This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer's Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE -- Chris Flexen flew under the radar all spring despite putting together one of the best showings on the Mariners¡¯ pitching staff, a byproduct of being on the outside looking into what looks like a loaded rotation.

He picked up right where he left off on Wednesday against the Angels, with the microscope a little bigger after he was re-installed to the rotation following a left flexor strain suffered by Robbie Ray. Flexen¡¯s efforts in the 4-3 loss were perhaps even more undetected, given they were part of another disappointing defeat -- the Mariners¡¯ fifth in their first seven games. But they served as a reminder that he¡¯s still capable of getting outs at this level.

Flexen worked around first-inning walks to?Mike Trout?and?Shohei Ohtani?to escape unscathed, then he was tagged for a single to?Gio Urshela?and a two-run homer to?Logan O'Hoppe?in the second. But those represented his lone baserunners, and he went on to retire each of his final 10 to finish a five-inning start.

¡°Flex, he¡¯s a gamer,¡± said shortstop J.P. Crawford. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s in the bullpen or starting, he¡¯s going to give you his best every time. He¡¯s a competitor.¡±

Flexen spoke more sternly of the day, as he usually does in defeat. Regardless of individual performance, his emotions hinge on the team¡¯s result.

¡°I'm just falling right back into a role that I've been in before and the job doesn't change,¡± Flexen said. ¡°Whether it's out of the bullpen or as a starter, it's to compete and win a ballgame and help the ballclub.¡±

That Flexen is still here after an offseason in which even he thought he was?likely to get traded?shows that:

1. The Mariners made the right decision to not deal him.

2. Their pitching depth, especially in the rotation, is a huge asset.

Seattle didn¡¯t lose a starter to the injured list at all in 2022, and even with prudent arm care and monitoring workloads, the club recognized that good luck also played a part.

To that extent, whatever trade package Flexen may have returned would pale in comparison to his value to the team in this moment.

The Mariners would¡¯ve benefited from adding another bat, and they still may do so ahead of the July 31 Trade Deadline, though that¡¯s eons away in the context of this season. Their middle infield depth is limited, too, at least until Dylan Moore?returns from a left oblique strain, potentially on the next homestand.

¡°Flex has been the right mindset, really, since Day 1 in Spring Training,¡± Mariners manager?Scott Servais?said. ¡°We've been very upfront with him that we were going to stretch him out as a starter just in case something happened, and when it didn't happen before we left Spring Training, he was more than willing and understanding [of] what the role would be in the bullpen. But he was ready to go, and credit to him.¡±

Flexen is earning an affordable $8 million this year after triggering a vesting option for pitching 300 innings from 2021-22. The volume tied to the incentive shows his value and ability to eat innings, especially early this season while Servais¡¯ bullpen is still getting its feet wet.

After winning the club¡¯s pitcher of the year award in 2021, Flexen admittedly took a step back in '22, a year in which he was besieged by inconsistent command and the lack of a true breaking ball. That¡¯s part of why he was moved to the bullpen after Seattle acquired Luis Castillo. The team also believed that Marco Gonzales¡¯ stuff wouldn¡¯t play as well as Flexen¡¯s in relief.

Last season, Flexen was worth 0.7 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, down from 3.0 the year prior. His strikeout rates (16.9% to 16.1%) and walk rates (5.4% to 8.6%) went in opposite directions of each other. He had a 3.73 ERA in 137 2/3 innings, while opposing hitters slashed at a clip of .250/.315/.408 (.724 OPS). When he was in the rotation, the Mariners went 11-11 in his starts compared to 22-9 in 2021.

The Mariners don¡¯t need Flexen to be Castillo or Ray. Yet his specialty in that breakout year, which was on display Wednesday, was giving the team a chance to win in each start. If he¡¯s able to do that while Ray recovers over the next 4-6 weeks, the rotation will be in good shape.