Mariners Position Battle Update: First Base

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Mar 4, 2015; Peoria, AZ, USA; A general view of game action between the Seattle Mariners and the San Diego Padres during a spring training baseball game at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /

Dae-Ho Lee

The Seattle Mariners signed the 33 year-old to a minor league deal during the offseason. Lee has already shown what he can do at the plate so far in Peoria, hitting .375 in 10 plate appearances. He has one homer, which he muscled over the berm in left field. He has struck out once and walked twice, and has also done a great job at first base.

The Korean native spent 15 seasons playing professionally overseas, spending 11 years playing in Korea and the last 4 in Japan. In 1,720 games, Lee posted a slash line of .303/.387/.514. He has plenty of power, as he slugged 323 career homeruns and drove in 1,157 runs. His best year came in 2010 when he put up a slash of .364/.444/.667 over 127 games, hitting 44 homeruns and driving in 133 runs for the Lotte Giants.

Lee is listed as 6’4″ and 286 pounds, but he supposedly has lost 45 pounds this winter and came to camp in great shape. He is never going to be threat on the base paths, as he had only 9 career stolen bases in his 15 seasons overseas. He will provide plenty of power wherever he ends up this year, and his defense is good enough to be a major league first baseman. It will be interesting to see how his numbers from Korea and Japan correlate to the pitching and playing styles in Major League Baseball.

Next: Can Montero bring more to his game in a platoon role?

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