Astros’ bullpen looks solid—until you compare it to the Mariners'

One of the fascinating shifts that occurred at the MLB trade deadline this season was that high-leverage relief pitchers were more in demand than controllable starting pitchers. There are several factors behind that trend, including that the price for pitchers like Edward Cabrera, Joe Ryan, and MacKenzie Gore was incredibly high. The other reason is that the Los Angeles Dodgers proved last season that the World Series can be won with bullpen games.

Gone are the days when the expectation is that your postseason rotation can get you into the seventh inning. Now, the goal may be for a postseason starting pitcher to get a team through the fifth inning before turning things over to the bullpen. That is why the bullpen arms race saw names like Mason Miller, David Bednar, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Ryan Helsley all change teams at the deadline.

While the Astros did not add a high-leverage relief pitcher at the deadline, their moves since have suggested they are looking to beef up their bullpen ahead of the postseason. Between interest in reunion with Ryan Pressly and signing Enyel De Los Santos, the Astros have been scouring the free-agent market for bullpen help.

This bullpen stat proves Mariners are pulling away from Astros

Eno Sarris of The Athletic (subscription required) may have provided the reason why the Astros are looking for bullpen help during his latest look at the top bullpens across baseball. In ranking bullpens by projected ERA, Sarris circled the Mariners as having the best bullpen this season.

"The Mariners have elite relievers in Andrés Muñoz and Matt Brash, some underrated ones in Gabe Speier and Caleb Ferguson, but that’s only part of why the end up ranked first by projected ERA. Of course some part of it is the park, as they play in the No. 1 pitchers’ park in baseball, according to Statcast park factors."

The good news, however, for the Astros is that based on WAR, the Astros' bullpen receives the same mark as the Mariners, 1.2. In other words, the Astros' bullpen is good, but the Mariners' bullpen has been getting more direct results.

With the Mariners right on the Astros' heels in the AL West, Sarris' rankings provide the reason why Dana Brown is looking to find a hidden gem for the bullpen before the season is over.

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