the Mariners games together and we are looking at 150 appearances since the beginning of 2025, plus the WBC.
We can't sit here and say that fatigue is the problem from our vantage point. However Seattle has every reason to investigate whether the workload has taken something out of him and no reason to keep throwing him to the wolves.
Bazardo is projected to reach his first arbitration year this winter. His salary should remain manageable, and his 2025 performance still carries value. Cutting bait would be an overreaction. Including him in a trade package that improves the 2027 roster would be a different matter.
Seattle should use the remaining games to redefine his job. Give other relievers opportunities behind Andrs Muoz. Then enter the offseason knowing another dependable late-inning arm belongs on their list to improve the roster.
The role change is overdue. If Bazardo returns refreshed and gets the home-run problem under control, he can earn the important outs again. Until then, Seattle has to stop using a memory as matchup data.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/mariners/onsi as Mariners Have Trusted Eduard Bazardo Too Long in High-Leverage Spots .
