Seattle Mariners: Jarred Kelenic and the art of service time manipulation
Competing for the Playoffs in 2021 and Beyond
Without adding a free agent bat, the Mariners could still be in a position to compete for the playoffs. That’s another reason why they signed Paxton. His presence can be enhanced by adding Gilbert to the rotation on opening day and then Kelenic to the roster in mid-April.
At the start of 2022, Paxton will be gone, George Kirby and Emmerson Hancock should be competing for opening day rotation spots to give Seattle three lefties (Marco Gonzales, Justus Sheffield, and Yusei Kikuchi (final year of contract)) and three power righties (Gilbert, Hancock, and Kirby). Then service time manipulation conversation will start again, this time with Julio Rodriguez. It will be the same discussion about Noelvi Marte in 2023.
In Closing
There are strategic advantages to holding Kelenic back for two weeks to start the season this year. The biggest one is so Seattle can keep control of him through 2027. By doing this, Dipoto sets a time-table for the other top prospects.
- Gilbert through 2026.
- Hancock and Kirby through 2027.
- Rodriguez through 2028.
- Marte through 2029, etc.
Having these prospects as the core of Seattle’s future is vital to sustained success.
I think every fan can appreciate what is hopefully coming down the pipe. It’s what they want more than anything else, a winner. The Mariners have had two massive playoff droughts. The first one led to rumors about Seattle leaving for Tampa Bay or other cities, but they stayed.
Then from 1995-2001, the team had moderate success. Since 2001, the M’s struggled again through another drought. It will end in the next two years based on the talent they assembled. Seattle looks like they are in line for a multi-year run on the American League Championship.
Here's Mariners top pitching prospect Logan Gilbert striking out Shohei Ohtani. pic.twitter.com/YWWYDhYC4J
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) March 10, 2020
Joe Swenson is a lifelong Seattle sports fan, President of Broken Arts Entertainment, a full-service production company featuring the Quarantine 2038 project, streaming to a device near you in May. www.brokenartsentertainment.com