Seattle Mariner Non-Roster Invitees Breakdown (Hitters)
Joe Swenson
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Welcome to the Seattle Mariners 2021 Spring Training. We take a look at some of the non-roster position players invited to M’s camp.
With the full squad expected to report by Monday, February 22nd, the Seattle Mariners are probably done adding players. M’s General Manager Jerry Dipoto said in the press conference, introducing newly reacquired starting pitcher James Paxton, that they have done everything they are going to do. He went on to say that they would pursue something that makes sense, leaving the door open for slight adjustments.
In what ended up being a quiet off-season, Dipoto stuck to his rebuilding guns. The only moves made to address offense were in regards to non-roster invitees. Today we look at who some of the non-roster position players are.
Infielders
Projected Opening Day Infielders: Evan White (1st base starter), Shed Long (2nd base starter), JP Crawford (Shortstop starter), Kyle Seager (3rd base starter), Dylan Moore (Infield Utility), Ty France (DH + Corner Infield Utility). The real drama will be who starts at second base?
There are only three infield non-roster players invited to spring training. It’s not likely that any of these three make the big-league team. Sam Travis is the most intriguing, though.
Jordan Cowen – 25 years old – Cowen is a light-hitting third baseman. He gets on base at a decent clip (.344 lifetime minor league OPB), but he has absolutely no power. In fact, he has a lifetime OBP higher than his SLG. He has no chance at making the opening day roster.
Sam Travis – 27 years old – He’s an intriguing first base option for the Mariners. Travis has modest power and some speed. At 6-0, 220 pounds, he should have more power coming from his bat. But the most home runs Travis ever hit in a season was 13 in 2019 between AAA and Boston. He did get close to a .800 OPS at Pawtucket, but nothing close to that at the big-league level.
Jantzen Witte – 31 years old – After seven years toiling in the minors under the Red Sox, White became a free agent. He’s really not very good and will likely be part of the early cuts. It’s neat that he’s hung around this long, but with over 2300 at-bats, White only has 44 home runs.