Seattle Mariners Offseason: How Many Bullpen Additions Does Team Need?

The Seattle Mariners enter an important and complex offseason in need of bullpen help, and Jerry Dipoto has stated a desire to get it done.

It's an easy call to make for everybody, as the Mariners finished 2026 with a bullpen ERA of 4.46, which was 22nd in the league. The team's pitching as a whole was far worse in the second half of the season, but the bullpen especially struggled with Matt Brash injured and Eduard Bazardo worn down.

So again, the M's need upgrades, but while everybody says that, it's not quite as easy to make a reality.

For instance, heading into 2027, the Mariners seemingly have five guaranteed spots in the bullpen taken, with two others that are well-solidified, meaning there could only be a chance to upgrade in one spot.

And before you yell at me and tell me that's not enough, let me present the facts.

1) Andres Munoz

2) Matt Brash

3) Gabe Speier

4) Jose Ferrer

5) Seranthony Dominguez

Notes: You may think Dominguez is not good enough to have a guaranteed spot, but at $10.5 million in 2027, he's not going anywhere. And you may think Brash has too much of an injury history to count on, so we'll get to that.

6) Carlos Vargas

7) Eduard Bazardo

This is the spot where the Mariners have the obvious opening. Guys like Issac Mattson, Troy Taylor and Michael Rucker can currently battle for it, but the M's would be wise to make a splash on the bullpen front here, pushing Vargas and Bazardo down to the No. 7 and No. 8 spots.

If you think that Brash is too injured to depend on and you need a second big splash this offseason to cover for him, I can understand that, but it will come at the expense of Bazardo or Vargas.

Again, I can understand upgrading from either one of them, but whoever the M's get, it better be an upgrade, which isn't easy to guarantee given the team's $30-35 million spending budget this offseason. And since Vargas and Bazardo are on pre-arbitration and arbitration deals, they are immensely affordable. If the M's are going to acquire new arms that are much more expensive, they must be much better.

While Vargas doesn't offer the same leverage ability as the first five, he does serve a solid purpose in the bullpen. He had 70 appearances in 2025, tossing 77.0 innings. He has the ability to cover multiple innings in an outing, and because he was unable to do that in 2026 (injury), that's part of the reason why the M's bullpen ended up so taxed.

Vargas is 27 years old and features a fastball in the upper-90s. He's out of options and can't be sent to the minors. So, if the Mariners want to move on from him, OK, but again, the new reliever has to be clearly better. The same scenario exists for Bazardo, who is also out of options.