What to Expect from the 2016 Mariners

After a heartbreaking 76-86 season that began with such high hopes, many are wondering: What will the Mariners do this year?

The Seattle Mariners began the 2015 season as World Series competitors, but quickly fell to the bottom of the division and had a hard time escaping. Its safe to say almost no one expected the Astros to have such a successful season and the Rangers seemed to rise from the grave to take the division. Even with a competitive division like the AL West, a pennant was a very reachable goal for Seattle going into the season. Yet time and time again Seattle removed itself from the race with blown leads late in the game. At the end of the season the Mariners had lost 20+ games in the 8th inning or later. Hypothetically speaking if they had managed to hang on to all those games, they would have been division champions with a 6 game lead ahead of everyone else. But due in part to the Fernando Rodney Experience, they ended the season 12 games back and in fourth place.

More from Seattle Mariners

• Seattle Mariners trade James Paxton. Deja vu or re-imagining?
• Seattle Mariners: November mailbag – Face of the franchise and more
• Seattle Mariners: Zunino part of 5 player swap. What it means for the M’s.
• Seattle Mariners: Mitch Haniger, and Edgar Martinez headed to Japan
• Seattle Mariners: Trading for Joc Pederson from L.A. – 3 scenarios

Offensively, Seattle had no problems putting runs on the board with big bats such as Cruz and Cano bringing in a combined 174 RBI. The same can be expected this season as they have added Leonys Martin and Nori Aoki to their lineup and have not traded away any notable run scorers. The problems occurred deep in the bullpen.

Hernandez and Iwakuma are the big-name arms for the team (although Iwakuma struggled with injuries last season) and they both pitched commendable seasons. Taijun Walker also had a winning record at 11-8. But I think I speak for all fans when I say as soon as a call to the bullpen was made, confidence levels fell drastically. As I stated earlier, blown games was the hot trend for Seattle last season. Seattle has made many moves this off season to strengthen the bullpen, such as acquiring pitchers Joe Wieland and Ryan Cook.

With fresh arms and a high-powered offense, the Mariners can claim their first division title since 2001 if they can hang on to those pesky late-game leads. Ultimately, Seattle Mariners fans should be excited for the upcoming season as players are eager to prove they are post season contenders.