Mariners Need to Move Seager Down in the Order, Pronto

Kyle Seager should remain a Mariners starter, but he needs to be moved down and fast. Seager has time to get it together. He is young under MLB standards at 30 but Servais is maybe batting him too high.

It is complicated since Seager is more than halfway through a seven-year extension he signed with the Mariners before the 2015 season. Kyle as well as a club option for 2022. According to Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors, the option is “based on performance factors.” The problem is he’s not performing.

Despite Seager’s miserable 2018 campaign so far, let’s not downplay his highlights:

• 2013-Down by four with two outs, game-tying grand slam in the bottom of the 14th, Dave Sims called it “unreal”

• 2014-All-Star appearance plus a Gold Glove

• 2016- 30 homers with 99 runs batted in, helped Mariners stay in contention until Game 161

• This season-Game-tying double in extras to help M’s comeback for the third time in the game, went on to score the winning run

Last things last, Seager has schooled former UNC compatriot in Dustin Ackley. Ackley is the Kwame Brown of Mariner draft busts. In 2009, he was drafted second overall while Kyle was eighty picks behind him that draft.

Yet Seager is still in the Majors while Ack not so much. He’s also played more seasons than Ackley. This is Seager’s eighth season while Ackley was traded away three seasons ago. While Seager has the last laugh over his co-Tar Heel, his .224 batting average is sadly a laugh.

Hey Servais, set aside Seager’s track record and $100,000,000 contract. Prioritize who are performing better at this moment and have them hit fifth for now.

How about Mitch Haniger? For someone who was the throw-in to the Taijuan Walker trade, 16 jacks, and a .269 average is quality. Or Denard Span, who’s almost at .260 and provides three more years of veteran experience than Seager.

According to Baseball Reference, Kyle has had a 0-2 count on him 56 times this season. For a five-hole, that’s unsustainable and means that he is too often in a hole while swinging for his life. He looks psyched out at the plate.

Our vaunted five-hole hitter’s .224 average is second-lowest among Mariner starters. Only Zunino’s is lower and how telling of the farm system that they are the only two home-grown Mariners in the starting lineup (not counting platooning Heredia).

Seager is a talented player and an excellent third baseman. Management clearly saw something if they signed him for seven years. Whether it’s the pressure of batting that high or knowing that your younger brother has already played in a World Series, get him out of the five-spot!

Next: Mariners Trade a Day: Bartolo Colon

Does it have to be permanent? No. But Seager needs his stroke back and if you’re hitting that low by mid-June, it’s no longer a slow start.