The Seattle Mariners are again one of the most exciting teams in baseball in 2023. Led by a stellar pitching staff, the Mariners are right in the heart of the American League wild card race and have an outside chance at claiming the AL West crown if they get hot. Additionally, their final 10 games are against the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, the two teams currently ahead of them in the AL West. With 43 games left on its schedule, Seattle is two games out of a wild card spot and 7.5 games back of first place in the division.

The Mariners are one of the hottest teams in the league since the start of July. Seattle entered the month with a 38-42 record but is 26-13 since, including a 9-4 record in August. The offense especially has hit another gear in August, averaging more than five runs a game.

Seattle went on an incredible run late last season to earn its first postseason appearance in 20 years. Even in an uber-talented American League, there's no reason to believe the Mariners can't repeat their magic from a year ago and find themselves in the playoffs once again. However, there are some moves they can make to shuffle the roster and give them a better chance to turn that into a reality.

3. Recall reliever Ty Adcock

The Mariners' bullpen is stacked with heavy lifters and trustworthy arms. Look no further than their reliever ERA to tell you that, which is second in Major League Baseball behind only the New York Yankees. Maximizing the depth and talent in the bullpen is never a bad thing. That's why the Mariners should bring right-handed fireballer Ty Adcock back to the big league club.

Adcock made his MLB debut in June of this year and was more than effective in 12 appearances. He did not allow a run through his first 12 innings, allowing just four hitters to reach base during that stretch. Teams finally got to him coming out of the All-Star break, as he gave up six earned runs in his final 3.2 innings in the majors before being sent down.

Adcock has made just one appearance in the minors since being optioned on July 21 and was placed on the seven-day injured list on Aug. 8 with an undisclosed injury. The Mariners have been tight-lipped about a potential return date, so there may be a slim chance he pitches again in 2023 depending on the severity of the ailment.

If Adcock can get healthy and build his arm back up in time for the final few weeks of the season though, the Mariners should give him another shot. He doesn’t need to be a high-leverage guy to make an impact for the Mariners and they have enough arm talent to pick and choose their spots for him.

2. Make Dylan Moore an everyday player

A true utility man, Dylan Moore's versatility makes him an integral part of the Mariners roster. Coming off a season in which he stole 21 bases and had a .753 OPS in 205 at-bats, Moore missed all of spring training and a chunk of the regular season due to an oblique strain.

He returned to the big leagues on June 6 and has been an impactful player for Seattle over the last two months. Mostly coming off the bench, Moore has an impressive .800 OPS in 82 plate appearances in 2023. 11 of his 15 hits so far this season went for extra bases and he's hitting the ball as hard as he's ever had with the Mariners. Moore has been especially good at the plate over his last 15 games, collecting a .297 batting average with three doubles, three home runs and eight RBIs.

His infield defense is a concern, as he's made four errors in 89.1 innings, but that's a potential price a team pays for utilizing a player all over the diamond. He's been better in the outfield, but Seattle shouldn’t shy away from plugging him in anywhere they need him, especially with thin infield depth after the injury to starting shortstop JP Crawford.

The Mariners trust Moore, giving him a three-year contract worth nearly $9 million to buy out his final arbitration years. It's time for them to trust him a little Moore (see what I did there?) and insert him into the everyday lineup.

1. Give Andres Munoz the closer role

The aforementioned Mariners bullpen is without a full-time closer after the team opted to trade incumbent Paul Sewald to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a pair of bats to help their flailing offense. Sewald saved 52 games for Seattle since 2021, giving the Mariners an established late-inning arm they can rely on at any given moment.

With Sewald out of the fold, there's an argument to be made that Andres Munoz is Seattle's best reliever. Munoz broke out last season with a 2.49 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 65 innings and has been just as good this season. He has a 2.79 ERA in 33 appearances and his 12.25 strikeouts per nine innings are top-20 in baseball among relivers with at least 30 innings pitched this season.

Though not official, Munoz has already essentially taken over as Seattle's closer since the Sewald trade, collecting four saves in five opportunities in August. Two other Mariners pitchers have collected saves since the trade, but Munoz has been trusted the most and that's how it should be going forward.

Players usually won't make this known, but getting the backing of a manager and having a set role out of the bullpen does make a difference to some of them. Andres Munoz may not need any extra motivation, but the Mariners could be doing him and themselves a favor by naming him the full-time closer.