Mariners confident bullpen will again be a strength

While many teams will try to borrow from the Royals’ formula, the Mariners already had a critical part of that formula down last year with a bullpen that posted the lowest ERA in the Majors at 2.59 and tied with the Royals for the second-fewest blown saves among the 30 MLB teams. With nearly the entire relief crew returning intact, manager Lloyd McClendon is confident his bullpen will remain the strength of a club looking to take the next step.