Ben Gamel Is Running Out Of Time To Steal A Mariners Opening Day Roster Spot

With the Mariners starting outfield lined up and Guillermo Heredia having the spring of his life, if Ben Gamel wants to snag the outfield utility role, he’ll have to play better than Heredia at the least.

The Mariners have 25 games left in spring training before they open their 2017 regular season in Houston to battle the Astros. If any of the M’s wanna be on the roster for that game, they’ll need to fight for the few spots up for grabs in the coming weeks.

Ben Gamel is going to have to become one of the most hardworking and productive Mariners players the rest of this spring training if he wants to even have a shot at being on the Opening Day 25-man roster.

It was known coming into spring ball that Heredia and Gamel would duke it out for a final outfield spot with Taylor Motter as the probable next call-up option if either of those guys went down, but now Gamel’s standing might be in threat by Motter as well.

Heredia has been the standout star this spring both in the Mariners organization and in spring training as a whole.

As of yesterday’s game versus the Texas Rangers Heredia is slashing .500/.550/.889 through nine games -tied for the second most on the Mariners spring roster.

He leads the team in RBIs with seven and is also on top with five doubles. He is tied for the lead (with Shawn O’Malley) in stolen bases with two and is tied for the team-lead in triples with one.

His five two-baggers leads all spring training participants, and he only sits behind about a dozen men in either the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues in many of the other statistical categories mentioned.

Gamel, on the other hand, has played in nine games and is slashing .238/.304/.286. That batting average ranks 23rd worst on the team, the on-base percentage is 27th worst, and the slugging percentage is 25th worst.

Motter is slashing .250/.400/.583 with two RBIs, four runs scored, two walks drawn, a double, and a home run. To his credit, he’s done so in three fewer games than Heredia.

More from SoDo Mojo

• 2023 Steamer Projections: Teoscar Hernandez could see a drop in Seattle
• Could the Mariners Acquire AL Batting Champion, Luis Arraez?
• 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

And, as you have probably already figured out, Gamel sits behind Heredia and Motter in each of the slashed statistics.

If Gamel continues to slug through spring and Motter continues to outplay him, Gamel could see himself off the 25-man roster come Opening Day. Heredia would have to fall off a cliff in order to lose that fourth outfield spot at this point.

Don’t forget, Motter was also slightly more impressive than Gamel in 2016.

In 33 games, Motter had three doubles, two home runs, and nine RBIs with the Tampa Rays while adding 11 walks and 19 strikeouts. Also in 33 games between the New York Yankees and Mariners, Gamel had two doubles, one home run, five RBIs while walking six times and punching out on 16 occasions.

Motter is also more versatile than Gamel as he has experience playing in both the infield and outfield.

Next: Sodo Mojo Podcast #002

With so many guys off to the WBC, these three men will have more opportunities to prove their worth, but if Gamel hopes to be with the Mariners in Safeco Field where he ended last season, he’ll need to pick up his play a great deal.