The Mariners are heading into an offseason where the bullpen has to be addressed, but the real question is how aggressive they can actually get.
Jerry Dipoto has already made it clear he wants to fix it. That makes sense after Seattle finished 2026 with a 4.46 bullpen ERA, which ranked 22nd in the league. The staff as a whole faded badly in the second half, and the relief corps took a big hit with Matt Brash injured and Eduard Bazardo worn down.
Even with that mess on the mound, the roster math is tighter than it first looks. Heading into 2027, Seattle appears to have five bullpen spots locked in, with two more already pretty well established. That leaves only one clear opening if the Mariners want to add a true upgrade without squeezing out someone already in place.
The five spots that look set are Andres Munoz, Matt Brash, Gabe Speier, Jose Ferrer and Seranthony Dominguez.
Dominguez might not feel like an automatic for everyone, but the money makes the decision for the Mariners. He’s owed $10.5 million in 2027, so he is not going anywhere.
Brash is the more complicated case. Some will argue his injury history makes him too risky to count on, and that’s fair. But if Seattle treats him like a question mark and goes after another major bullpen arm, that move would likely have to come at the expense of either Bazardo or Vargas.
The other two names in the mix are Carlos Vargas and Eduard Bazardo, and both look solidly in the picture for now. That’s why the Mariners’ clearest path is to target the one open spot rather than overhaul the whole group.
There are internal options there, too. Issac Mattson, Troy Taylor and Michael Rucker can all compete for that job. Still, the smarter play would be for Seattle to bring in a meaningful arm and push Vargas and Bazardo down the depth chart.
That said, any outside addition has to be worth it. Vargas and Bazardo are both affordable, which matters with the Mariners working with a $30-35 million spending budget this offseason. If Seattle is going to spend more on a reliever, that pitcher needs to be better enough to justify it.
Vargas, in particular, still has a useful role. He doesn’t bring the same leverage profile as the top end of the bullpen, but he can cover multiple innings, and that mattered when he couldn’t do it in 2026 because of injury. That absence helped leave the bullpen overworked.
He’s 27, throws a fastball in the upper-90s, and he’s out of options, which means the Mariners can’t simply stash him in the minors. Bazardo is in the same boat. If Seattle wants to move on from either one, it has to be for someone clearly better.
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