Seattle Mariners defensive preview: Part 2 – Infield
Kyle Seager, Seattle Mariners. Photo by Dinur, via Flickr)
In baseball, team defense and pitching success go hand in hand. Overall, the M’s defense left much to be desired last season. In 2020, Seattle Mariners pitching should be better due to better talent and an improved defense behind them. PNWS continues our three-part series on Mariners defense with the infielders.
Any way you slice it, 2019’s Seattle Mariners defense was terrible. Their .978 fielding percentage was dead last in the Majors. The M’s made too many errors, which is one of the big reasons why they had a fifth-worst 5.51 runs per game scored against them. Granted, no one would confuse last seasons pitching staff with the 1970 Orioles. But Seattle wasn’t in a position to give away outs to their opponents either. They only scored 4.68 runs per game.
Advanced statistics reinforce what the fans saw on the field. WAR or wins above replacement is one of the gold standards of advanced stats. It’s a measure of how many wins a team would gain or lose if a player was replaced with someone else at the Major League average. The Seattle Mariners had a -5.6 defensive WAR in 2019. That means had Mariners manager Scott Servais fielded a team of average defensive players, Seattle would have won about six more games. No team can afford to give away that many games in the field and expect to have a winning record.
2020 represents a new start for the Seattle Mariners. They are a rebuilding team. As a result, some of the up and coming, younger players are better fielders than their 2019 counterparts. Sunday, we analyzed the catchers, today it’s the infield.
Third Base
Kyle Seager is the veteran presence on a young team. It will be up to the 2014 American League Gold Glove winner to be the cornerstone of a mostly inexperienced Seattle Mariners infield. How he handles that leadership role will go a long way in deciding the success of the infield as a whole. It’s no secret that Seager has had his troubles at the plate in recent seasons. Regardless of how his offensive production plays out, fans can expect him to play great defense at third base.