Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners.
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.
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.
Projected Opening Day Catchers: Tom Murphy (starter) Luis Torrens (back-up).
There shouldn’t be any surprises amongst the catcher invites. None of them are expected to challenge for an opening day roster spot; unless Murphy or Torrens go down with an injury. At that point, O’Keefe or Morgan would be at the top of the replacement list. Raleigh needs at least one more year in the minors, specifically at AAA.
Carter Bins – 22 years old – Nothing more than organizational depth to handle the plethora of pitchers. Carter Bins doesn’t swing the bat well. In his 187 plate appearances, he walked 33 times and struck out 56 times. His .391 OBP and .748 were impressive despite a .208 average.
Jose Godoy – 26 years old – After spending eight seasons in the Cardinals organization, he finally made it to AAA in 2019. Godoy profiles as a decent bat, but more than anything, he’s likely to be organizational depth.
Josh Morgan – 25 years old – Morgan spent six seasons in the Rangers organization before signing a contract to play in Australia. He batted .330 with a .922 OPS. Throughout his career, Morgan showed good plate discipline but no power. If he stays, it will be for organizational depth.
Brian O’Keefe – 28 years old – Brian is the elder statesman of the non-roster invitees behind the plate. He exhibits decent power and takes some walks. Unfortunately, O’Keefe strikeouts at a rate higher than league average. Likely to be cut at some point.
Cal Raleigh – 24 years old – His power is prodigious. He played in 121 games and had 455 at-bats in 2019 at high A and AA and ended up mashing 29 home runs. His average was less than desirable, but he checks many boxes towards being a future Major League catcher. He won’t supplant either Murphy or Torrens for at least another year.
Projected Opening Day Outfielders: Kyle Lewis (Center), Mitch Haniger (Right), Jose Marmolejos (Left), Dylan Moore (Utility).
The list of non-roster invitees for the Mariners here is quite interesting. There is a compelling reason for all of these players to make the Mariners roster at some point this season.
Jarred Kelenic – 21 years old – The question for Kelenic is when not if he will be in the Seattle Mariners’ lineup. It won’t be before April 16th as to affect his service-time date the Seattle Mariners need to get to before calling him up. That will buy the M’s an extra year of team control.
Kelenic only has 173 games in the minors and none above AA. There are also questions about rushing him too soon to the Majors. The time is coming, though, and it should be in 2021.
Julio Rodriguez – 20 years old – For every Mariners fan, the dream is to have Julio and Jarred roaming the same outfield sooner rather than later. Injuries have been an early concern, but his bat isn’t. His lifetime .929 OPS is only going to get better as he develops.
Rodriguez is a top-five prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Most prognosticators put him in rare company when it comes to projections. Some have even suggested Rodriguez will develop into a 40+ home run per season hitter.
Eric Filia – 28 years old – Filia was a late bloomer and still has yet to bloom completely. He had a hiccup in his college career of three years at UCLA, making him 23 when he debuted at Everett the same year. In four minor league seasons, Filia hit .320 with a .412 OBP and a career .843 OPS. He doesn’t hit for a lot of power, and he’s not speedy on the bases, but he does profile as a two-hole or end of the line-up type hitter with his ability to get on base.
Luis Liberato – 25 years old – The issue with Luis is strikeouts. He’s lightning fast (37 career minor league triples) and has modest power (45 career minor league home runs). But strikeouts continue to plague him. Coupled with a sub .250 lifetime batting average in the minors, Liberato is a long shot to reach the show. But his speed and gap power give him a puncher’s chance to get a cup of coffee in the bigs.
Dillon Thomas – 28 years old – Another candidate looking to be this year’s Jose Marmolejos. Since Thomas was drafted in the 4th round of 2011 by Colorado, he’s been a career minor leaguer. First with the Rockies, then with Milwaukee in 2018 and 2019.
In the Milwaukee organization, it appeared that Thomas was on his way to figuring out how to be successful at the plate. He had his best season’s with them. It likely won’t be enough to make the Seattle Mariners, but he’s someone to root for.
Tomorrow we tackle the non-roster invitee pitchers. There is sure to be more drama there since there are bullpen spots that are up for grabs.
Joe Swenson is a Writer, Director, Producer for Broken Arts Entertainment www.brokenartsentertainment.com. He is also one of the hosts of the YouTube Sports show “In The Clutch” featured here Joe’s InTheClutch – YouTube.