Bryan Woo Knows the Mariners’ Biggest Problem Isn’t the Trade Deadline

Jerry Dipoto can spend the weekend working every phone and exploring whatever possible upgrade he can. Find another hitter, improve the bench and finally move Rob Refsnyder or Weston Wilson out of situations they haven’t earned. There are still too many buyers out there and it’s not like he can trade for six stars.

The Mariners face a brutal reality after their most recent road woes. The trade deadline is big a deal. But the players already wearing Mariners uniforms play a much larger role.

Bryan Woo understands that because he’s part of the problem. The right-hander allowed five earned runs over five innings Thursday, surrendering five hits and two walks while striking out eight. His road ERA climbed to an absurd 6.71.

The strikeouts tell us Woo’s talent hasn’t disappeared. But they don’t excuse another start where the Mariners found themselves buried before their struggling offense had much of an opportunity to respond.

After their loss to the Dodgers, Woo placed the responsibility exactly where it belongs: on himself and the rest of the players already in the clubhouse.

“It’s up to everybody,” Woo said, according to Adam Jude of The Seattle Times. “Obviously, the year hasn’t gone how we anticipated it going, how a lot of us individually had planned it going. But, yeah, it’s up to us. The front office and coaches and everybody has put enough into the product on the field. It’s time for us to do something about it.”

Responsibly, there’s no deadline wish list. No easy target to blame. No suggestion that one new hitter can arrive in Seattle and repair four months of underperformance.

The most important word in Woo’s message was “us.” That includes the core group. It also includes Woo.

The Mariners Cannot Trade Their Way Around Their Core

Refsnyder’s three-pitch strikeout with the bases loaded Thursday was pretty terrible. Wilson grounding out on the next pitch was even worse. Those two at-bats crushed Seattle’s only serious chance to make the Dodgers uncomfortable.

Neither player should be protected from criticism. Refsnyder hasn’t produced nearly enough, and Wilson hasn’t done enough to prove he belongs in an everyday role either. The Mariners should absolutely pursue better options if they want to take the rest of the season seriously.

Let’s also be honest about what those two players represent. They are the easiest problems to identify because they are the easiest players to replace. The larger problem is a Seattle core performing well below its expectations.

Rodríguez says the offense is capable of breaking through. Raleigh has acknowledged that the players in the middle of the roster must ignite any second-half surge. Woo keeps putting himself under the microscope after his road starts.

Eventually, belief has to become production. A deadline acquisition could lengthen the lineup. He could prevent Dan Wilson from repeatedly turning to unfavorable matchups in the biggest moments.

What he can’t do is take every important at-bat. This team isn’t going anywhere if the core doesn’t lock in and turn it around.

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