The Athletics have turned a crowded AL West into something much simpler for the Mariners to read.
Seattle went into the All-Star break looking for a reset, with an offense that has come and gone, injuries in key spots and a division that never separated the way it should have. Now one of the biggest reasons for patience has disappeared. The A’s have collapsed.
Their list of losses is brutal. Brent Rooker is done for the season.
Nick Kurtz and Zack Gelof are on the IL. Jacob Wilson has been working his way back from a shoulder injury.
Luis Severino is on the 60-day IL, and Gunnar Hoglund underwent season-ending hip surgery.
That alone would shake most clubs. The Athletics also had to deal with ugly pitching and a long losing skid, which led them to fire pitching coach Scott Emerson, who had been with the organization in some capacity since 2003.
This no longer looks like the scrappy young team hanging around the division race. It looks like a club trying to keep the second half from going completely off the rails.
After nine straight losses, the AL West is effectively down to the Mariners, Texas Rangers and Houston Astros.
No one should cheer injuries, and the A’s didn’t just talk themselves out of contention. They had the heart of their roster stripped away. But that still changes what Seattle is facing.
Kurtz had become one of the league’s most dangerous young bats and an AL MVP candidate, hitting .266 with 20 home runs and 66 RBI in 92 games. Rooker had cleared 30 homers in each of the previous three seasons.
Gelof was at .273 with 11 home runs before going on the IL. Losing all three from the same lineup takes away a huge chunk of what made Oakland dangerous.
The pitching was already a problem before the injuries piled up. The A’s entered the break with a 5.21 team ERA, and the slide that followed Emerson out the door only made things worse.
They are not mathematically eliminated, so it would be a stretch to declare them finished. But the picture is pretty clear.
Too many injuries. Too many losses. Too much ground.
Seattle can’t do anything about the A’s medical chart. What it can do is respond to the opening in front of it.
The Mariners came into the season as the division favorite, but they’re still chasing the Rangers while the Astros try to claw back into the mix. That’s the reality now. And it should sharpen the urgency in Seattle.
The Mariners have spent years trying to build something durable, protect their young talent and avoid chasing short-term fixes that cost them later. That approach has its place. They’re already in one of the longest stretches of sustained success the franchise has seen in a long time.
But the standings are the standings. Fans want the Mariners to treat them that way.
If the A’s are out of the picture, then the task gets cleaner for Seattle: win the AL West. That would lock up a postseason berth and could spare them the mess of a crowded wild-card chase.
They don’t need to become the best team in baseball by the deadline. They just need to be better than the other teams in their division.
That’s a real target.
In Other News...
Mariners May Have Found Their Next Late Round Draft Steal
The Mariners have made a habit of finding real value in the draft, and not just at the top of the board. Their young core has been built around first-round talent such as Cole Young, Colt Emerson and Logan Gilbert, but the organization has also shown a knack for uncovering contributors later on, with Bryan Woo and Dominic Canzone serving as reminders that Seattle does not need a premium pick to land a useful big leaguer.
That background is what makes this latest group worth watching. Dominic Santarelli, Wyatt Queen and Henry Ford all bring different kinds of upside, from pitching depth to bat speed to the sort of college track record that can make a front office dream on a faster climb through the system. Queens profile in particular gives Seattle another intriguing arm to keep tabs on, while Ford arrives with a resume that suggests he was overlooked longer than he should have been, leaving the Mariners with another potential late-round find to follow closely. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Fans Have Every Reason To Worry About Brendan Donovan
Brendan Donovans season has already been defined by frustration, and the latest update only adds to the unease around his status. Limited to 25 games because of injury concerns, Donovan still hasnt started the minor league rehab assignment that was expected, leaving the Mariners with more questions than answers about when, or even how fully, he might be available again.
For a club already dealing with its share of health issues, Donovans absence matters because of what he has shown when hes on the field. His production has been strong enough to make him a meaningful piece for the second half, but the uncertainty around his return now hangs over a team that could use every healthy bat it can get. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Just Got Beaten To A Bat They Clearly Needed
The Mariners have been hunting for a right-handed bat that can help them handle left-handed pitching, and Jahmai Jones looked like the kind of low-cost option that could fit the brief. Instead, Boston stepped in first, claiming Jones off waivers from Detroit and adding him to its active roster, another reminder that even the smaller roster fixes can disappear quickly this time of year.
For Seattle, the miss lands at a moment when the trade deadline is closing in and the available pool of right-handed help is not exactly overflowing. The club still has some bench depth on the right side, but the broader issue is whether the front office will push hard enough to find a real answer or keep waiting for the market to break its way. [Read more 🡒]