T-Mobile Park (Photo by Susan Dennis, via Flickr)
Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais.
It’s almost here. The Seattle Mariners open the 2020 season on Friday evening, July 24, in Houston. It’s an event that has been four months in the making. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as Major League Baseball and it’s Players Association failing to agree on almost anything, this year will consist of only 60 regular-season games.
The Mariners have been working out at T-Mobile park for the past few weeks. Everyone is looking forward to games against teams in different jerseys that actually count for something. Leading up to Opening Day, Pacific Northwest Sports will be running a series of countdown articles to get fans ready for action.
How many billions of dollars hinge on this one? I believe that MLB believes it will finish. They will do anything and everything in their power to crown a 2020 World Series champion. The key phrase is “in their power.”
From the spread of COVID-19 to the responses by various federal, state, and local governments, there are many variables not in their power. Cracks in the plan are already starting to show. On Saturday, Canada denied MLB an exception to their quarantine procedures for people entering the country, which would have allowed the Toronto Blue Jays to play home games. Consequently, the Jays are looking for a new place to play this year.
If I had to put money on it, one way or another, the 2020 season will play out to its conclusion.
Marco Gonzales, Seattle Mariners. (Photo by Udeezy, via Wikicommons)
Every team in baseball asks themselves the same thing. Recent Seattle Mariners’ rotation mainstays Felix Hernandez, Mike Leake, and James Paxton have all moved on since the end of 2018. Aside from ace Marco Gonzales, there hasn’t been much MLB success for any of the other starters. Due to how young this team is, the question is hard to answer.
When it comes to the balance of the M’s starting rotation, there so many ifs to work out during the season. IF:
Should those pitchers move from iffy status to yes status, then the Seattle Mariners have enough arms to compete. The wild card is the bullpen. If they are good, then M’s starters only need to give the team five or six competitive innings.
The past 16 months have been a horror show for Haniger. He got off to an awful start last season. From April 16 through June 6, the Mariners’ best hitter slashed .188/.304/.394/.698 with 10 home runs, 17 RBI, and 56 strikeouts (one in almost every three at-bats). Then it got worse.
On June 6, Hanniger fouled a pitch off himself. The result was a ruptured testicle. Aside from his original injury, in the time since it happened, the Seattle all-star outfielder has had additional surgeries to repair a sports hernia and a disc issue in his back. According to DiPoto, as of last week, Haniger had not resumed baseball activities.
Right now, it doesn’t look favorable for his return anytime soon. Haniger isn’t even part of the 60-man player pool. If he does come back, it probably won’t be until the final few games of the season.
It would be exciting to see the Seattle Mariners top prospect in action this season. The consensus is Seattle will take a conservative approach with their 20-year-old prodigy.
His positive performance at Summer Camp, however, is testing the team’s resolve. Taking into consideration his talent and need for experience, Jarred Kelenic more than likely gets a cup of coffee with the M’s sometime this summer.
Kyle Lewis, Seattle Mariners (Photo by Paul Hamaker CC, BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.orgwindex.phpcurid=82750176)
Do they have a chance? Definitely. Because it’s a 60-game season, any team can ride a hot streak for two months. The Seattle Mariners have no shortage of youthful excitement and potential. That gives them a “puncher’s chance.”
Do they have a good chance? Probably not. The flip side to the M’s potential is their inexperience. Many players will be getting an education this year about what it takes to make it in the majors. Consequently, the team is expected by many to finish near the bottom of the American League standings.
We will have more on this during the week, but the short answer is developing the young players. According to DiPoto, the Mariners are looking at the 2020 and 2021 seasons as one long development period. So if the kids show improvement from the opening of Summer Camp through game 60, and don’t embarrass themselves or the team along the way, the season will be considered a success.
It doesn’t even have to be all of the young guys, just the important ones. Among the players to watch in this regard are Evan White, Kyle Lewis, Shed Long, Jake Fraley, J.P. Crawford, Sheffield, and Dunn. Seattle Mariners Manager Scott Servais won’t lose his job if the team finishes last or wins only a third of their games. He will get canned if the majority of the players mentioned regress this year.
Stay with PNWS this week for the rest of our countdown to opening day series.