Commentary: With little margin for error, Mariners are getting help from unexpected players

SEATTLE – If this Mariners season ends up taking the same course as the past few have, the club’s playoff hopes will likely be decided in the final week or two. It’s an “every little thing matters” situation – something that doesn’t necessarily apply to MLB titans such as the Yankees or Dodgers.

In other words, those one-run, comeback victories or error-fueled, extra-inning losses matter to the Mariners in a way they don’t to a good chunk of other big-league teams. And so do the performances of “the replacements” – guys few expected to log many innings this season, but may end up doing just enough to push the M’s into the postseason.

The first is starting pitcher Emerson Hancock. It was probably a disappointment to most that Hancock was in the rotation at the beginning of the season. Not because of any hostility toward the now 26-year-old, but because it meant George Kirby was out of the rotation due to an injury.

What was more disappointing, though, was Hancock’s 2025 debut, when he gave up six earned runs and seven hits in two-thirds of an inning vs. Detroit. That was on March 31. He didn’t get a second chance until April 17. But his ERA since that first-start fiasco? That would be 3.67 over 611/3 innings. Not quite stellar, but more than serviceable.

Hancock has allowed three runs or fewer in 10 of his past 11 starts. His best outing came Sunday, when he threw seven scoreless innings in a 6-0 win over Cleveland, giving up just two hits in the process.

But it hasn’t just been him stepping up on the mound. Prior to this season, health had been a hallmark of the Mariners’ starting rotation. Four of the five starters pitched at least 30 games last season, with Bryan Woo adding 22 solid outings. But this year, Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller have each spent considerable time on the injured list, with Gilbert returning Monday.

It wasn’t just Hancock who got called up to the show, but Logan Evans, too. No doubt the 24-year-old got rocked in his last appearance, giving up four earned runs in five innings in a 10-3 loss to the Diamondbacks last Tuesday. Still, in 40 innings pitched, Evans has posted a 3.38 ERA for the M’s while compiling a 3-2 record. Anyone takes that contribution from a hurler who was expected to spend the season in the minors.

Before that loss to Arizona, Evans had an eight-inning outing in which he gave up just one earned run. Hancock is still the fifth starter for now, as Evans was sent down to make room for the other Logan. But if the M’s end up making the playoffs by a game, fans can thank Evans for his work.

Same with Ben Williamson.

Jorge Polanco was the Mariners’ opening day third baseman, and was expected to play at the hot corner for most of the season. But he was coming off an injury, has struggled with health for much of this season, and hadn’t played the position much in his career.

Enter Williamson, who has long wowed the Mariners’ brass with his glove in the minor leagues. The 24-year-old was called up from Tacoma in the middle of last April to shore up defensive issues at third. Consider him the right man for the job.

No, Williamson isn’t going to blow you away with his bat. He has an OPS of .613, which ranks last among the nine Mariners who have played at least 50 games this season. But his defensive WAR is 0.5 – another solid number for someone not on the opening day roster.

When you look at the key figures for the M’s this season, the usual suspects pop up. Julio Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh, J.P. Crawford, Randy Arozarena, Woo and Andrés Muñoz rounding out the top six in Wins Above Replacement – the all-encompassing stat for value. But the contributions from the unexpected have not been insignificant, and may be imperative come season’s end.

“Next man up” is a phrase that seems to be most commonly used in football. It plays big in baseball, too. No season ever goes perfectly to plan, but this 2025 for the Mariners has had more than its fair share of turbulence.

Thankfully for their fan base, the guys who came from the minors have done their part. Health was once a hallmark for the M’s. Now call-ups have become their calling card.