Every Friday, we dive into the top headlines surrounding the hometown team and highlight the biggest blast of the week. This edition of "Headlines and Homers" includes an intriguing free agent signing, a rising prospect, and an absolute missile in San Diego.
Headline #1: Mariners Tap into Mexican League for Veteran
Mariners' Twitter went wild Thursday afternoon, which was a welcome sight with the team enjoying an off day ahead of a critical series with the Angels. The catalyst was President of Baseball Operations, Jerry Dipoto, reaching into the Mexican League for Didi Gregorius.
The 33-year-old infielder was second in the Mexican circuit in OPS (1.208) and first in homers (11) upon the signing. Could this spell the end of the Kolten Wong experience? Time will tell, but if Didi hits the ground running with the Rainiers, his time in AAA could be short-lived.
Headline #2: Clase Continues to Rise
Outfielder Jonatan Clase has seamlessly transitioned from Everett to Arkansas this season, and the results are astounding.
The Mariners' 8th-rated prospect still has a high strikeout rate (32.1%), but the walk rate (13.6%) helps balance the offensive profile. Clase must cut down on the swing and miss to jump to Tacoma. Scouts believe he will join the MLB Pipeline Top 100 at season's end.
Headline #3: Prime Babe Ruth Won't Save the Season
Jerry Dipoto joined Brock and Salk (Seattle Sports 710) to discuss his team's disappointing performance. Topics included getting the current roster to return to the dominate the zone philosophy and the summer trade market. When asked about available targets to infuse the team offensively, Dipoto offered up an interesting quote.
He said that if the team's performance over the next month improves, they will look for trade options to fix the problems with the roster.
Homer of the Week
There is something about seeing Julio Rodriguez demolish a baseball. In San Diego this week, he did just that, hammering the first offering from Padres' reliever Steven Wilson into the left centerfield bleachers.
On a side note, another solid call from Mariner's play-by-play announcer Aaron Goldsmith. Here's hoping we hear more of those in this weekend's series with the Angels.