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**Seattle Mariners 2024 Season Thread ** | 15-12 | v. Braves & Houston |
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by elpablo21,
- Start date
elpablo21
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well that will be a sight to see driving by a night game
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Pink.
It's kinda cool...kinda not. I don't know.
It's kinda cool...kinda not. I don't know.
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I think it's pretty cool too. Whenever I'm on the 405 driving to Bellevue, I appreciate the pink at the Factoria T-Mobile HQ. If anything, it'll add to the aerial view of SODO/downtown haha! What are your thoughts/predictions on Harper signing in Seattle? I'd want him on the Dodgers, but selfishly if he signed with y'all I could see him more often (and for a lot cheaper).
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It would be great to see Harper with the M's but giving him a massive 10 year deal or even him wanting to play for the M's seem like longshots.
I'll miss calling the park The Safe but like Century Link nicknamed The Clink, I'm sure the park will get a solid nickname soon.
I'll miss calling the park The Safe but like Century Link nicknamed The Clink, I'm sure the park will get a solid nickname soon.
elpablo21
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"Why Cant I get a got damn signal Field"
Im good on Harper, I like him but Im really ready to watch this team tank hard with money to spare
Im good on Harper, I like him but Im really ready to watch this team tank hard with money to spare
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I'm glad they went with Park rather than Field. T-Mobile Field.
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I figured Cruz was as good as gone, would have liked him to go to a bigger market but hope he does well with the Twins.
No more Boomstick Baby calls haha.
No more Boomstick Baby calls haha.
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elpablo21
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Don't know anything about him but people seemed to be pretty happy about the signing
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Patrick Corbin is a name that some have used to compare Kikuchi (or at least what he could be). M's remain lefty heavy with the rotation, but Kikuchi should be a good middle rotation guy, assuming his shoulder doesn't go out in the next year or so. An interesting thing to note, from what I've read, is that the guy is really into analytics. With Driveline being down the street in Kent, I wonder if he'll approach them for help in both increasing velocity and making adjustments to avoid injury. I also assume the M's would have their own staffing to address those things as well.
Anyways with every interesting free agent or available player that arises, if they don't sign with my Dodgers I always hope they land here in Seattle so I can make the trek down to TMP to check em out.
Anyways with every interesting free agent or available player that arises, if they don't sign with my Dodgers I always hope they land here in Seattle so I can make the trek down to TMP to check em out.
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All Kuchi 
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Law: Yusei Kikuchi gives Mariners some credibility in midst of rebuild
Yusei Kikuchi, 27, is coming off two solid seasons with the Seibu Lions. Kyodo/AP Images
Jan 2, 2019
The Seattle Mariners have been tearing down their major league roster this winter, so it was a modest surprise to hear they'd won the bidding for NPB star Yusei Kikuchi, posted this winter by the Seibu Lions, as he's ready right now and could help a team looking to contend in 2019. He may not push the Mariners toward a playoff berth any time soon, but he should make them a better team this season, and if he comes close to the performance he showed in Japan he should provide a nice boost for the team at the gate as well.
Kikuchi was one of the best pitchers in NPB as recently as 2017, when he led the Pacific League in ERA and innings pitched while finishing second in strikeouts, and even in an off year in 2018 still showed above-average stuff. He was sitting at 92-93 mph last year, touching 96-97 but no longer pitching there, with a plus slider and two more offspeed pitches at or near average, with above-average control. His last two seasons in NPB were the best of his career as he has walked fewer batters and struck out more, while also posting his two highest innings-pitched totals. It's No. 2 starter stuff if he stays healthy.
That's a big if, however, as Kikuchi has a history of shoulder problems. He missed several starts last year with shoulder stiffness, at least the third time in his eight-year career that a shoulder issue has caused him to miss time. His delivery isn't helping, as his arm is very late relative to when his front leg lands, and that puts more stress on a pitcher's shoulder. Kikuchi has made 24 or more starts only once in his NPB career and has never made more than 26, so the Mariners will have to plan to skip him in the rotation a few times, or even have him spend some time in long relief or otherwise manage his workload to try to keep him healthy.
The Mariners' rotation had some depth before the Kikuchi signing but no real ceiling, and Kikuchi would be their nominal No. 1 starter if you could pencil him in for 30 starts. Marco Gonzales, fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, had a breakout season with a 4.00 ERA/3.43 FIP, and he seems like the one returning starter on whom Seattle can rely for both innings and production. Mike Leake can provide innings but doesn't miss bats or get ground balls like he needs to do; Wade LeBlanc is likely to turn back into a pumpkin any minute now; and Felix Hernandez has been floating a little above replacement level for three years now, with 2018 the worst of his career.
Kikuchi doesn't replace any of those guys but pushes them each back a spot in the rotation while he's in it, and if the Mariners want to add Justus Sheffield to their rotation this year, they can do so without relying on him to come in and make 25 starts as a rookie. The Mariners aren't going to the playoffs in 2019 -- they're probably going to lose 90-plus games, between the rebuild and the competition in the AL West -- but they'll be better to watch while Kikuchi is there, and if they get 130-140 innings and 25 or so starts out of him, that would be a successful first year.
The contract itself shields the Mariners from some injury risk while giving them the chance to capture upside if Kikuchi meets or exceeds expectations. He gets $43 million from 2019 through 2021, and then one of three things can happen. The Mariners can pick up a four-year club option that pays him $66 million more from 2022 to 2025. If they decline the option, Kikuchi can pick up a one-year player option for 2022 at $13 million; or both sides could decline and Kikuchi could head to free agency, with the Mariners able to make a qualifying offer.
The downside risk for the team is obvious: If Kikuchi suffers a more serious shoulder injury early in the deal, they're out a lot of cash. But they at least have some real upside potential here if he stays healthy and pitches like a No. 2, as expected, for several years, and then would still be with the Mariners when they project to be competitive again. It's refreshing to see a team still spend money to field a better club as they start to rebuild, and to see a team recognize that it might be acquiring a player who'll help them when they're good again.
Yusei Kikuchi, 27, is coming off two solid seasons with the Seibu Lions. Kyodo/AP Images
Jan 2, 2019
-
Keith LawESPN Senior Writer
The Seattle Mariners have been tearing down their major league roster this winter, so it was a modest surprise to hear they'd won the bidding for NPB star Yusei Kikuchi, posted this winter by the Seibu Lions, as he's ready right now and could help a team looking to contend in 2019. He may not push the Mariners toward a playoff berth any time soon, but he should make them a better team this season, and if he comes close to the performance he showed in Japan he should provide a nice boost for the team at the gate as well.
Kikuchi was one of the best pitchers in NPB as recently as 2017, when he led the Pacific League in ERA and innings pitched while finishing second in strikeouts, and even in an off year in 2018 still showed above-average stuff. He was sitting at 92-93 mph last year, touching 96-97 but no longer pitching there, with a plus slider and two more offspeed pitches at or near average, with above-average control. His last two seasons in NPB were the best of his career as he has walked fewer batters and struck out more, while also posting his two highest innings-pitched totals. It's No. 2 starter stuff if he stays healthy.
That's a big if, however, as Kikuchi has a history of shoulder problems. He missed several starts last year with shoulder stiffness, at least the third time in his eight-year career that a shoulder issue has caused him to miss time. His delivery isn't helping, as his arm is very late relative to when his front leg lands, and that puts more stress on a pitcher's shoulder. Kikuchi has made 24 or more starts only once in his NPB career and has never made more than 26, so the Mariners will have to plan to skip him in the rotation a few times, or even have him spend some time in long relief or otherwise manage his workload to try to keep him healthy.
The Mariners' rotation had some depth before the Kikuchi signing but no real ceiling, and Kikuchi would be their nominal No. 1 starter if you could pencil him in for 30 starts. Marco Gonzales, fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, had a breakout season with a 4.00 ERA/3.43 FIP, and he seems like the one returning starter on whom Seattle can rely for both innings and production. Mike Leake can provide innings but doesn't miss bats or get ground balls like he needs to do; Wade LeBlanc is likely to turn back into a pumpkin any minute now; and Felix Hernandez has been floating a little above replacement level for three years now, with 2018 the worst of his career.
Kikuchi doesn't replace any of those guys but pushes them each back a spot in the rotation while he's in it, and if the Mariners want to add Justus Sheffield to their rotation this year, they can do so without relying on him to come in and make 25 starts as a rookie. The Mariners aren't going to the playoffs in 2019 -- they're probably going to lose 90-plus games, between the rebuild and the competition in the AL West -- but they'll be better to watch while Kikuchi is there, and if they get 130-140 innings and 25 or so starts out of him, that would be a successful first year.
The contract itself shields the Mariners from some injury risk while giving them the chance to capture upside if Kikuchi meets or exceeds expectations. He gets $43 million from 2019 through 2021, and then one of three things can happen. The Mariners can pick up a four-year club option that pays him $66 million more from 2022 to 2025. If they decline the option, Kikuchi can pick up a one-year player option for 2022 at $13 million; or both sides could decline and Kikuchi could head to free agency, with the Mariners able to make a qualifying offer.
The downside risk for the team is obvious: If Kikuchi suffers a more serious shoulder injury early in the deal, they're out a lot of cash. But they at least have some real upside potential here if he stays healthy and pitches like a No. 2, as expected, for several years, and then would still be with the Mariners when they project to be competitive again. It's refreshing to see a team still spend money to field a better club as they start to rebuild, and to see a team recognize that it might be acquiring a player who'll help them when they're good again.
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All signs are pointing to Edgar getting in. It's well deserved.
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Here we go...
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EDGAR!!! 85.4%!
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Happy tears today!
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Congrats to Edgar! Look forward to his induction speech. Interested to see what they do to honor him opening night and if they dedicate another game to him.
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In other news, this is sooooo Mariners that it hurts. Squeezing every last dollar out of Japanese fans that they can.
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Not really a surprise... this was their plan all along. And it'd be a nice sendoff for him to play in those two Tokyo games. Anything beyond that would probably be too much... unless he has an epic ST.
