Mariners Face Tough Roster Decisions

The Mariners have an impending roster crunch, including finding ways to get a trio of key players (Andres Munoz, Penn Murfee, and Dylan Moore) on the 26-man. Of course, there are easy ways to get the relievers aboard, such as sending rookie Juan Then back to Arkansas and possibly designating Chris Flexen for assignment. But the tough decisions center around Moore, who the team signed to a three-year extension this past offseason.

The thirty-year-old utilityman is currently with the Tacoma Rainiers on a rehab assignment. He's rotated between shortstop and designated hitter duty (.400, 2 RBI, 1 SB). However, there is a good chance they allow him to regain his timing with more games in the next week – especially with the big-league team on an extended homestand. Per Seattle Times reporter Ryan Divish the thought is Moore might be able to join the team on the next road trip, which starts on June 2nd in Texas.

While it is always good to improve the health of the roster by getting rehabbing players back, there are some fairly difficult decisions ahead. Mainly, what does General Manager Justin Hollander do to create space for Moore? Let's cycle through three possible options to get the veteran sparkplug back to Seattle and on the field.

Option #1: Send Taylor Trammell to Tacoma

Taylor Trammell is playing one to two days a week. For a player still figuring it out, that's not good enough. The 26-year-old outfielder needs consistent at-bats and with Jarred Kelenic's emergence, he won't get them in Seattle. The result is a minute sample size (35 AB), and minimal run. It's hard to expect Trammell to get into any kind of groove offensively when his name is only in the lineup card a couple of days a week.

Additionally, Trammell has an odd stat line in that he has five hits with three being homers, including this big blast in his first at-bat of the season.

He's always been a lightning rod for positivity, and someone fans tend to love. Unfortunately, Manager Scott Servais already has Jarred Kelenic, Julio Rodriguez, Teoscar Hernandez, A.J. Pollock, and utilityman Sam Haggerty on the roster. Despite Trammell's unique power, speed combination, and ability to play all three outfield positions, there is a good chance he will shortly toil in Cheney Stadium.

Option #2: Send Sam Haggerty to Tacoma

Before this week, Haggerty, as mentioned above, struggled to amass a .162/.262/.478 slash line in 37 at-bats. The veteran utilityman is another player doomed to small sample sizes, but as last season showed, he tends to play well when protected against overexposure.

However, the 29-year-old speedster made his case to stay when Dylan Moore returns by having his best game of the year this week. He handled first base giving Ty France the day off after an injury scare, making a spectacular play to get Ryan Noda out on a swipe tag. Remember, that was only his third game at the position EVER. But the best development was Sam Haggerty going back to his roots, hammering a double off lefty Ken Waldichuck that broke the game open.

Haggerty has always seen lefties better authoring a sizable platoon split against southpaws (.279). One thing to remember about Haggerty is that the defensive versatility and ability to steal bags late in games give Servais a real weapon off the bench. Those factors alone might be enough to keep him around.