If you can't add more offense, then sure - add more pitching. We got a miracle year out of Chris Young, but he ain't a spring chicken any more and was never healthy. We Macgyver'ed quite the season from him with some chewing gum and bubble wrap, but that was last year.
Hultzen is throwing very well. Nothing says he's ready to do it in the bigs for 180 innings. I still remember Bobby Madritsch throwing the stuffing out of the ball until he got his big-league shot... and then dislocating his shoulder in-game and ending his career (again). He'd had labrum surgeries - hard to keep the joint as secure as you want it to be after a couple ruptures of that. Danny tore his labrum, the shoulder capsule itself, and his rotator cuff. He might have 2000 more innings in him. He might have two hundred.
If he has 2000 primo innings left in him then great! He'll be worth a lot to us or someone else. It's better to have an embarrassment of riches than to be desperately searching for a Randy Wolf to save our season.
I would still like to see us add a minor offensive piece if no major ones are available on the trade market. We can trade a couple of non-essential pieces and add some more offense this year, and if that leaves us the cash for another legit arm, great.
And we can afford it, both now and later. Paxton, Walker and Elias are still dirt cheap for 3 years and club-controlled for longer. The entire pen sans Rodney is working for Starbucks wages, and we have more arms available to keep that economic advantage going. Seager just got his big money, but because we seem to be keeping Kivlehan and DJ we've got in-house replacements for Ackley and Morrison when they cost too much, and we've drafted nothing but primo OF bat prospects for the last two years. Out of Wilson, O'Neill, Morgan and A-Jaxx we're gonna get ONE crusher out there on a corner - at least one.
We're set up to continue a run for a long time, in ways a lot of teams cannot be. We just need health, and enough talent to win the West or snag a consolation wild card. I like that we seem to aiming for the former, and not trying to get lucky enough for the latter.
Scoff away, bear market analysts... I mean SABRs. I'd rather proceed like bulls at the moment. Go forth and make your fortune, Mariners. I want banners, not cost-savings, family atmosphere and platitudes.
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