Seattle Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto.
On March 10th, the MLB lockout finally ended with an agreement in place between Major League Baseball and the Players Association. This good news means that Seattle Mariners‘ opening day is just weeks away. Friday, Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto held a press conference. Here are some key takeaways from it.
Seattle will need to be creative to find playing time for Luis Torrens. The 25-year-old slugger impressed management down the stretch last year. Unfortunately, he primarily plays catcher, the same position as Tom Murphy and Cal Raleigh. The M’s goal was to find Raleigh more opportunities which cut into Torrens’ playing time.
He has shown some ability to play third and first, along with handling duties behind the plate. As of right now, the team will need to find ways to get him in the lineup outside of DHing against lefties.
Former Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis might be a bit further ahead in his rehab than reports indicate. The Seattle Mariners are still looking at him to play center field in 2022. If this is accurate and not just “positive GM speak,” this is huge for the M’s. It’s unclear if Lewis will be ready to start the year by opening day.
But if he can come back at his 2020 ROY levels, K-Lew is another big bat in the order. Lewis will play in the outfield and rotate in at designated hitter to give his knee a rest. Keep in mind that with him in the outfield, the M’s defense is better than it is without him.
Sticking in the outfield, Seattle Mariners’ newest top prospect Julio Rodriguez has a real chance to leave spring training on the Seattle Mariners opening day roster. Dipoto believes that J-Rod can make an impact and alter the type of free agents the Mariners pursue.
It will get crowded in centerfield because Rodriquez should see some action there as well. If he does make the team, Seattle will have an outfield alignment of Rodriguez, Jarred Kelenic, and Mitch Haniger, with Lewis or Torrens as the designated hitter. Color me excited!
Speaking of Seattle Mariner free agent targets, the team wants someone to intermix with Adam Frazier and Abraham Toro. So, if the Mariners were to take the field today, Toro is the starting third baseman, and Frazier is the starter at second. That situation might also involve a platoon in left field (if Rodriguez doesn’t break camp with the team). This lines up well with Kris Bryant to the Seattle Mariners’ hopes and rumors.
Dipoto did talk about Evan White but didn’t provide any details as he did with Lewis. So, at this point, it’s anyone’s guess as to when he might return. Circling back to the Frazier and Toro point, what does signing a player to mix in with the duo mean for Dylan Moore’s future with the Seattle Mariners?
Also, the GM mentioned the Mariners wouldn’t be looking at a full-time DH. They want to rotate players at the DH spot. That could rule out a player like Kyle Schwarber and/or possibly Nick Castellanos, depending on their view of their abilities to play in the field.
Shifting the dialogue from hitters to pitchers, Dipoto said that the Seattle Mariners would look for starting pitchers who are either front-end or mid-rotation starters. They will not be looking at backend starters. If they want to acquire a front-end starter, this will most likely have to be done via trade as there are not many, if at all, front-end starters left on the free-agent market. But there are still some free-agent mid-rotation starters available as well.
Finally, Dipoto also mentioned that they could be interested in a pitcher that can start (opener) or come out of the pen. This is the M’s backup plan if they can’t land a front-end or mid-rotation starter. This type of player might be tricky to get as there doesn’t appear to be someone on the free-agent market. It might mean the team converts someone.
For example, last year, the Dodgers acquired starter Danny Duffy and used him out of the pen. Could he be an opener (if needed) for the Seattle Mariners and work out of the bullpen? Or might Dipoto look towards another reclamation project, like a Chris Archer or Dylan Bundy type?
We’ll have to wait and see how it plays out. Regardless, I’m super excited that baseball is ready to get underway and am even more excited to see how the rest of free agency plays out. Let’s keep in mind that Dipoto didn’t get his nickname “Trader Jerry” by sitting on his hands and watching TV.