Stacy Rost: 5 MLB teams that prove Mariners can rebound from low point

The Seattle Mariners are at a low point. This team didn’t do much in the offseason, but that felt easy to stomach when they ranked in the top five in home runs leading into May and had overcome a number of injuries to lead the AL West.

ESPN’s Scruggs gives two keys for a Mariners turnaround

The season doesn’t feel as great now, though. Jorge Polanco has cooled, Julio Rodríguez still hasn’t gotten hot, and yet another starter (Bryce Miller for the second time) has landed on the IL. Now, Seattle enters Friday trailing Houston by 4.5 games in the AL West.

So, what now?

I’m going to be honest, “give up on the season” doesn’t feel like a fun option in June. So let’s look at a few teams that did manage to turn things around after hitting an all-time low in the summer.

Before getting to the end, I’ll let you know now that these teams all have a few things in common — you’ll see the threads unfold as you skim through. Namely, they got hot, got healthy, cut ties with bad signings, had a few guys ball out, and (particularly in the case of one team) made key moves at the deadline.

2002 Oakland Athletics

The low point: 10 games back in May
The final record: 103-59 (first in AL West)

The solution: Rattle off a casual 20-game win streak. No big deal, there’s only an entire movie (a great one!) dedicated to this team. The A’s were 10 games back in May and stayed in third place nearly every day in July. Then, beginning on Aug. 13, they won 20 straight. There’s also that little thing where their general manager redefined how to build a roster.

2006 Minnesota Twins

The low point: 12.5 games back in the end of May, which improved to… 12 games back on June 13
The final record: 96-66 (first in AL Central)

The solution: The Twins started out with bad, inconsistent play thanks in part to some free-agent flops. They added a 32-year-old Tony Bautista to a team-friendly, one-year deal hoping to add a bit of power to the lineup (a very Mariners-esque move), plus a 34-year-old Rondell White. Bautista, who had 32 home runs in 2004, had just five through June 13 and was DFA’d. His replacement, Nick Punto, ended up having one of his best seasons (career-high 3.8 bWAR and .290 batting average).

Here’s what else happened: they got really hot, nearly winning out the second half of June, going 19-1 from June 11 to July 4. They also saw massive contributions from AL MVP Joe Mauer (5.8 bWAR) and AL Cy Young winner Johan Santana. So… maybe the solution is to cut bait with bad moves and then go on to have the league MVP and Cy Young winner (easy, right?).

2024 Houston Astros

The low point: 10 games back on June 18
The final record: 88-73 (first in AL West)

The solution: I know, I’m sorry. This one stings. Mostly because that “10 games back” nadir was overcome at the expense of the Mariners. But there are some important lessons here.

First, how they did it. In short: Get healthy, get hot, and make the most out of your pitching. Like the 2006 Twins, they also cut bait on two pricey players, moving on from José Abreu (who remains on their payroll this season) and Rafael Montero. Their pitching began the year with injuries and question marks but gradually improved; their 17th-ranked team ERA pre-All-Star break jumped to third after July. There’s also the luck of a division where the first-place team lost a 10-game lead faster than any team in MLB history. But we don’t need to talk about it any more.

2021 Atlanta Braves

The low point: Eight games back on June 16
The final record: 88-73 (first in NL East) and winners of the World Series

The solution: “Eight games back” isn’t the real low point for this Braves team. The real low point came on July 10 when Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his ACL. Surely the season would be over; the team was already 4.5 games back, had lost Marcell Ozuna, and was coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Phillies.

Then came a flurry of trade deadline moves. They added Joc Pederson first, and later acquired Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall and Eddie Rosario. Two of those new members — Rosario and Soler — became MVPs in a postseason series on the way to a World Series title.

2007 Colorado Rockies

The low point: Eight games back on July 2
The final record: 90-73 (NL wild card winner)

The solution: Get hot, get lucky. I like including the Rockies here because they weren’t coming off a winning season in 2006. This wasn’t a powerhouse like Houston that just started slow or got banged up. This was a fine team with solid talent that needed to get really hot — and they did. Like really, really hot.

The Rockies entered September 69-65 and 5.0 games back. They went 14-1 in their final 15 games of the regular season to end up 0.5 games back (2nd in the NL West). They swept the Phillies and Diamondbacks in the postseason and went 21-1 over their 22 games leading up to the World Series. Matt Holliday was MVP runner up with 36 homers.

Seattle Mariners coverage

• Mayo: What Mariners prospect Harry Ford’s path to MLB is
• Salk: Mariners’ missing identity embodied by player nearing return
• Three changes the struggling Seattle Mariners can make now
• MLB Draft insider Mayo details Mariners’ options at No. 3 overall
• Morosi: Seattle Mariners’ biggest need? ‘Address the rotation first’

Related

Red Sox put star Contreras on IL, push ace Gray out of Mariners seriesMariners’ Cal Raleigh wins AL Player of the Week after 5-HR barrageMariners Roster Move: Key reliever back from long IL stintLineups: Mariners start series at Fenway vs Red SoxMariners-Red Sox Series Preview: M’s look for rare feat in BostonReports: Mariners to promote slugging OF Lazaro Montes