The Seattle Mariners enter the 2015 season with high hopes of making the postseason for the first time in 13 years.
By adding Nelson Cruz, Justin Ruggiano and Seth Smith, the Mariners addressed the biggest weaknesses of a team that fell one game short a year ago. None of those players are projected to be game-changers on their own, but they are worth a few wins over what Seattle had at those positions previously.
Even with these additions, Seattle is still led by a core of Robinson Cano, Felix Hernandez, Kyle Seager and Hisashi Iwakuma. Those players need to perform at an elite level for the Mariners to compete.
They very likely will. It’s the play of a few others that will determine exactly how far the Mariners can go.
Austin Jackson and Mike Zunino are among Seattle’s most important players for 2015 success.