Apparent end of Mariners' switch-pitcher dreams was overdue and inevitable

As fans may or may not know, Jurrangelo Cijntje is able to speak fluently in English, Spanish, Dutch, and Papiamento. And given an important decision the Mariners have just made regarding his future, this ability to speak multiple languages might come in useful in case he wants to swear within hearing distance of anyone from the organization.

On Sunday during the Mariners' FanFest, general manager Justin Hollander confirmed Cijntje will be focused on throwing right-handed during spring training. As per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com:

"We think that's his highest ceiling, as a right-handed starter. I think as part of his routine and part of his sort of high-performance buildup and body management, having him continue to work left-handed is valuable. We may bring it back at some point. But for the start of camp and for the foreseeable future, he's going to pitch right-handed in games."

Justin Hollander

This move genuinely feels like a big shame, because it's not often that you have a talented switch-pitcher on your roster. The potential to ultilize Cijntje in more situations compared to the average arm was undoubtedly appealing, and something the Mariners were hoping would come to fruition.

Mariners gave it a chance but have made the right call

However, the signs were there during last season that the 2024 15th overall draft pick just wasn't going to be effective enough as a lefty. SoDo Mojo's Jason Wang wrote about his struggles in 2025, including the following damning breakdown:

• vs. RHB as LHP: 1.103 OPS
• vs. LHB as LHP: 1.114 OPS

Fortunately for Cijntje and the Mariners, removing his rare weapon as a switch-pitcher doesn't suddenly stop him from being a promising prospect for the organization. Even as 'only' a righty, he's still an excellent athlete who has a lot of potential to become a starter in the majors, reflected accordingly with MLB Pipeline recently ranking him as the No. 91 prospect in all of baseball.

MLB Pipeline made reference to the Netherlands native being a better strike-thrower from the right side, along with his fastball being consistently in the upper-90s compared to topping out in the mid-90s from his left side. Baseball America (subscription required) continued in a similar theme, including noting his best secondary pitch — the slider — has a bit more sweep from the right side.

Plenty of reason to be encouraged by Jurrangelo Cijntje

As much as you would never blame the Mariners for finding out what Cijntje could offer as a southpaw, there has to be some excitement to see if now focusing on his right-handed pitching can hasten his development. He's already pitched in Double-A Arkansas and while seven starts and 33.2 combined innings isn't a big sample size, producing a 2.67 ERA in that time is certainly encouraging.

On the subject of encouraging, Mariners fans will be happy about the 22-year-old's commitment to becoming a better player, with him turning down an invitation to pitch for Team Netherlands in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. As per Kramer, he said:

"Going into this year, I was down to go, and then I got the invite. And I was like, 'I'll think about it with my family and my agent and all that.' And I think it was best for me to stick and go to a big league camp. Because that's something that probably will help me to make it especially. You want to play around these guys, too."

Jurrangelo Cijntje

With that type of mindset, it only helps improve Cijntje's chances of making it to the majors and becoming a success for the Mariners. In fact, if there's any player with the ability to achieve this with one hand tied behind their back, surely it has to be someone who's ambidextrous.