5 Tweaks the Mariners Must Make ASAP

Tweak 1: Mariners Need To Move Dee Down

We all love Dee Gordon. The fans love him. The team loves him. Most importantly, the players love him. But there is no logical reason for him to get the first AB of the game for the Mariners. None. Anybody who tries to tell you otherwise is either a fool or simply uninformed.

Dee Gordon’s OBP this season is .300. He is making an out 7 out of every 10 PAs. This is bad. In fact, it’s about 20 points below-average. Gordon also has a wRC+ of 78, 22 percent below an average hitter.

Gordon isn’t getting on base. He has no power. And he is getting the most plate appearances of any Mariners hitter on a nightly basis. Wow.

Yes, he is fast. But remember the old saying, you can’t steal first base. This is really elementary baseball. The guy who hit’s leadoff gets the most chances to hit. Therefore, in theory, shouldn’t the guy who makes the fewest outs get the most AB’s? It really is that simple.

Dee Gordon has the 7th best OBP on the Mariners right now. Add in Ben Gamel and Robinson Cano, which the Mariners will do within the next week, and Gordon is 9th. By wRC+, Gordon is the 11th best hitter on the current roster. He is beating only Andrew Romine. Again, that doesn’t even count Cano and Gamel.

The evidence is overwhelming. Dee Gordon is, at best, the 7th or 8th best hitter on the 25 man roster. The Mariners are giving him the most opportunities to hit. Why? Because he is fast? Because when he does get on base, it’s only in the first inning?

When the Mariners were winning, you could get away with this. Now, with the team losing and the offense slumping, every game featuring Dee Gordon at the leadoff spot is one where the Mariners aren’t doing all they can to score runs.

Everything the average fan loves seeing Dee Gordon do, he can do from the nine spot, including hitting ahead of Segura.