Mariners Rumors: Mallex Smith Likely Headed Back to Big Leagues

The Seattle Mariners are coming home after a disastrous 2-8 road trip. The team saw a flurry of moves this morning, including the demotion of outfielder Braden Bishop.

This demotion has led many to speculate that after less than 2 weeks in Tacoma, the Mariners are ready to recall Mallex Smith. Smith, as you may recall, struggled mightily for most of April and was demoted after both his offense and defense went into the tank.

While nothing has been made official, the demotion of Bishop leaves the team without a “true centerfielder” (although we could argue whether Mallex is a true centerfielder) and if Mitch Haniger were to get hurt, your centerfielder right now would probably be Domingo Santana.

The Mariners dispatched newly hired special assignment coach Mike Cameron to work with Smith in Tacoma. After getting a breather for a few days, Smith has performed well in Tacoma, slashing .361/.395/.500.

Reports on his defense are hard to find, but Cameron offered this on what Mallex is working on:

"“Just trying to get a feel for what he’s doing in the outfield, work on his routes. Get him in better position catching balls, to use his speed to his advantage.”"

Smith had an issue with the simplest of all outfielders jobs: keeping the ball in your glove. The final straw came when a flyball to right-center that should have been an out was instead a home run after it deflected off the glove of Smith.

For a player like Mallex, who has little to no power, he needs to be an asset defensively and get on base at a high rate to be an everyday player. Thankfully we already know that Smith can do this, as evident by his 2018 season when he slashed .296/.367/.406 with 40 steals.

The Mariners will need to make room on their 25 man roster. The obvious move may be to send down Shed Long. However, Dee Gordon‘s wrist injury will be re-evaluated tomorrow and a trip to the IL still seems likely.

The team could also option a reliever, they have 8 arms in the pen, Ryon Healy, or make a surprising move like designating for assignment a veteran like Jay Bruce. While nothing is official, all signs point to the return of Mallex Smith starting vs Oakland Monday evening. We will continue to track this development as we get more information.