Mariners Spring Training Recap: Day 4

It’s beginning to look a lot like spring time…well, at least in Arizona it is.

The Seattle Mariners continued to work on Monday in Peoria, AZ. Pitchers and catchers were spotted in the bullpens, and a few more position players tricked into the facility as well. There were also some notable Mariners news items today.

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Mariners’ catching coordinator Dan Wilson has been working closely with all of the backstops this spring on the art of pitch framing, and so far the results have been encouraging. Seattle has six catchers in Peoria, and they all could learn a thing or two from Wilson. Jerry Dipoto has said numerous times this offseason that “controlling the zone” is a top priority, and pitch framing is a big piece to that puzzle. Fernando Alcala posted an interesting video today on his twitter account of the workout.

The most encouraging news of the day was that Charlie Furbush threw his first bullpen session of the 2016 season. The Mariners lefty specialist was filthy through the first half of last year, going 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA across 33 appearances. Unfortunately, he suffered a torn rotator cuff in early July and missed the remainder of the season. Thankfully, the Bush is fully recovered from the injury and should be ready to go when Cactus League action kicks off next week. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times provided footage of Furbush on the bump this morning.

The bullpens have been dominated the past three days by starting pitchers, but today saw a number of the relievers get their chance to impress. Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune spotted right-handers Tony Zych and Cody Martin getting their work in. Zych posted a 2.45 ERA across 18.1 innings of work as a rookie with the Mariners in 2015. Martin split last season between the Atlanta Braves and the Oakland A’s, and was claimed off waivers by the M’s this winter. Zych and Martin are both expected to compete for bullpen spots this spring in Arizona.

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• Steamer Projections: Julio Rodriguez to enter rarified air in 2023
• What if the Mariners traded FOR Tyler O’Neill this time?
• Mariners starting pitching is being overlooked by MLB

Another piece of news to come out of Peoria this morning was that Joaquin Benoit has been battling through “some tightness in his hamstring and lower back.” Mariners’ skipper Scott Servais broke the news to the media this morning, adding that Seattle would “back-off a little bit” with the 38-year-old right-hander on Monday. Benoit is expected to function as the M’s setup man in 2016. It is not overly concerning that the veteran is feeling slight discomfort, but it’s something to keep an eye on as the spring progresses.

Next: Mariners Top 20 Prospects: #10 RHP Andrew Moore

Make sure you check back on Tuesday for more news and notes from the Seattle Mariners workouts in Peoria. Position players are scheduled to report for duty on February 23, so hopefully there will be a few star signings around the complex tomorrow morning.