3 Options for the Mariners at 3rd Base if Luis Urias is Hurt

Option #2: Move Polanco to 3rd and/or give the young guns a chance

When the Seattle Mariners traded four pieces to the Minnesota Twins for Jorge Polanco, the focus on the deal was acquiring a potential all-star caliber bat, not a gold glover. While Polanco is considered a slightly below-average defender, his ability to play both second base and third may prove to be extremely valuable.

If Josh Rojas ends up reverting to his 2023 Arizona numbers, and the backups are playing like backups, then Seattle may need to make some tough decisions by the first month plus of the season. This also likely means that Seattle will decide (be forced) to give some of the young talented prospects in their system an early shot.

In this scenario, there are a few routes Seattle could take. The most obvious move would be calling up Ryan Bliss to play 2nd base. Bliss had an extremely productive run after joining the Mariners in Tacoma and dominated in the AFL. Watch some of his tape and it doesn't take long for him to not remind you of a certain arch-rival 2nd baseman in Houston. Altuve has put up Hall of Fame caliber numbers (cheater), so the comparison is unfair, but the speed and aggression are there for Bliss.

While Bliss would likely be the man in this aggressive scenario, don't be stunned if at some point we see Polanco stay or go back to 2nd base, while the M’s call up promising prospect Tyler Locklear, who can play both infielder corners, or maybe even super prospect Cole Young.

Dipoto in a recent interview discussed how excited they are about these two guys, and how they may be closer to the Show than people think. Judging by what we saw from Cole Young so far in Spring Training, the future may be the present.