The Seattle Mariners are having a rough season in 2013 after having high hopes heading into the year and things might be so rough if closer Tom Wilhelmsen could have closed out a few more games, but after some frustrations, the team has decided to send him to Triple-A.
According to Hardball Talk, Wilhelmsen was demoted after having a total breakdown against the Red Sox, as the team scored six runs in the ninth inning to win a game Felix Hernandez started 87 after being down 7-2 on the night. Wilhelmsen was looking like one of the best young closers early in the season, but after posting a 4.37 ERA and 35/26 K/BB ratio over 47 1/3 innings with 24 saves, it was time to end it.
The team may turn to Carter Capps, Hector Noesi, and Bobby LaFromboise or even James Paxon as a replacement, but so far nothing is set in stone. Seattle Time writer Geoff Baker recommends making the closer into a starter, as he has three solid pitches that he can use, something every starter needs.
Writes Baker: "He's a guy with two plus-pitches - a four-seam fastball that can reach the upper 90′s and a knee-buckling curveball among the best in baseball - who is trying to add an effective changeup to that already formidable repertoire. Wilhelmsen has already used the changeup in games, with varying degrees of success. This isn't something new he's experimenting with in bullpen sessions."
