Predicting the Mariners Opening Day Infield

With the season winding down it’s time to start looking ahead to Opening Day 2020. Today’s post focuses on the Mariners’ Opening day infield after covering the outfield in an earlier post.

When I looked at the outfield I only projected players that were currently in the organization; however, this time I’ll expand and also consider options for the infield that would need to be acquired via free agency or trade.

Lets start with the hot corner.

THIRD BASE

Two months ago it seemed that filling the infield’s third base position would be quite challenging for the Mariners, but things have changed a bit as Kyle Seager has been on a tear lately and looks destined to be the third baseman on Opening Day next year.

At one point it looked like Seager would be the starter by default (his contract and poison pill make him difficult to trade), but now that he seems to have rediscovered his stroke the past month or so Seager has actually earned the spot heading into next year.

For a team that will still be “re-tooling” to start the season, having Seager’s presence in the lineup and clubhouse could be a good thing (assuming he produces) as the team continues to bring up young players.

SHORTSTOP

No big and exciting changes to the infield yet as J.P. Crawford looks to be the starter at shortstop next year. It wouldn’t be totally shocking if General Manager Jerry Dipoto traded Crawford this winter after the shortstop has shown that he can hang in the Major Leagues, but with a dearth of middle infield prospects at the upper levels of the farm and Crawford still being young and fitting the timeline of the rebuild, the team will want to really see what they have in him.

Plus the free agent options that could be fits are limited unless you want to watch Tim Beckham be the shortstop again once his suspension ends or are a big fan of Jose Iglesias.

SECOND BASE

Second base is where things start to get interesting. It’s clear that the Mariners wanted to trade incumbent second baseman Dee Gordon at the trade deadline, but his injury wiped out that opportunity. The team will look to move him again this winter and for the sake of this exercise, they will be successful in those attempts.

The team is said to like prospect Shed Long  (is he a super utility man or an everyday starter at second?), but Long has battled his own injury issues this year and hasn’t gotten to really show management what he can do at the Major League level. Seattle will want a veteran stop gap, similar to what they did with Beckham this year, until Long or someone else steps up to win the job.

As mentioned on the site earlier, Jonathan Schoop isn’t that exciting of a player, but does provide some right handed pop which could come in handy and could be another player that the team brings in on a one year deal that they look to flip at the deadline if he produces. Depending on the other moves the team makes (like trading Domingo Santana), adding some right handed power to the lineup wouldn’t be a bad thing.