Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Big Maple Returns

Episode Date: February 16, 2021

The Mariners have signed four free agent pitchers, including James Paxton, who previously pitched in Seattle. The Big Maple threw a no-hitter as a Mariner, and was traded away after the 2018 season to the Yankees for three prospects, including Justus Sheffield. The two of them will now occupy the same starting rotation. The M's also signed Ken Giles to a Major League contract, as well as JT Chargois & Taylor Guerrieri to Minor League deals with invitations to Spring Training. D.C. talks about all four pitchers on today's show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Here's your host, D.C. Lundberg. Yes, it sure has been a while. I apologize for that, but I am here once again to present another edition of Locked-on Mariner's, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, brought to you by Beltbar. Please remember to download, rate, and subscribe to this program using whichever podcasting app that you personally care to use. Ask your smart device to play Locked on Mariner's podcast or any program here on the Lockedon. on podcast network.

If you've been listening to this program for a while, you may know that I've been going through some medical issues over the past few months. Nothing life-threatening, nothing of that sort, but at times it's been difficult to fulfill my obligations, both related to this show and otherwise. I apologize for the unplanned hiatus. There has been a fair bit of baseball news that pertains to the Mariners that's come to pass over the previous couple weeks.

Pitchers and Catchers report Thursday. Seven-inning games for double-headers will remain. this season, as will the Little League T-ball rule that states that each extra inning will begin with the runner on second base. Oh, goody. The good news, however, no National League DH this year. The bad news, that might be temporary. I'll talk about that briefly at the end of the show. But the Mariners have some new names in the mix. Four players have been signed to contracts, both major and minor league deals. The big one, which was reported over the weekend, but has yet to be confirmed by the team, Big Maple is back. Yes, James Paxton, nicknamed Big Maple for his love of

pancakes, was signed to a one-year $8.5 million deal, a major league contract, which could earn an additional $1.5 million in incentives. This is pending a physical. He spent the last two seasons with the Yankees after being traded there by the Mariners in November of 2018 for Dom, Thompson Williams, Eric Swanson, and Justice Sheffield. So Sheffield and Paxton will occupy the same rotation after once being traded for each other. Paxton's first season in Pinstryx was 2019, and it was a pretty good one. 29 games, they were all starts, and those were also both career highs in that department. 382 earned run average, 1.281 whip, 3.3 walks per nine innings, 11.1 strikeout to walk ratio.

of 3.38, which was actually on the low side for him, he walked a few more batters in the Big Apple than he had with the Mariners. Last year, however, was something of a throwaway. He only pitched five games prior to being shut down with another arm injury. That's been the problem with Paxon. It's not his stuff. It's not his effectiveness on the mound. It's his ability to stay healthy.

During his time in Seattle, he was very good when he was healthy. And who could forget that no-hitter in Toronto. So first no-hitter by a Canadian in Canada, and the first meritor's no-hitter on the road. From 2013 to 2018, Paxton pitched 102 ball games, all of them are starts, a 342 earned-run-run average, a whip of 1.187, 2.6 walks per nine innings, which is three-quarters of a walk fewer per nine innings than he had with the Yankees. 2017 was a very good year for him, and 24 starts 298 earned run average in a whip of 1.103. 2018, where he pitched 28 games, his most games pitched in his season as a mariner, an even lower whip 1.098, so very, very similar. A few fewer walks per nine innings, 2.4 of them per nine,

and strikeouts per nine were up to 11.7. That's a strikeout to walk ratio of 4.8. 9-5, although he also gave up more home runs that season as he did in years past. But hey, a whip of around 1, 2.5 walks per 9 innings, and almost 12 strikeouts per 9 innings. For those of you who do like strikeouts, those are very, very good numbers. Paxton is 32 years old. He will turn 33 in November. This is age 32 season.

And he will likely slide into the rotation as the number 2 starter behind Marco Gonzalez. All of a sudden, the top of the M's rotation looks pretty good. Marco at the top, big maple behind him, then Justice Sheffield. It's all question marks after that, but that's a pretty good top three, especially if Justice Sheffield continues to improve like he did last season. Also, the Mariners are going to stick with a six-man rotation for 2021, as they did in the bizarro alternate universe that was 2020. You say Kikiji will be a part of the rotation.

He's yet another Southpaw, but an inconsistent and generally ineffective one. Justin Dunn, Nick Margievich's free agent signing Chris Flexen, and I would also guess L.J. Newsom will compete in spring training for the final two rotation spots. Pitching was the big problem for the M's last year, but it was more the bullpen than the rotation, although the rotation kind of went through bouts of inconsistency as well. The Mariners have been addressing the bullpen over the last couple of months

and added a few more arms who can help out over the previous couple weeks, and we'll tell you about them in a bit. No trivia corner today, so we're going to go right into the ad for betonline.ag. The NBA and NHL seasons are underway, and there's only one place it has you covered in one place we trust betonline.ag. Sign up today for a free account at betonline.orgie

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Sign up for a free account and use promo code locked on for your sign up bonus. Hashtag bet online. If you out there have a question or comment for me, please do send it to LockedonMare. at gmail.com. I'll address it on the air in a future mailbag episode. Questions and comments on any subject are welcome and encouraged. Send jokes, send just pure silliness if you want to. We'll do it on the air, just as long as it's appropriate because this is a family show. Locked on, Maritors will continue after this word of importance from Built Bar, the greatest protein bars in the history of greatest protein bars. Each one is covered in 100% real chocolate,

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Back to Lockdown Mariners, we told you about James Paxman coming home, so to speak. Seattle's not his home, Canada is. But he's coming back to the Mariners after two seasons in the Big Apple and Pinstripes. And there are three other pictures that the Mariners have signed over the previous couple of weeks. two of them to minor league deals with invites to spring training and one of them to a major league deal. We'll talk about the two minor league deals first. They were both announced on the same day.

About a week ago, they are J.T. Chagua, J.T. Chagua, I can't say French names. And Taylor Gierry, Chagua first. He was drafted in 2012 by the Minnesota Twins in the second round out of Rice University. He made his major league debut in 2016, with the twins and appeared in 25 ball games that year, 23 innings, and a 470 earned run average, relatively high whip, however, at 1.609. In 2018 and 19, he was at the Major League level with the Dodgers for parts of those two seasons, appearing in a combined 60 ballgames, 53 and 2 thirds innings of 5-453 earned run average,

pardon me, and a whip of 1.248, 3.4 walks per nine innings, 11.4 strength, Hekouts per 9 in his time with the Dodgers. In 2018, he appeared in 39 games and had a 3-3-4 earned run average. He was pretty effective coming out of the bullpen. In 2019, 21 games, much higher earned run average. At 6.33, he gave up more home runs per nine innings in 2019 than he needed 18. In 2019, in his 21 and a third innings, he gave up four home runs. He also gave up four home runs in 2018 in 32 and a third innings.

Over his career, 85 ball games, 76 and two-thirds innings, 458 earned run average, whip of 1.357, 10 strikeouts per 9, 3.8 walks per 9, 0.9 home runs per 9. He did not give up any home runs as a Minnesota twin. That's why that number's a little lower than it was during his Dodgers tenure. He is 30 years old, turned 30 last December 3rd just a few months ago. full name is John Thomas Chagua. I cannot say his last name. I can't say Kikichi properly either, but that's near here.

J-T-S-H-T-S-H-A-R-G-O-I-S is how to spell that name. I'm obviously butchering it, and Mr. Shagua, I apologize. The other gentleman is a, by the way, Shagua is a right-handed pitcher, switch hitter, but right-handed pitcher. Taylor Gieri, also a right-handed pitcher, and I'm probably also mispronouncing his name. And I apologize for that as well. It's G-U-E-R-R-I-E-R-I.

He is a first-round draft choice by the Tampa Bay raise in 2011 out of high school. He made a major league debut in 2018 with the Blue Jays, appearing in nine games at the big league level that season, nine and two-thirds innings. And he also pitched 20 games with the 2019 Texas Rangers, 26 and a third innings worth. Over his major league career, 29 games, 36 innings, 5.50 earned run average, 1.694 whip.

Way too many walks, 6.5 walks per nine innings. That's almost in the stratosphere. Hits per nine innings and strikeouts per nine innings, both at 8.8. Not enough strikeouts to offset those walks. That's a strikeout to walk ratio of a just 1.35. He is 28 years old. He turned 28 on December 1st. He is from Augusta, Georgia.

also a right-handed pitcher. Both of them minor league contracts with invites to spring training. We'll see how that shakes out. The third pitcher is Ken Giles, who the Mariners signed to a two-year major league contract, although he's not going to pitch this year. He's recovering from Tommy John surgery, so he is slated to return, hopefully, in 2022. When he's been healthy, he's been very good. In 2019 for the Blue Jays, he appeared in 53 ball games.

He finished 44 of them, earned 23 saves, had a 1.87 earn run average, a whip exactly at one, didn't walk a tremendous amount of hitters, 2.9 walks per 9, struck out a lot, 14.1 per 9, and kept the ball in the ballpark in a pretty decent clip, less than a home run per 9, and also didn't get hit very hard. 6.1 hits per 9. That 2019 season was his first full season as a Blue Jay. He broke in with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2014, appeared in 44 games with a 1.18 earned run average.

Then he later on pitched for the Astros, and he was part of the package of players that went from Houston to Toronto when the Blue Jays effectively dumped Roberto Osuna. Osuna was in the middle of his suspension for domestic abuse. The Blue Jay announced that Osuna was never going to pitch in their organization again, and the Astros, being the Astros, thought he'd be a perfect fit. And you know what kind of ethics that organization has. So he kind of was a perfect fit in that sense.

I digress, though. Giles last year only appeared in four ball games before being shut down with the elbow problem that led to Tommy John surgery. 3.2 innings. You cannot judge a pitcher based off that. His last full season, however, was 2019 in Toronto. So I went over those numbers, and they were absolutely fantastic. His Tommy John surgery occurred on October 1st,

and he is slated again to come back in 2022. There's a chance he could come back at the end of 2021. You know how Tommy John surgery goes, ladies and gentlemen. But this is a good signing. The Mariners Bullpen needs all the help that they can get, even though he's not going to really be helping next year. This is something of a move for, This is kind of strange to say of a 30-year-old pitcher, but it's kind of a move for the future.

This will be his age 30 season. He was born September 20th, 1990, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Same hometown as Ethel Mertz, for those of you who like TV trivia. I don't know why I said that. He was originally drafted by the Marlins in the 44th round in 2009 out of high school, but he chose to go to college and was drafted two years later, 2011, by the Phillies in the seventh round. So he very much improved his stock in that regard. And again, made his major league debut in 2014. He's at a very good major league career thus far, interrupted by the Tommy

John surgery, which he is currently rehabbing from. Let's see what he can do when he comes back. This is something of an exciting move for me, especially given the mayor's bullpen woes last season. And now to that bit that I sort of tease at the beginning of the show, just very briefly touching on the fact that there will be no nationally designated hit or next year, which I'm happy about. I know a lot of you want the Universal DH. I'm not one of them. I'm very much more of a traditionalist. I still miss the days when there were separate American and National League umpires. I like the leagues separated. I think it adds a little bit more mystique to the World Series. And I kind of like that they play with slightly different sets of rules.

But that's just me. And I know I'm old-fashioned. Anyways, the elimination of the Universal DH and the bloated playoff structure that we had last. year. They're going back to the one we had in 2019 where there were 10 teams, which is a fine playoff system. I like that one. According to an article that I found in the Boston Herald, quote, while it's clear both

the league and players are in support of adding the DH in the National League, the players can use it as a bargaining chip after the 2021 season when a new collective bargaining agreement will be negotiated. The same holds true for the expanded playoffs. End quote.

Yep, that's right. The collective bargaining agreement is going to expire at the end of the season. That's a topic for another time. Maybe when Jason Hernandez can help me speak about on there. He knows a lot more about that than I do. In any case, for those of you who want the pitcher hitting in the National League, enjoy it while it lasts. This may be the final season of that.

I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that that's not the case, although I'm not going to hold out a lot of hope. And that will do it for this return engagement of Lockdown Mariners. Again, ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for taking so much time off, essentially. Again, that was not my intention. It's just kind of the way it worked out, unfortunately. I'm not sure what else to say, but apologize again. Anyways, pitchers and catchers report on Thursday,

so that seems a good at time as any for a pre-spring preview before the Cactus League season begins. I will do my level best to have that published by Thursday. Joining me will be Les Nessman, Wiley Coyote. and the role of Painters Take. Please remember to download, rate, and subscribe to Lockdown Mariners. Look for us on any podcasting up you can think of. Thank you for sticking with us, gang.

I appreciate each and every one of you listening to this program, whether this is your first episode or whether you are a long-time listener. I do thank you. Have a good day, ladies and gentlemen. This is Joey Martin for Locked-on Mariners, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network.