Think Mariners’ playoff hopes are gone? Here’s why they’re alive

The last thing Seattle Mariners fans may want to hear right now is that after falling all the way from a 10-game lead in the AL West to a 5 1/2-game deficit, they still have a chance at making the playoffs.

But, well, the Seattle Mariners still have a chance at making the playoffs.

After Mariners change managers, Astros add to AL West lead

That was a point ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan made when he joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Friday, a day after the 64-64 M’s let manager Scott Servais go with 34 games remaining.

“There’s a lot of room to make up,” Passan said, really putting emphasis on the “a lot” part.

But?

“In this environment, they can still make the playoffs,” Passan said. “They just need to get it going now, and this turnaround needs to happen now.”

The Mariners are coming off a dismal 1-8 road trip, and their playoff odds per Fangraphs are now down to 10.9% – but there’s a reason that number is not zero. Mostly dead is slightly alive, as you may already know, and the M’s aren’t even that bad off. There now is a possibility, too, that the switch from Servais to Seattle’s new full-time manager, Dan Wilson, could help inject some life into the team.

What change at manager could mean for rest of Mariners’ season

If the M’s do get moving back in the right direction, an American League wild card may be in their reach, even if they are 7 1/2 games back from Kansas City and Minnesota (both 71-56) for the last two spots entering Friday. Kansas City especially looks vulnerable with each of its next six series coming against either a division leader or a team in a wild card spot.

“I just look at the Royals right now, if you see their schedule over the next three weeks … it’s like good team after good team after good team,” Passan said. “And so the notion that the the Royals, or the Red Sox, who frankly are just sort of OK, or the Rays, who are the only other team ahead of the Mariners right now in that group – the notion that the Mariners can’t go on a run when all of those other things are in play I think is foolish. Of course they can.”

ESPN's @JeffPassan this morning with @TheMikeSalk and #Mariners Insider @shannondrayer:

"I don't put it past this Mariners team to make another run." https://t.co/lBwu095JeV pic.twitter.com/Ikv5ocB2LT

— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) August 23, 2024

Not exactly a silver lining

While Passan’s point is that hope for the postseason in Seattle isn’t completely gone, he also indicated that with how much parity there is in MLB this year, it really only makes the Mariners’ swoon in the second half of this season sting that much more.

“There may not be a 95-game winner in baseball this year. I mean, it is that spread out and that even near the top, and there are just no great teams,” Passan said to Mike Salk and guest host Shannon Drayer. “Which is maybe to me the most frustrating part for Mariners fans. It’s like, we put together this historically good rotation, and you’re telling me even in this environment where everyone’s kind of ‘ehh,’ we can’t even be ‘ehh’ like that? Like, what a waste. What a blown opportunity.”

Listen to the full Brock and Salk conversation with ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post. Catch Brock and Salk live on Seattle Sports from 6-10 a.m. each weekday.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• What Mariners’ decision to let Servais go says about this season
• The File: A closer look at new Mariners manager Dan Wilson
• Salk: Making sense of the Mariners’ Scott Servais era ending
• Drayer: Looking at Scott Servais’ legacy, why Mariners let him go
• Servais releases statement through Seattle Mariners after dismissal

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