How Flexen made himself indispensable to Mariners' staff

This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer's Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE -- Chris Flexen flew under the radar all spring despite putting together one of the best showings on the Mariners’ pitching staff, a byproduct of being on the outside looking into what looks like a loaded rotation.

He picked up right where he left off on Wednesday against the Angels, with the microscope a little bigger after he was re-installed to the rotation following a left flexor strain suffered by Robbie Ray. Flexen’s efforts in the 4-3 loss were perhaps even more undetected, given they were part of another disappointing defeat -- the Mariners’ fifth in their first seven games. But they served as a reminder that he’s still capable of getting outs at this level.

Flexen worked around first-inning walks to Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani to escape unscathed, then he was tagged for a single to Gio Urshela and a two-run homer to Logan O'Hoppe in the second. But those represented his lone baserunners, and he went on to retire each of his final 10 to finish a five-inning start.

“Flex, he’s a gamer,” said shortstop J.P. Crawford. “It doesn’t matter if he’s in the bullpen or starting, he’s going to give you his best every time. He’s a competitor.”

Flexen spoke more sternly of the day, as he usually does in defeat. Regardless of individual performance, his emotions hinge on the team’s result.

“I'm just falling right back into a role that I've been in before and the job doesn't change,” Flexen said. “Whether it's out of the bullpen or as a starter, it's to compete and win a ballgame and help the ballclub.”

That Flexen is still here after an offseason in which even he thought he was likely to get traded shows that:

1) The Mariners made the right decision to not deal him.

2) Their pitching depth, especially in the rotation, is a huge asset.

Seattle didn’t lose a starter to the injured list at all in 2022, and even with prudent arm care and monitoring workloads, the club recognized that good luck also played a part.

To that extent, whatever trade package Flexen may have returned would pale in comparison to his value to the team in this moment.

The Mariners would’ve benefited from adding another bat, and they still may do so ahead of the July 31 Trade Deadline, though that’s eons away in the context of this season. Their middle infield depth is limited, too, at least until Dylan Moore returns from a left oblique strain, potentially on the next homestand.

“Flex has been the right mindset, really, since Day 1 in Spring Training,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We've been very upfront with him that we were going to stretch him out as a starter just in case something happened, and when it didn't happen before we left Spring Training, he was more than willing and understanding [of] what the role would be in the bullpen. But he was ready to go, and credit to him.”

Flexen is earning an affordable $8 million this year after triggering a vesting option for pitching 300 innings from 2021-22. The volume tied to the incentive shows his value and ability to eat innings, especially early this season while Servais’ bullpen is still getting its feet wet.

After winning the club’s pitcher of the year award in 2021, Flexen admittedly took a step back in '22, a year in which he was besieged by inconsistent command and the lack of a true breaking ball. That’s part of why he was moved to the bullpen after Seattle acquired Luis Castillo. The team also believed that Marco Gonzales’ stuff wouldn’t play as well as Flexen’s in relief.

Last season, Flexen was worth 0.7 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, down from 3.0 the year prior. His strikeout rates (16.9% to 16.1%) and walk rates (5.4% to 8.6%) went in opposite directions of each other. He had a 3.73 ERA in 137 2/3 innings, while opposing hitters slashed at a clip of .250/.315/.408 (.724 OPS). When he was in the rotation, the Mariners went 11-11 in his starts compared to 22-9 in 2021.

The Mariners don’t need Flexen to be Castillo or Ray. Yet his specialty in that breakout year, which was on display Wednesday, was giving the team a chance to win in each start. If he’s able to do that while Ray recovers over the next 4-6 weeks, the rotation will be in good shape.