The Seattle Mariners have reached the point where Eduard Bazardo needs a breather.
That’s the simplest read on a right-hander who was a terrific story in 2025, then got leaned on again and again, and now looks like he’s running on fumes. Maybe the cleanest move would be to shut him down for the rest of the season. If Seattle can’t do that, the club at least needs to pull back hard on how often it uses him.
This isn’t about calling Bazardo a lost cause or pretending he shouldn’t be part of the picture next year. It’s about what the last two calendar years have done to him. He’s been used heavily, and the Mariners are no longer getting the version of him they had before.
Tuesday’s 10-5 loss to the Texas Rangers was the latest reminder. Bazardo allowed four earned runs, plus two inherited runners, gave up three hits, walked one batter and surrendered a pair of home runs. His outing lasted just 0.1 innings.
The broader numbers tell the same story. In 2025, Bazardo appeared in 73 games and logged 78.2 innings with a 2.52 ERA and 3.64 FIP. In 2026, he’s been in 67 games and thrown 62.1 innings with a 3.90 ERA and 4.49 FIP.
Those FIP marks suggest some good fortune helped him along, but the results still mattered. In 2025, he was excellent in the role the Mariners asked him to fill, and he helped push them to the American League Championship Series. Because Seattle went deep into October, Bazardo added nine more appearances in the postseason, finishing the year with 82 total outings.
That workload came with a cost. His offseason was already shorter than normal by about a month, and then he ramped up again quickly to pitch for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. That trimmed his preparation even more before spring training.
Even with all that, he opened this season solidly enough. But now he’s up to 67 more appearances, and the wear has shown up.
The Mariners have stumbled to 67-78, and their bullpen has been the worst in baseball in the second half. Bazardo’s slide has been a major part of that collapse.
Ty Dane Gonzalez of "Locked on Mariners" pointed out on social media on Tuesday, even before Bazardo’s rough outing, that the right-hander’s numbers before the All-Star break were .244 opp. AVG, 2.27 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 23.6 K%, 6.2 BB%.
Those numbers won’t look any prettier after Tuesday.
There’s plenty of blame to spread around, too. Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander can be faulted for not reinforcing the bullpen enough.
Matt Brash’s injury thinned things out, and early-season injuries to Gabe Speier and Carlos Vargas made the situation worse; Vargas only returned two weeks ago after a season-long issue. Dan Wilson has also pushed Bazardo hard, especially lately, and Bazardo himself has not been getting the job done.
The reality is messier than any one-name answer. Wilson has clearly trusted Bazardo, but the alternatives haven’t exactly been clean either.
On Tuesday, Wilson went to Jose Ferrer before Bazardo in the fourth inning. That left him in a spot where he wasn’t going to turn right around and use Gabe Speier in the fifth.
Seranthony Dominguez was there, but using him while trailing 4-3 didn’t make much sense when Seattle could have saved him for a lead situation. Andres Munoz was not available for the fifth, and Michael Rucker isn’t built for that kind of spot yet.
That leaves Hoby Milner, Vargas and Cooper Criswell. Are any of them more trustworthy than Bazardo?
Probably not. It feels more like a collection of risks than a clear answer.
Still, with the season all but over, the Mariners need to give Bazardo some time off and let somebody else take those innings, even if the alternatives come with their own problems.
Seattle and Texas play again Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. PT, with Kade Anderson scheduled to start.
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