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Starting pitcher Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners pitches against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning at Safeco Field on October 2, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
Starting pitcher Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners pitches against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning at Safeco Field on October 2, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty
Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners looks on against the Minnesota Twins on September 25, 2016 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Mariners defeated the Twins 4-3. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)
Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners looks on against the Minnesota Twins on September 25, 2016 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Mariners defeated the Twins 4-3. (Photo by Brace
Starting pitcher Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after giving up a solo home run to Marwin Gonzalez of the Houston Astros in the fifth inning at Safeco Field on September 16, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
Starting pitcher Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after giving up a solo home run to Marwin Gonzalez of the Houston Astros in the fifth inning at Safeco Field on September 16, 2016 in Seattle,
Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners watches from the dugout during the game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday, September 10, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners watches from the dugout during the game against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday, September 10, 2016 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Brad
Starting pitcher Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners points toward home after giving up a walk to Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers in the second inning at Safeco Field on September 5, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
Starting pitcher Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners points toward home after giving up a walk to Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers in the second inning at Safeco Field on September 5, 2016 in Seattle,
Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after walking Adam Eaton #1 of the Chicago White Sox (not pictured) to load the bases during the eighth inning at U.S. Cellular Field on August 26, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after walking Adam Eaton #1 of the Chicago White Sox (not pictured) to load the bases during the eighth inning at U.S. Cellular Field on August 26, 2016 in
Staring pitcher Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners smiles as he walks through the dugout before a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Safeco Field on August 21, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. The Brewers won the game 7-6. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
Staring pitcher Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners smiles as he walks through the dugout before a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Safeco Field on August 21, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. The
Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners in action during inter-league play against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on July 26, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners in action during inter-league play against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on July 26, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners is pictured in the dugout before a game against the Houston Astros at Safeco Field on July 17, 2015 in Seattle, Washington. The Astros won the game 8-1. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
Felix Hernandez #34 of the Seattle Mariners is pictured in the dugout before a game against the Houston Astros at Safeco Field on July 17, 2015 in Seattle, Washington. The Astros won the game 8-1. (Photo by
The scoreboard displays a congratulatory message after starting pitcher Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners was credited with the win in a 5-2 defeat of the Tampa Bay Rays at Safeco Field on May 9, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. The win gave Hernandez 146, making him the all-time franchise leader.
The scoreboard displays a congratulatory message after starting pitcher Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners was credited with the win in a 5-2 defeat of the Tampa Bay Rays at Safeco Field on May 9, 2016 in
Pitchers and catchers report to the Seattle Mariners’ spring training home at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona, on Feb. 14. Until then, we’ll be previewing some of the biggest storylines facing the club in 2017.
Today’s topic: Can ace Felix Hernandez bounce back in 2017?
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The Mariners need Felix Hernandez to be their ace in 2017 — but they don’t need him to be the old Felix Hernandez.
Hernandez, who turns 31 on April 8, is coming off a season when he threw just 153.1 innings — his lowest total since 2005 — while battling through a strained right calf that sidelined him from late May to after the All-Star break in July.
When he was on the mound, he didn’t look quite himself. The velocity on his fastball dropped off noticeably, and he sometimes struggled with his command on his off-speed pitches. His 3.8 walks per nine innings were a career high, while his 3.82 ERA was his highest since 2007.
But if Hernandez’s struggles were cause for concern from M’s general manager Jerry Dipoto, he wasn’t showing it during the team’s pre-spring training media luncheon last week.
“The demise of Felix Hernandez is being grossly exaggerated,” Dipoto said. “He’s still a very good major league pitcher.”
The problem with “King Felix,” according to Dipoto and manager Scott Servais is that Hernandez’s own history is working against him in terms of perception. It’s a point that’s hard to argue.
From 2009 to 2014, the big right-hander was perhaps the most consistent ace in baseball, boasting a 2.73 ERA, 18 complete games and a 3.8 strikeout-to-walk ratio while averaging 232 innings pitched per season. The six-time All-Star won the American League Cy Young in 2010 and finished runner-up in 2014.
His 2016 season paled in comparison, but much of that can be attributed to the injury, according to second-year manager Scott Servais, who anointed Hernandez the M’s opening day starter for the 10th year — and ninth in a row — last week.
“You have keep in mind how high the bar is for Felix Hernandez,” Servais said. “Felix Hernandez is still really good, and he’s going to be the anchor of that rotation. He will start opening day. He’s going to be our guy. It may not be at the level he was always at in the past, but that level is unbelievable.”
Plus, Hernandez pitched fairly well when he wasn’t trying to work through the injury, according to Dipoto, who pegged some of Hernandez’s perceived struggles on a social-media-fueled fan culture prone to overreact.
“Felix still has dynamic secondary stuff that ranks with the best of them,” Dipoto said. “He still has the ability to go out and create soft contact. He’s always done that. He’s been an innings horse throughout the course of his career.”
Dipoto set out to add some proven depth and flexibility behind Hernandez this offseason, and he appears to have done that with the acquisitions of lefty Drew Smyly and right-hander Yovani Gallardo, who started a combined 158 major league games since 2014. Smyly and Gallardo will join Hernandez, right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma and left-hander James Paxton to give Seattle what looks on paper to be a more proven, balanced rotation in 2017 than they had heading into last year, when 13 players registered starts for the club.
With rotations prominently featuring youngsters and less proven veterans the last couple seasons, it often fell to Hernandez to bring the team out of a prolonged period of subpar starts. The hope is this year’s increased depth should take some of the pressure off Hernandez to be lights-out every single start.
“He’s still very capable of fronting a staff, and we are very reliant on him to do the things he does,” Dipoto said. “Nothing has changed. But we’ve build a group around him that allows for Felix to have his days of struggle just like everybody else will be allowed.”
Not that Hernandez plans on struggling much in 2017. He’s has taken a different approach to his offseason workouts, working with Nelson Cruz’s trainer — who goes by the self-styled moniker “Iron Glenn” — and focusing on building up his lower body in an effort to ensure longevity by avoiding the kind of injury he suffered last season.
“I think that was really hard on him, not being on the field the whole time,” Paxton said last week. “I’m excited to see how he shows up to spring training. I’ve heard that he’s working hard. You get a guy like that working hard and motivated and it’s going to be scary to see what he can do.”
“The fact that he’s been questioned so heavily publicly has acted as a motivating tool for him to get himself ready to come pitch and show the world that he’s still Felix Hernandez,” Dipoto said.
Hernandez pitched a couple of starts the Venezuelan Winter League in December ahead of the World Baseball Classic in March, when he will represent his home country. But before he dons the Venezuelan uniform in the WBC, the M’s will get a chance to see the results of Hernandez’s offseason work firsthand in Arizona.
“I think that he probably feels good about himself for what he’s been able to do,” Dipoto said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what he looks like when he gets to Peoria.”
Visit seattlepi.com for more Seattle Mariners news. Contact sports reporter Stephen Cohen at stephencohen@seattlepi.com or @scohenPI
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