King Felix

The Mariner pitchers along with the catchers report on Wednesday. We still have questions about the Mariners starting rotation which includes Felix Hernandez.

It is interesting to think of Felix Hernandez of being a question mark however the last two years puts him in that spot. He will be thirty-two in early April however unlike many pitchers who are in their prime Felix is on his down side it looks. He came up to the Mariners as a nineteen year old so he has a lot of use on his arm and the last two years he has struggled with injuries and two subpar seasons.

The Mariners coaching brass is hoping that he will be able to make a comeback. His fastball is not what it once was however he does have other pitches that could put him back among the best but the question will be if it happens.

Most seasons the Mariners have allowed working on his own schedule during spring training but this year looks to be different. According to Dipoto and Servais he will be in the mix with the other starters. Every year before Felix would not be in an exhibition game until about the last two weeks of spring training to be ready for being the opening day starter. I would not be surprised to see him in one of the early games this time for an inning or two. Also his string of being the opening day starter could be over and the spot go to James Paxton. Of course this will depend on Paxton as well since he has injuries himself in past seasons and struggled in spring training. The Mariners hope though that he will be ready to be the ace of the team.

There are some free agent starters still on the market so the Mariners could go after one of them especially if they get the pitcher at a lower rate including amount of years. Yu Darvish did sign a six year contract at $25 million per year with the Chicago Cubs  so hard to know at this point whether any of the other guys actually be willing to go lower however if they don’t sign this week that could change. I am sure some wish the Mariners could have signed Darvish at that amount but in my mind likely it would have cost the Mariners more money to get him somewhere around $28 million and he isn’t worth that amount.

I know that some fans wish that the Mariners would trade Felix however with his contract over $26 million per year I am sure no one would take him without the Mariners paying part of the salary. We all know that Felix is not worth that amount unless he finds his way back to resemble his old self in a way or at least pitching well with all his pitches.

Where he fits in the rotation will depend on how he does during spring training. Most likely he will be in the second or third spot in the rotation. Felix does have a lot of pride so I am sure he will want to get back to resemble the King in a way. What I hope for is that he doesn’t try to strike out a lot of hitters and go for grounders so he can throw about ninety to hundred pitches in at least six innings. Last year he was only able to start sixteen games having a record of 6-5 along with an era of 4.36. I am sure the Mariners would be overjoyed if he could start ten more games at least this season. Even with an era around four with the Mariners offense being improved that could go well for them.

If Felix gets hurt once again this season the Mariners are in trouble and Dipoto will have to go out get another starter. The Mariners have depth to replace a fifth starter in the rotation but not a number three starter. It would only be different if Erasmo Ramirez has a good season along with whoever is the fifth starter. So we hope to see you pitch well this year Felix. We don’t expect you being a number one starter however being a second or third starter would be fine with us. Go M’s.