There\u2019s one pitch that sums up Eduard Bazardo\u2019s 2025 season. I don\u2019t need to beat around the bush, we all know it. Let\u2019s just roll the clip and get it over with:<\/p>\n
Bleh. Thank goodness that\u2019s over with, no more MLB Network re-runs needed.<\/p>\n
On July 12th, in the bottom of the 8th inning, against the then-AL-best Detroit Tigers, the Mariners felt antsy, even with their 11-5 lead. They\u2019d won the night before in a 12-3 romp, sending reigning and future Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal running with four earned runs in five frames, albeit just a 4-3 lead headed into the sixth inning. In that July 11th game, Seattle turned to Bazardo, who deftly glided through two shutout, hitless frames, watching the M\u2019s swell their lead by a trickle, then later a flood after he\u2019d retired to the dugout for good.<\/p>\n
Not expected to be a mainstay, active injuries to Gregory Santos, Collin Snider, and Bryce Miller, as well as the early absences of other rotation and bullpen options had forced Bazardo to the fore. There he\u2019d shone, and would continue to all season long, running a 2.52 ERA somewhat belied by his 3.64\/4.12 FIP\/DRA, but hey, that\u2019s a strong 4th reliever or a dynamite 5th one. But for Bazardo to get that opportunity, he had to pitch a lot. Unheralded as a trade acquisition from the Baltimore Orioles back in 2023, and originally signed for just $8,000 out of Venezuela by the Red Sox in 2021, his ascension from mop-up to to leverage arm was well-chronicled by Kate<\/a> just before this pre-All-Star break series in Detroit.<\/p>\n But Bazardo never fully was solidified in any one particular role, even as necessity and his performance merited heightening responsibility. While Santos, Snider, Troy Taylor, Jackson Kowar, Casey Legumina, Trent Thornton, Carlos Vargas, and others struggled, Bazardo maintained his composure. In so doing, he was used heavily. Bazardo had the 8th-highest innings total on zero days rest in MLB, with 18.1 frames in 18 games of back-to-backs. All but two of the names ahead of him were their club\u2019s closer, and Bazardo is the only one in the top-16 to have thrown more innings than games he appeared in on no rest. Those two were RHP Tony Santillan of the Reds, who is 6\u20193, 285, and more easily fits the \u201cworkhorse\u201d archetype, and RHP Tyler Rogers of the Giants and Mets, who is a submariner which typically requires less strain on the body for those who can master it.<\/p>\n Bazardo is sturdy for his size, but is more Fjord than Percheron (thank you LL equine consultant Isabelle Minasian), and his 78.2 innings in 73 regular season frames were the sixth-most of any reliever in 2025. Tack on the 11.2 innings in nine playoff games and Bazardo was the most used reliever in baseball in 2025, with 90.1 innings on the hill. He was able to find so much success and merit his usage thanks to a series of tweaks highlighted by Mikey Ajeto<\/a> early in October, but Seattle simply needed innings all the time. It led to an interesting cadence from Bazardo, exemplified from July 3rd thru August 7th, wherein he pitched 14 times and, aided by the All-Star Break, received three or more consecutive days off four different times, but pitched back-to-back seven times in that stretch.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s come back to the pitch at this piece\u2019s outset. It\u2019s likely the worst offering Bazardo throws all year, a heart-shot four-seamer in a 1-2 count, pitching on the heels of a two-inning appearance the night before, with a six-run lead against Detroit. The situation is not dissimilar from the at-bat highlighted by Mikey in his piece, but Bazardo is not yet fully actualized. It\u2019s not too different from a few situations of memorable note, in fact, where Bazardo was called upon following a heavy workload the night before, and left a fastball over the plate\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n A different bullpen has two different men for its bridge inning mop-up and high leverage, but Bazardo wore both hats, particularly as Carlos Vargas floundered beyond trustworthiness. The Venezuelan outperformed expectations right until the last, aided by a .228 BABIP against, but earning a certain role moving ahead. There is standing on your head, and then there is coming in for a shutdown in extra innings with two on and no out, escaping, and working ANOTHER inning and a half scoreless.<\/p>\n Just\u2026 let this man get a little more rest this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s one pitch that sums up Eduard Bazardo\u2019s 2025 season. 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