Seattle Mariners in Desperation Mode After June Swoon

During a strong month of May, the Seattle Mariners were in first place in the AL West and appeared on track to make a serious push to break their 15-year playoff drought. But injuries, slumps and a run of bad luck have led to a dramatic downturn for the Mariners during the month of June, compiling a record of just 6-16 through June 23. In response, Seattle has entered full-on desperation mode as they try to salvage the 2016 season.

At the end of May, Seattle stood at 30-21 and were squarely in the hunt for the top spot in the West right alongside the Texas Rangers. Everything seemed to be breaking the Mariners’ way with timely hitting up and down the lineup, quality starting pitching and strong contributions from the bullpen. Everything was coming together just as Jerry Dipoto had envisioned it when he assembled this team during the offseason.

All of that changed, however, during this rough stretch in June. Injuries started to tear through the starting rotation with Felix Hernandez and Wade Miley landing on the DL. Taijuan Walker, who was enjoying a strong start to the year, is now dealing with tendonitis in his foot which will cost him at least a couple of starts. Even Adrian Sampson, who was called up to fill injury holes in the rotation, left his start against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday before recording an official pitch due to elbow discomfort.

Those mounting injuries in the rotation have put added stress on the bullpen which has come crashing back to earth after their strong start. Steve Cishek, who was brought to Seattle during this offseason to be the team’s primary closer, has been a prime example of the bullpen’s uneven play this season.  He has labored through some seriously rough stretches while converting 16 of 20 save opportunities with a 2-4 record, including a walk-off loss on a wild pitch on Thursday to cap a sweep at the hands of the Tigers.

Meanwhile, the lineup has gone cold in big situations. Where they were able to get those clutch hits to score runs when they needed them early in the year, hitting with runners on base has become incredibly difficult for them in June. The result has been a team that can’t slug their way out of their pitching troubles, resulting in their current run of losses.

In response to this, Dipoto and the Mariners have been active in trades to bring some relief to the pitching staff. On Sunday, the team traded for right-hander Zach Lee from the Los Angeles Dodgers and followed that up with more moves on Wednesday, re-signing Tom Wilhelmsen and trading for left-hander Wade LeBlanc from the Toronto Blue Jays. Lee and LeBlanc have spent the entire season in the minors while Wilhelmsen was released by the Texas Rangers after posting a 10.55 ERA in 21 appearances this season.

Each of these deals is a move of desperation as the team tries anything to stem the tide of losing that has swept over them this month. With Seattle staring down the barrel of a six-game losing streak that has dropped them back below .500 for the season, the Mariners must try everything to try and save their playoff hopes for 2016.