How real is Mariners’ offensive surge since trade deadline adds?

Aug 5, 2024, 10:38 AM | Updated: 10:49 am

Justin Turner of the Seattle Mariners drives in a run during a July 30, 2024 game. (Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)

(Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)

Seattle Sports

In the nearly two weeks since the Seattle Mariners kicked off their trade deadline moves with the deal for Randy Arozarena, the offense has been far more productive.

Seattle Mariners Breakdown: Trade deadline adds making impact

The Mariners have scored at least six runs in a game seven times and are averaging 6.3 runs in their nine contests since they deal. They also rank eighth in the majors in on-base percentage (.341), eighth in slugging (.463) and seventh in wRC+ (131) during the stretch.

Perhaps just as encouraging is that their strikeout rate – a major problem throughout the season – has been near the middle of the pack at 23%, which ranks 14th.

However, it’s a small sample size, and some of the offensive woes resurfaced while being shut down by Phillies ace Zack Wheeler on Sunday.

“Is that enough to keep you from panicking yesterday … when Zack Wheeler shoves for eight innings and you can’t do anything and get shut out?” Mike Salk asked. “Or do you immediately go back to, ‘Here we go again. It was nine good games and now they’re done?’”

Salk and Brock Huard assessed Seattle’s recent offensive surge and how meaningful it is Monday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

“I think that it’s enough to convince me that yesterday is an anomaly, but not so much to convince me that the first 100 games didn’t matter,” Salk said.

Adding impact

After Seattle floundered offensively through much of the first four months of the season, some were left feeling the Mariners were still at least a bat short at the deadline after the acquisitions of Arozarena and 39-year-old first baseman Justin Turner. Plus, neither had the same trade deadline hype as players like the Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the White Sox’s Luis Robert Jr. – neither of whom were traded. But Seattle has received solid production from Arozarena and Turner thus far.

In eight games with Seattle, Arozarena is slashing .290/.405/.484 with three doubles, one home run and three RBIs over 37 plate appearances.

“Randy Arozarena provides impact. He is an impact guy,” Salk said. “It doesn’t mean he’s going to do it every game, but is he a threat in that lineup, something that you said over and over again that they needed? Yes.”

In four games with the Mariners, Turner is slashing .278/.316/.444 with one home run and six RBIs over 19 plate appearances.

Salk and Huard also brought outfielder Víctor Robles into the discussion. Robles joined the team in early June after being waived by the Washington Nationals and has become a fixture in the lineup after an impressive start to his Mariners career. In 36 games, the former top prospect has an eye-popping .349/.411/.523 slash line with six doubles, three home runs, six RBIs and 10 stolen bases. That impact has been even more important with star center fielder Julio Rodríguez on the injured list with a high-ankle sprain.

When Rodríguez returns, Seattle could run an outfield that includes him, Robles and Arozarena on a regular basis.

“I don’t know whether this Víctor Robles thing is going to be real or not” Salk said. “I don’t know whether he can sustain (his current pace). He’s probably not gonna sustain this or he’s probably not gonna sustain that, but can he be enough? All three guys have just a fun factor that is uncommon in baseball.”

Is the Seattle Mariners offense now legit?

Salk asked fans how they felt about the offense on social media Sunday evening. The majority are still undecided, which is something Huard and Salk understood and agreed with.

How do you feel about the Mariners offense since the trades?

— Mike Salk, Seattle Sports (@TheMikeSalk) August 5, 2024

“You’re trying to knock away a lot of scar tissue, and Justin Turner does some of that, and Randy does some of that, and a red-hot Víctor Robles does some of that,” Huard said. “Whenever Julio comes back, that will hopefully do some of that. But there’s kind of a lot of scar tissue (built up from all of the) zero and one and two-run games this year.”

One of the aspects that stood out to Huard about the Mariners’ moves is that they’re now in a position to ask their role players to fill their roles, rather than relying on them to carry their offense.

“I like when Luke Raley is off the bench. I like when Mitch Haniger can be a little bit off the bench,” Huard said. “… There are very few on the planet that can wear every hat as a baseball player, so you can now put these guys into positions (that fit).”

The true scope of the offense won’t be on display until Rodríguez and shortstop J.P Crawford return, although Crawford isn’t expected back until September from a broken right hand.

“I don’t know whether this is going to be a legitimate offense that is going to be capable of carrying them,” Salk said. “I think there are still some flaws and some holes, and there are some things that I like a lot better than I did before. I don’t feel confident, because of the incredible difficulty in predicting how this game will go, in giving you even a thought as to how this will continue. I feel very confident that the group they have now put out on the field is more fun to watch than what we saw for the first 100 games.”

Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.