Learning more about Amador Arias, the Seattle Mariners Rule 5 draftee

The Seattle Mariners selected Amador Arias in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 Draft

The Seattle Mariners made two selections in the Rule 5 Draft which happened during the (virtual) Winter Meetings last week. The Mariners chose Will Vest in the MLB portion and selected Amador Arias in the Triple-A portion. Arias was in the Tampa Bay Rays organization and will now be required to be a part of the Mariners’ Triple-A roster, but is allowed to play on any Mariners minor league team.

Amador Arias (technically Amador Arias Jr.) is a 20-year-old switch-hitting infielder out of Venezuela. The Tampa Bay Rays signed him to a minor league deal in August 2016. After joining the Rays, he spent two summers in the Dominican Summer League. In 2019, Arias played in the Gulf Coast League (Rookie Ball) as a young 18-year-old.

Amador Arias has not produced offensively in his young professional career thus far. He posted a .127 batting average in 2017, a .236 average in 2018, and a .227 average in 2019. Amador Arias is listed as a third baseman, but he has played second and shortstop in his career. The addition of Arias to the organization is not meant to make an immediate impact on the team, but rather to add more depth.

There is not too much information on Amador Arias, probably because he is so young and was not a highly touted Rays prospect. It looks like hitting is a weakness of Arias right now, but I am assuming he has a good glove considering he is a young international player out of Venezuela.

The young infielder is 5’11”, but weighs around 145lbs. But according to some other sites, Arias is closer to 6’1″ and 165lbs. As he goes into the 2021 season, I assume a major area of focus for Arias would be to add some muscle. At the moment, Arias has not shown any glimmers of becoming a star like Julio Rodriguez, but you never know what could happen over the next couple of years.

Also an interesting note, Amador Arias’s dad is a Chicago White Sox scout who is apparently friends with former big leaguer Cesar Izturis Sr. Izturis’s son is a Mariners prospect right now so this could also be an attempt to bring two family friends together.

Even with his poor numbers, I presume the Seattle Mariners did some scouting and saw something they liked. Otherwise, there would be no reason for the Mariners to select him in the Triple-A portion of the Rule 5 Draft. Amador Arias has limited experience in the minor leagues, so I expect him to spend some time in Single-A and Double-A in 2021.