Why is Bazardo still on the team

[Southpaw773]

From his struggles late last year to the ongoing runs this year, the reason he is both still here and placed into close games, despite a rubber arm, is a microcosm of the 2026 season.

[DavidGee24]

Just amazing that he was the guy who cost us the pennant last year, and then this year he's devolved into a complete mess who's giving up home runs at a rate we've never seen from a Mariner relief pitcher.

That's the Mariner franchise in a nutshell. The guy who throws the worst pitch in franchise history comes back the next season and proceeds to kill the team every chance he gets.

[mostonmike]

I guess its due to his perfomance in the playoffs last year as a whole. Yes, he cost us ultimately in the ALCS but he pitched 11.2 innings in those playoffs, walked only 1 batter and struck out 13. He did pitch well until the critical moment.

That earned him a shot at 2026 to be fair, but he's been complete dogshit for most of the season and even worse since the deadline.

He probably relives the trauma of the Springer HR every day of his life and he will never recover and that's sad for the fella.

But it is also not our problem or burden to carry into the next season. He would have been cut by all 29 other teams with the dross he has been tossing. But we trot him out in extras with the dying embers of the season on the line.

Madness

[desbcoach]

He isn’t a terrible pitcher, he has been over used and due to poor roster construction is used in the wrong situations to often

[AZOldDawg]

I think it’s more Jerry’s inability to get it done personnel wise than anything. If Stanton has his hands tied then we are basically victims of an ugly scam.

[DavidGee24]

He isn’t a terrible pitcher, he has been over used and due to poor roster construction is used in the wrong situations to often

I don't think he's been overused (unless you mean to the extent that we foolishly put him into high-leveage situations to begin with), 68 games and 62 innings. He's eighth in MLB in appearances but everyone else in the top twelve is having a much better season than Bazardo is, and he's 40th in MLB in relief innings pitched. He just can't stop throwing meatballs.

[GL_Storm]

Most relievers go through these periods of ineffectiveness in their careers. I'm not ready to give up on Bazardo but looking at the underlying pitch data, you have to wonder what's going on. Is this a classic case of the league figuring a guy out or has the pitch quality actually regressed?

I really, really wonder about the ability of this coaching staff to help guys make adjustments.