The Mariners are finally starting to get some of their lineup back, which is great news. The returns of Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford are big wins. However, the bullpen is still a problem, and the latest injury timeline tells us there could be some rough nights ahead.
According to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, Matt Brash , Cooper Criswell and Carlos Vargas are not expected back until around the trade deadline. With that said, we hope Jerry Dipoto is already filling out his July trade deadline targets.
Seattle will certainly try to use their internal options for a bit and stay patient. But if three bullpen arms are not expected back until the same window when contending teams start calling around for relievers, there's no reason to make this more complicated. The M's are going to need help, and they shouldn't be shy about it.
Brash is the biggest name for obvious reasons. He's the setup man. And the ideal situation late in the season is the combo of Brash and Andrs Muoz (who is fine after being pulled two days ago) to shorten games.
He landed back on the IL with a right lat strain after already missing time earlier this season with the same issue. Waiting on him until late July leaves the Mariners trying to bridge a lot of important innings with a bullpen that is already being stretched. That also brings an issue with the Mariners six-man rotation. Carrying six already costs a bullpen spot, so now you have limited spots trying to cover those innings and too many injured arms.
Criswell has been solid in his role as a bridge arm. He's also cleaned up some late innings as well. And Vargas is another one. He's been out all season with his own lat issue, and his absence has thinned Seattle's margin for error. This all creates the obvious problem.
The Mariners can't wait and assume they all come back on schedule, sharp, and ready to take on the same role. That would take things lining up perfectly, and probably a little luck. There's too much at stake to take that risk.
Dipoto should already be working the middle and late-inning relief market. Adding at least one strong bullpen weapon should be the minimum. Probably two if we're being honest.
They need someone reliable for the sixth and seventh innings. Eduard Bazardo and Jose Ferrer can step up, and maybe the latter can turn into a solid answer. But at the same time, they're unproven arms who lean closer to upside than proven solutions.
This latest bullpen update explains why the Mariners almost have to act. Their lineup is almost whole again and that's worth the wait. They probably cannot wait that long to fix the bullpen.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/mariners/onsi as Mariners' Matt Brash Injury Update All but Guarantees Bullpen Help at the Trade Deadline .
