The Mariners know where the real need is this winter. Yes, the offense has to be the first box checked. But after that, the bullpen sits right there in bold, too.
That group took a hard turn from strength to problem area in 2026, and the second half was especially rough. Seattle’s bullpen ERA climbed to 5.69 over that stretch, which ranked dead-last in the American League. Andrés Muñoz and other important arms will return, but the door is clearly open for at least one addition.
The top name on the market is Adrian Morejon, and he looks like the best possible fit on paper. But Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reported that Morejon’s price may climb beyond what the Mariners are willing to do. Jerry Dipoto has never handed out a free-agent reliever deal with a guarantee higher than $17 million, and Morejon could be in that neighborhood annually.
That does not mean Seattle has to sit out the relief market. It just means the club may need to shop a tier below the headline name. There are still impact arms available who can help without forcing the Mariners to stretch all the way into Morejon territory.
Jonathan Loáisiga is one of them. The right-hander was once viewed as a possible breakout arm for the Yankees in the late 2010s, but injuries pushed him off track for years.
He finally resurfaced this season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and made it count: 67 appearances, a 2.42 ERA, and a 2.88 FIP. His fastball averaged 97.8 mph, and he issued just 13 walks across 261 batters faced.
The tradeoff was a modest strikeout total, since he fanned only 48, and his success leaned heavily on a .415 OPS against right-handers. Still, there may be more in there.
Among free-agent relievers, only Morejon posted a better Pitching+ score than Loáisiga’s 124.
Evan Phillips is another arm who fits the Mariners’ type. He was a top-tier piece for the Dodgers in 2022 and 2023, then hit a rough patch in 2024 before Tommy John surgery wiped out most of 2025.
He came back in July and gave Los Angeles a solid if unspectacular finish, working to a 3.46 ERA in 31 appearances. Righties had a much tougher time with him than lefties, as he held right-handed batters to a .642 OPS while lefties reached a .786 OPS.
He also landed at 121 in Pitching+, threw a 96.8 mph fastball, and used his sweeper to hold hitters to a .059 average.
Then there’s Alex Vesia, who gives Seattle something it could still use even with Gabe Speier and Jose A. Ferrer in the mix: another left-handed option.
Both of those Mariners lefties had trouble missing bats in 2026, and Vesia brings the kind of swing-and-miss stuff that stands out immediately. His fastball averaged only 92.1 mph, but his whiff rate landed in the 96th percentile and his strikeout rate in the 95th percentile.
He works with a four-seamer, slider and changeup, and all three pitches held hitters to averages in the .100s. The concern is the walks.
That could matter for a Mariners club that finished with the league’s second-lowest strikeout rate in 2026. But Seattle could also decide the strikeout juice outweighs the occasional free pass, or believe there’s something in his mechanics it can sharpen.
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