Seattle Mariners Spring Battles: Backup Catcher

Feb 21, 2015; Peoria, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher

Mike Zunino

(3) catches bullpen during camp at Peoria Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Mariners have done a fantastic job this offseason of adding to their roster. The M’s finished just one game shy of making their first postseason appearance since 2001, and Jack Zduriencik was on mission this winter to put them over the top. Just like most clubs at this time of year, the M’s still have a few positions up for grabs. We are now a couple weeks into spring training games, and we thought it would be an appropriate time to update fans on the most intriguing Mariners’ position battles.

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Today we will breakdown the backup catcher position. This competition has been been one of the lesser talked about spring training battles. The Mariners are lucky enough to have one of the premier young backstops in the game in Mike Zunino. At just 23-years-old, Zunino did a fabulous job with the M’s pitching staff in 2014. Zunino is a true power threat and is likely to improve upon his 22 long balls last season. Zunino is having a great spring thus far, and is the unquestioned starting catcher for the Mariners in 2015.

However, Zunino will need some days off, and the Mariners currently have a number of catchers competing to handle the backup duties this season. Jesus Sucre, John Baker, and John Hicks are the most likely candidates to spell Zunino in 2015.

We will begin the list with Jesus Sucre, who was the M’s backup catcher for the second half of last season, and is currently the heavy favorite to do so again in 2015.

Next: The Favorite