Seattle Mariners Spring Training Lessons Learned

Mar 20, 2014; Mesa, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher

(35) celebrates with relief pitcher

(31), and right fielder

(9) after defeating the Chicago Cubs at Cubs Park. The Mariners won 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

We are finally down to single digits! Only nine days until Spring Training is over and Seattle Mariners baseball officially begins. It has been a long, eventful– and at times uneventful– offseason.

There is still a lot to be ironed out in Spring Training, but there are still a number of things that can be taken away from Arizona thus far.

Let’s break them down…

Mar 20, 2014; Mesa, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners center fielder

(13) runs to first base after hitting a single against the Chicago Cubs at Cubs Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Outfield Outlook:

Six outfielders are left at Major League Camp: Dustin Ackley, Abraham Almonte, Corey Hart, Michael Saunders, Endy Chavez, and Stefen Romero.

The first four on the list seem to have all but locked up their spots on the 25-man roster. As it stands today, it’ll be Ackley, Almonte, Hart from left to right, with Saunders covering Hart with regularity to keep his knees fresh for the duration of the season.

Left field is Ackley’s, and despite a poor offensive showing this spring skipper Lloyd McClendon seems to be in love with Almonte’s potential as a centerfielder/leadoff guy.

The only thing still unknown in the outfield is who will be the fifth outfielder. Will it be Chavez who is one of the better defensive outfielders in the organization? Or will it be Stefen Romero, who has serious power potential and some versatility– having been a second baseman and third baseman in college and in the Minor Leagues.

Mar 12, 2014; Peoria, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners relief pitcher

(56) pitches against the Chicago Cubs at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Getting Booted?

Newbies Logan Morrison and Fernando Rodney have both been tossed from Spring Training games by the home plate umpire. Something just so odd and amusing.

Rodney finally had a decent outing the other day, but otherwise the newly inked closer hasn’t impressed. Hopefully he is just working out the kinks and can be dependable this season.

Morrison is showing promise, and looks to be the M’s DH come Opening Day.

Mar 20, 2014; Mesa, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher

(50) pitches against the Chicago Cubs at Cubs Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Rotation Taking (Tentative) Shape:

Pocket Rocket Erasmo Ramirez had a great outing on Thursday. Six innings while scattering 4 hits and striking out 4. He only threw 65 pitches, so after six innings of work he went to the bullpen and threw 20 more to get his count up to 85.

He looks to be the number 2 until Hisashi Iwakuma is fully recovered from his finger injury. James Paxton— the rookie darling this Spring Training with Taijuan being brought along slowly with a sore shoulder– looks to be the number 3.

After that, though, it’s anybody’s guess. Randy Wolf and Scott Baker, both non-roster invites on Minor League deals, have made cases to crack the starting rotation. So too has Blake Beavan, and Roenis Elias: The Seattle Mariners 5th Starter” href=”https://sodomojo.com/2014/03/17/roenis-elias-the-seattle-mariners-5th-starter/” target=”_blank”>Cuban youngster Roenis Elias.

Whoever fills the 4 and 5 will inevitably get sent down to Triple-A Tacoma or moved to the ‘Pen when Iwakuma and Walker are healthy. But, hopefully, they will provide important pitching depth to get the Mariners through a long 162-game season.

Mar 20, 2014; Mesa, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners second baseman

(6) tags first base against the Chicago Cubs at Cubs Park. The Mariners won 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Franklin Is Still A Seattle Mariner:

Nick Franklin hasn’t been traded yet. That, for most ardent Mariner fans, is a surprise. He has been rumored since the Cano signing to be on his way because, well, the M’s paid a guy $24o million to play second base.

Matt wrote a killer post about the lack of a Franklin trading. It’s not bad that he’s still here.

His stock can only go up by crushing the ball in Triple-A Tacoma to start the year. And if/when someone gets injured there is a youngster with talent, swagger, and most of all motivation waiting in the wings. If he remains a Mariner into April, it really isn’t such a bad thing.

Nine More Days! That’s it. Thank God because it’s time to see what the 2014 Mariners are made of.