How the Mariners will decide which relievers will emerge from the bucket
SURPRISE, Ariz. – As Ty Buttrey pumped fastballs at 98 mph to Kansas City Royals hitters in the Wednesday afternoon sunshine, manager Scott Servais watched intently from the first-base dugout of Surprise Stadium.
Would the mercurial right-hander, who was once a valued reliever for the Angels in 2019, maintain his command and attack the strike zone with confidence?
Or would he struggle to stay ahead in counts and give up hits and runs?
Buttrey struck out Brett Squires and got a lineout to center off the bat of Tyler Cropley for two quick outs.
After giving up a two-out infield single, Buttrey coaxed C.J. Alexander to fly out to right field to end the inning.
“I thought Ty Buttrey threw the ball really well,” Servais said. “That fastball has got a lot of life on it.”
Perhaps Buttrey is climbing his way out of the bucket and into consideration for a bullpen slot.
The bucket?
The official name is “The Steckenrider Bucket,” which is a reference to a former Mariners reliever Drew Steckenrider, who arrived to 2021 spring training as one of several pitchers with MLB experience signed to a minor-league contract with an invite to spring training. The hard-throwing right-hander pitched well enough in spring to earn a spot on the opening-day roster. He appeared in 62 games that season, posting a 5-2 record with a 2.00 ERA with 14 saves. He couldn’t replicate that performance the next season and was eventually designated for assignment.
His name lives on as the metaphorical container that Servais dumps all the relievers – on the 40-man roster and nonroster invites – into and waits to see who pitches their way out of it and on to the opening-day roster.
How many pitchers will be needed to emerge from the bucket to fill out the Mariners bullpen?
There will be one more than was expected coming into spring training.
With Matt Brash slowly working his way back from elbow inflammation, his spot in the Mariners’ eight-man bullpen is open. Brash played catch Tuesday – the first time he’s thrown since Feb. 20 – and the Mariners plan to build him up slowly, not wanting to aggravate the elbow.
The Mariners are doing the same with right-hander Gregory Santos, who they acquired this offseason from the White Sox to strengthen their late-inning leverage situations. Santos is working his way back from discomfort in the back of his shoulder. He’s scheduled to throw a light bullpen session this weekend. Without any setbacks, he could be built up enough to be ready by opening day. The Mariners won’t rush his progression either.
The Mariners’ projected bullpen has two spots open and would have three if Santos isn’t ready for opening day.
The locked-in spots: Andres Muñoz, RHP; Santos, RHP; Gabe Speier, LHP; Tayler Saucedo, LHP; Trent Thornton, RHP; Austin Voth, RHP.
Of the pitchers in camp, there are probably 10-12 pitchers in the bucket vying for those potential roster spots.
“It’s been very interesting,” Servais said of the competition.
Any front-runners?
“No,” Servais said, trying to be stubborn before laughing and expounding. “We’ve seen some guys have good outings their first time out and maybe struggle a bit the second time out. And we’ve got a couple guys banged up there. With Santos being a little bit behind and Brash being behind, there’s more opportunities for that grouping of players. I think those players understand who they are. If they don’t, they will. It will be, ‘Hey man, it’s there. Go win the job.’ Some players react very favorably when you have those discussions, other don’t. They try too hard. We’ll find out.”
Logically, pitchers on the 40-man roster might have an edge in the competition. To add a nonroster player means the Mariners would have to open a spot by designating a player for assignment and risk losing them to another organization. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it isn’t ideal to essentially give away players for nothing.
The Mariners have six right-handed relievers on the 40-man roster competing for bullpen spots: Ty Adcock, Cody Bolton, Jackson Kowar, Mauricio Llovera, Collin Snider, Carlos Vargas.
Of that group, Kowar seems to be locking in a spot with his first two appearances this spring. A former first-round pick by the Royals, who was acquired in the deal that sent Jarred Kelenic to the Braves, Kowar’s fastball reached 98 mph in his first two outings, while his change-up looked unhittable. He hasn’t pitched in a game since Feb. 28 because of arm soreness.
Vargas was electric in his first outing. Showing a fastball in the upper 90s and a nasty slider. But in his second outing, his velocity was down by a few mph and the command of his two-seam fastball was nonexistent. The Mariners love his stuff and hope they can harness it. His inconsistency from outing to outing is something that must be fixed.
Bolton hasn’t pitched since Feb. 29 because of ankle soreness.
Adcock made his first appearance of the spring on Tuesday. After making his MLB debut last season, he dealt with some shoulder issues that ended his season early. The Mariners love his slider and his ability to command it. They also like his competitiveness on the mound.
“Ty Adcock throws strikes,” Servais said. “He’s a guy who pitched in 28 professional innings before he pitched in the big leagues.”
How Adcock bounces back from outings this spring will be noteworthy.
The group of nonroster invites with chances for spot include Buttrey as well as Joey Krebiehl, RHP; Brett de Geus, RHP; Trevor Kelley, RHP; Marcelo Perez, RHP.
There doesn’t seem to be a Steckenrider or a Paul Sewald in this group. Buttrey appeared in 72 games in 2019 for the Angels, posting a 6-7 record with 3.98 ERA. In 72⅓ innings, he struck out 84 batters with 23 walks.
Krehbiel has been dealing with a neck issue and has pitched just twice this spring, last appearing in a game on March 1. He’s appeared in 70 MLB games over parts of four seasons.
The Mariners just added de Geus to big league camp after he appeared in multiple games as a call up from the minor league side. His fastball got up to 99 mph in an outing.
And, of course, Jerry Dipoto, Mariners president of baseball operations, could toss a few more arms into the bucket by adding a reliever in the next few weeks on a waiver claim via trade or even free agency.
Maybe even Steckenrider himself.