Mariners' Julio Rodríguez is quietly making a run at MLB history in 2025

On Monday, Dave 'Softy' Mahler, Dick Fain and Jackson Felts had an in-depth conversation on 93.3 KJR about Julio Rodríguez and whether he has lived up to expectations since signing his long-term contract extension with the Seattle Mariners in August 2022. The general consensus was that, while he's had his moments of brilliance, overall he's been a disappointment.

The distinction in this, though, is that the disappointment relates to Rodríguez's inconsistency with the bat. By contrast when it comes to his defense, he's been tremendous throughout his time in the Mariners outfield and if anything, he's been even better than usual so far this year.

One of the best ways to illustrate just how excellent Rodríguez has been is Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), a notable component by The Fielding Bible that's utilized by FanGraphs to assess a player's defensive value. And when it comes to this, the Mariners center fielder is really standing out in 2025.

Already a career year for Julio Rodríguez

As of Thursday morning, Rodríguez has already set a career-high with 11 DRS, and he ranks only behind Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves and the Tampa Bay Rays' Taylor Walls among all MLB defenders. The question is, just how special could this season be for the 2022 AL Rookie of the Year when it comes to his defensive exploits?

While we of course can't be sure if Rodríguez will get there, if he can find a way to reach 30 DRS, he would become just the seventh Major League outfielder to achieve this in a season. Interestingly, the Mariners are already well-represented in this regard, with Franklin Gutiérrez in 2009 (33) and Ichiro Suzuki in 2004 (30).

For more context, the all-time record for an outfielder is 38 DRS by Kevin Kiermaier in 2015 with the Rays...but let's not get that far ahead of ourselves!

Mariners' home can help Julio Rodríguez get the job done

In any event, what about Rodríguez?

Well, aside from the fact that the two-time All-Star is outstanding defensively, he has the added advantage of playing half of his games at T-Mobile Park. As a pitcher-friendly stadium, Mariners fans know it's a good place for fly-ball catchers, which can only help their superstar with accumulating more DRS.

Ultimately, there's little denying the Mariners would prefer to choose more consistent results by Rodríguez at the plate, and take a huge step towards living up to his undoubted top-tier potential and dominating games as he's truly capable of. However, if he can also continue to quietly make a run at MLB history with his defensive exploits, no one will be complaining.

Recent Posts