Seattle Mariners: Top 50 players of all time
By Nick Lee
42. Jeff Nelson (1992-1995, 2001-2003, 2005)
Like several others on this list, Nelson played a key role in the Mariners’ historic 2001 season. In fact, that was his lone All-Star season.
As the setup man for Sasaki, he posted a 2.76 ERA in 69 games. He also had 88 strikeouts in 65 1/3 innings.
He spent parts of eight seasons in Seattle in three stints, including both the 1995 and 2001 postseason runs. Aside from going over to the Yankees with Tino Martinez to win four rings, he appeared in 11 games and only allowed two earned runs in 14 total innings in Mariners playoff runs. Overall, he posted an 8.3 WAR during his time in Seattle.
41. J.J. Putz (2003-2008)
Putz was one of the better closers in baseball for a few years. He broke into the big leagues with Seattle.
He was an All-Star in 2007, when he notched 40 saves and an incredible 1.38 ERA. He was the 2007 Rolaids Relief Award winner. He also had 82 strikeouts in 71 innings.
An argument can be made for him to be higher on this list. Perhaps if he would have stayed for a year or two longer, that would be the case.
However, after a hiccup of a season in 2008, he was traded to the New York Mets in a three-team blockbuster that included names like Luis Valbuena, Jason Vargas and Endy Chavez.
At the end of his Mariners career, he was second on the franchise saves list. He is currently 6th in games pitched in team history as well.
After leaving Seattle, he had two more 30+ save seasons. He retired with 189 career saves. As a Mariner, he had a WAR of 8.4 (13th in franchise history).