Seattle Mariners: 3 players who could be cut before Opening Day

SEATTLE, WA - AUGUST 23: Braden Bishop #5 of the Seattle Mariners walks off the field after an at-bat during a game against the Texas Rangersat T-Mobile Park on August 23, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners won 4-1. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - AUGUST 23: Braden Bishop #5 of the Seattle Mariners walks off the field after an at-bat during a game against the Texas Rangersat T-Mobile Park on August 23, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners won 4-1. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /
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Seattle Mariners Donovan Walton
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JULY 16: Donovan Walton #31 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after striking out in the second inning during a summer workouts intrasquad game at T-Mobile Park on July 16, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Donavan Walton

The Mariners have 9 infielders on their 40 man roster, 3 of whom will undoubtedly be everyday starters (Seager, Crawford, White), and then Dylan Moore, Shed Long, and Ty France will almost certainly all be on the opening day roster if healthy.

That leaves Jose Marmolejos (who I just talked about), Sam Haggerty, and Donavan Walton. While I don’t think anyone in that group is safe from possibly getting cut, Donavan Walton, along with Marmolejos, are the two I see getting cut first.

Donnie Walton has had some opportunities in the bigs and has not capitalized on them, with 33 plate appearances over the past two seasons and just 5 hits. That gives him a .172 batting average and he has a .480 OPS in that time.

Walton has decent minor league numbers having a .775 OPS over 4 seasons, but none of his stats really wow you and he has had inconsistent hitting stats year to year and level to level.

I think he is safer than Marmolejos as he still has some minor league options left, is only 26, and has never played in AAA, but even if there are depth problems in the infield if injuries pile up, the Mariners might go the route of signing someone before they give Walton at-bats.