And Yep, Drew Smyly Needs Tommy John Surgery, Will Be Out 12-15 Months.

I’m in the middle of a big move, I’ve got a fuck-ton of shit to do, so I’m not going to sweat this one too hard.  Felix started, pitched okay, got the Quality Start, and left the game with a 4-3 lead.  Then, Pazos and Vincent carried the game to the ninth inning for Edwin Diaz to blow it.  That’s two crap performances in back-to-back days, but again, whatever.

Remember when the Mariners used to hit dingers?  It was only a year ago, they hit about a million of ’em, it was a lot of fun.  Well, yesterday they tried to do their best impression of that – with Seager, Valencia, and Cano all going deep – but they were each solo jobs.  With RISP, they were 1 for 5, with an RBI single by Cruz.  Remember when Nelson Cruz used to hit dingers?  He’s had 40 or more the last three years!  Remember when I almost made that futures bet on Cruz leading the league in dingers in 2017?  Boy, was I WAY OFF!  I mean, 14 is okay and everything, but he is LONG overdue for one of his torrid homer streaks.

And, yeah, getting back to the lede, Drew Smyly is officially done for the season.  And, in all likelihood, done with the Seattle Mariners.  He’s making nearly $7 million this season and has yet to throw a single meaningful pitch (fuck the WBC).  He has one more Arb year left where he would surely make at or over $7 million if the Mariners decided to retain him, but why would they?  If, indeed, it’s 12-15 months before he’s pitching again, what, we get MAYBE half a season out of him next year?  For upwards of $14 million in total?

In reality, I don’t see how he comes back next year.  The Mariners would be idiots to do so, unless they bought out his Arb year and loaded his contract with incentives.  But, he might be better off rehabbing on his own, working his arm back into shape, and signing a Prove It deal before the 2019 season (which will still be insanely high, because this is baseball).

I just can’t fucking believe how hard this backfired.  If any of the three guys we sent to the Rays to bring Smyly in here turn out to be anything, this will be one of the bigger busts in franchise history (which is really saying something).

The M’s get another off-day to sleep in the shit bed they’ve made, then they go to Anaheim for a 3-game road trip over the weekend.  It’s literally the cutest little thing.