40 in 40 2025: Tayler Saucedo

Big Sauce. Biiiiiiig Sauce. Big Sauce?

Three years into his tenure with his hometown squad, Tayler Saucedo is at home as the leader of the lovable band of goofballs known as the Mariners bullpen. “Big Sauce” is a familiar face in Mariners social media posts, always quick to crack a joke, often at his own expense. Bee’s past two 40 in 40s on Sauce have focused on how Saucedo, after a shaky start to his big-league career in Toronto, has found his home both personally and professionally. However, last season, Saucedo had to venture out from the cozy confines of the low-stress middle innings, occasionally finding himself pressed into service in high-leverage spots due to the various injuries in the Mariners’ bullpen. Never a velo king, Saucedo lost a full tick on his sinker, dealing with some injury trouble of his own after hyperextending his knee in a play at first in May.

The big storyline for the Mariners’ 2025 bullpen is projecting how it might look when fully healthy, specifically how the addition of Gregory Santos and Matt Brash could help push back some other pitchers towards the middle of the bullpen. For Saucedo, whose arsenal of crafty-lefty changeups and sweepers can occasionally lead to battles with command, the middle innings are a much happier place than high-leverage appearances where every pitch matters. In the 40-ish high-leverage plate appearances he pitched last season, Saucedo allowed a slash line of .355/.444/581, with five walks to seven strikeouts; that’s worse than he did in a similar amount of high-leverage appearances in 2023, at .257/.333/429. The difference is that in 2024, Saucedo pitched about 10 fewer innings due to injury, so his high-leverage innings were more concentrated, especially towards those crucial end-of-season games when the bullpen’s other lefty (and fellow 40-in-40 coverboy today), Gabe Speier, was out with injury. If 2025 can being Sauce back into the middle of the bullpen, he can continue to prove he’s much more than just the personality hire. -KP

Projections:

FGDC: 61 IP, 0.1 fWAR, 3.78/4.04 ERA/FIP

PECOTA: 50 IP, 0.1 WARP, 4.33/4.53 ERA/DRA

Overs/Unders:

Kate: Is this where I push my Austin Kitchen agenda?

Anders: Under, but because of Brandyn García instead of Kitchen.

Isabelle: Over. This man has 2025 Toronto Blue Jays innings eater all over him.

John: Under. I’m not entirely sold on Sauce if the pen is largely healthy. I want local kids representing as ever, but his combination of optionability and skeptical trust down the stretch last year has me wary that he’ll get half the innings projected, nor be as productive as previously.

Bee: Under. I love Sauce, I really do, but if he gets equal or above his projections, I don’t think it will be with the Mariners. The longer he’s been in a Mariners uniform, the more his results have been feast or famine. When he’s effective he’s at least that, but the Mariners bullpen is ever competitive, and reliever churn forever goes brrrrrt.

Jacob: Under. Sauce is fun, but FanGraphs is expecting him to beat his career high in innings by 50% while also seriously regressing as a pitcher and I just don’t see that happening. If he stays a Mariner and healthy I see 50 IP and 0.3 fWAR as his ceiling.