5 questions facing the Mariners less than a month to Spring Training

The Seattle Mariners, and all of baseball for that matter, are less than a month away from reporting to Spring Training. But there are still a lot of questions surrounding this team.

The phrase “pitchers and catchers” is music to a Mariners fan ears. It immediately conjures up feelings of hope and a promise that warmer weather and longer days are on their way. But as we inch our way down the road to Spring Training, there are still some serious questions surrounding this team.

Obviously, there are numerous questions about the long-term health of the franchise and their current rebuild, but while 2020 isn’t going to be a winning season, it doesn’t mean it won’t be an important one.

So let’s identify some of the biggest questions surrounding the team in 2020. There are dozens of potential questions, but let’s start with these 5.

5. What to do with Dee Gordon

The Seattle Mariners have done a nice job in their rebuild, trading away most larger contracts and finding value in most deals. But they have been unable to find a solution to their Dee Gordon “problem” and there is no indication that they will.

Gordon has almost no trade value as he has been replacement level for the past 2-years and is set to make $13.5 million in 2020 with a $1 million buyout for 2021. Finding a taker for a $14.5 million bench option is a tough needle to thread.

We know the Mariners won’t have an issue including money in the deal, but there has still been little chatter on Gordon. Seattle cannot take PAs away from Shed Long Jr. in 2020 to try and regain a shred of trade value with Gordon, and sticking him on the bench doesn’t make much sense either.

But we haven’t heard anything about their willingness to DFA Gordon, so whether he will find himself in Peoria in a month remains to be seen. If Gordon comes to camp with Seattle, it wouldn’t be a disaster. But they need to make a decision relatively soon and time is running out.

4. Who is the closer in 2020?

There are very few positions that matter less to a rebuilding team than a closer, but the role is certain to be a topic of conversation this spring. Last winter, after the Mariners traded away Edwin Diaz, they signed Hunter Strickland to a 1-year deal to serve as the teams closer. The plan hit a snag when Strickland hurt his shoulder in March and was only able to appear in 4 games before being traded in July.

But the idea was simple, use a veteran with big-game experience in the ninth inning as to allow less experienced arms to get comfortable before being thrown to the wolves. By that logic, Carl Edwards Jr., formerly a member of the Chicago Cubs World Series team, would be the favorite entering 2020.

Austin Adams was a good candidate prior to his late-season ACL tear. Sam Tuivailala was the most consistent reliever last season, so he could be in the mix. Matt Magill more or less finished out 2019 as the teams closer and did a nice job.

Brandon Brennan may be a dark horse candidate. His choppy 2019 included flashes of brilliance, including stretches where he looked awfully similar to Blake Treinen. It remains unlikely the job will be handed to any of the young prospects who will try to make the club out of spring training.

There are some experienced closers still on the market that could make sense. All have significant warts to deal with but could get an opportunity and run with it in the low-pressure environment of Seattle.

Blake Parker, Greg Holland, and Cody Allen are all possibilities, as is a “closer by committee” approach. Ultimately, the closer on a bad team isn’t all that valuable. But that won’t stop fans from talking about it, so it lands at number 4 on our list.

3. Are the young kids ready?

The Seattle Mariners are going to play a lot of younger guys in 2020. And while that can be a lot of fun and be a jolt of energy in an otherwise bad season, it does lead to some questions. Evan White appears to be the heavy favorite to be the Opening Day first baseman after signing his 6-year deal this winter.

But White only has 4 games under his belt above the AA-level, and all 4 games came in 2018 as an emergency situation. White had a nice year in AA Arkansas and the power appears to have arrived but making the jump for AA to the big leagues is a lot to ask.

Steamer projects a .253/.310/.424 slash line with 19 home runs as a rookie. Not bad and if accurate would be a pretty nice rookie season. But if he can’t produce, will Seattle be willing to send him down?

And what about Kyle Lewis, the projected LF? Sure, he got a cup of coffee in September and hit 6 home runs with a .592 slugging percentage. But he struggled to make contact, striking out 38.7% of his PAs and didn’t walk, posting a .293 OBP.

Lewis may be really good, but there is a strong chance he needs a month or more in the minors to polish his game more.

Aside from those 2, there are a number of other questions that we need to find answers too. Is Shed Long Jr. for real? Can he play second every day? Are Jake Fraley and Braden Bishop bench options or everyday players? Can J.P. Crawford take another step? Who is the real Mallex Smith? Is Yusei Kikuchi just that bad? Can Justus Sheffield survive a full season in the rotation?

And the questions just keep going. Seattle’s decision to rebuild was the right one. But the amount of unnecessary pressure they are choosing to place on their young core is a risk. Very few answers will come in Spring Training, but until we see some results, this will remain a major question.

1. Who is the 5th starter?

The biggest question all winter has been about the Mariners rotation and we are still asking that question with 65% of the off-season complete. Seattle has acquired just one starting pitcher this winter, oft-injured righty Kendall Graveman, leaving massive questions in 2020.

Currently, even if we are assuming an entirely healthy staff entering Opening Day, that still leaves a sizable hole in their rotation. Assuming health, the current rotation consists of Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi, Graveman, Justus Sheffield, and… who knows?

We haven’t even seen the minor league free agents we are accustomed to seeing this time of year. If they do not add another arm, Justin Dunn appears to be the favorite to open the season in the fifth spot.

Dunn isn’t ready to get through 150 big league innings and unless moves are made, he will need to. Trusting Graveman to get you even 100 innings is a stretch. In all practicality, the Mariners have 3 starters locked into their Opening Day rotation and a whole lot of questions.

Thankfully, they still have time to get their arms. And while signing guys who may actually have trade value in July is certainly wiser, even bringing back Tommy Milone and Wade LeBlanc could help a lot.

Seattle could also acquire their arm via trade, either before spring training or during. But Seattle needs at least a few veterans to get through the first half of 2020 until Justin Dunn and Logan Gilbert may be ready to contribute at the big-league level.

Seattle could also employ the opener strategy, though they’d still need to add arms to make that work.

Until we have an answer, this will continue to be the biggest question surrounding the Mariners. They need arms badly and the longer they wait, the more difficult it may become.