Scott Servais and the Mariners will have a fine line to walk with rest management

What an awful Sunday night in 2021 it was. Seeing Mitch Haniger injured yet again felt like an ‘of course that just happened’ kind of moment. Like you finally got the punchline of a sick joke your buddies have been playing on you all day. Watching him limp off with Servais under his arm felt helpless as a fan. I can only imagine what was going through Mitch and Scott’s minds.

That said, I think we can all assume the Skipper will be hyper-vigilant about doing everything he can to prevent being in the same position. That’s going to include some of the most important guys on this team riding pine from time to time. In past years Servais has used the Designated Hitter spot in the lineup for such occasions. As a way to manage playing time and rest days.

That will be largely unavailable this year though because of our second favorite Mitch. So how will the lineup fare when one or more starters are rooting from the top step in the dugout? How much rest do some of these guys really need? Let’s take a look at the different tiers of guys, how much rest they’ll need and how Servais might approach it.

All Day & Tomorrow (150+ games)

Only two guys on this list. Good thing they play the most important defensive positions on the field that aren’t part of the battery. JP and Julio will be manning Short and Center respectively just about every game and will be one two in the lineup if Crawford is the stalwart lead off guy he wound up being last season.

The dependability of these two guys is maybe the best thing about this Seattle lineup. 145 games in back-to-back years from your Shortstop and emotional leader is something most teams would club baby seals for. In his Sophomore season, Julio laced it up 155 times, something the best hitter and player on this (maybe any) team must be able to do if a pennant is the goal. The few times they sit expect Josh Rojas to see most of the backup reps at SS with Luke Raley sliding into Center. If a major injury occurs we likely see Bliss/Marlowe get the call.

Regular Forcible Rest (125+ games)

Another two man group here, which bodes terribly for the rest of the list. Newly acquired Jorge Polanco and old best buddy Ty France love ball. They love ball so much that they play through injuries even when they shouldn’t. The anxiety surrounding the right side of the infield should be at an all-time high. The first thing that needs to be pointed out is that when these two guys are going right they are ‘best hitter on the team’ caliber guys.

France was a revelation in ‘21 hitting .291 with an OPS+ of 128 playing in 152 games. The fact that he rode 18 balls out was just an awesome perk. That same year Polanco hit .269 with 33 jacks and 98 RBI over the exact same 152 games. If those two guys show up for the M’s this year it’s going to get wild and there will most likely be a parade. Polanco has a much longer track record in the bigs than Ty but after the 2021 season injuries have started to dominate the narrative for both.

Ty played in 158 games last year and 140 the year before that. Forearm injuries have plagued him for a while now and it might be time to consider a more measured approach. Polanco is of a similar ilk, ten times since the ‘21 season he’s posted an injury and nine of those were beneath the waist. He only managed to get in 80 games last year.

This has to be a bounce-back year health-wise. I think it’s reasonable to expect 125+ games from these two, much more than that and some Tacoma guys might be getting more playing time than anybody is comfortable with. Expect around 35 games featuring a combination of Rojas, Moore, Taylor, and Bliss at second. Raley stands to fill in capably at first but as he’s also involved in an outfield platoon there will have to be other guys like Moore and possibly a Garver sighting at first. 

Mariners and Platoons+

The plus in this case is older guys with injury histories. The great news is that Haniger is already going to be in a 3 man corner outfield platoon with Raley and Canzone so his reps should be limited by that anyway. The not so great part is that he’s the only right hander in that triplet. You can throw Moore in, though I’d rather see his spot given to speedster Samad Taylor. He hits from the right as well and is almost as versatile as Dylan defensively.

The other uncertain platoon is third base. As it stands you can watch what you think of Urias’ ability to throw with an injured shoulder, (yeesh). Rojas is the left hand hitter but will be seeing time at second and short also. Non-roster invite Brian Reynolds could fill in for an injured Urias until he can get right. The other way this could play involves Polanco playing mostly third and Ryan Bliss bombing his way into a shot at handling 2nd.

In both scenarios, Josh Rojas is your infield rest and stop-gap guy along with Moore and possibly Taylor depending on what’s asked of them in the outfield. The ability to have Moore, Taylor, Raley, and Haggerty all man both grass and dirt will be huge for this team. Though one or two of those guys might not fit on the roster all at once. The other natural platoon position is Catcher but that’s going to get a whole section to itself as it couples with DH.

Seattle Skipper Scott Servais and his thoughts

We haven’t really seen this kind of Mariner set up in some time with a nearly full-time DH. We can only guess what the playing time breakdown will ultimately look like, but the Mariner Manager had a few interesting quotes to help illuminate a few things in a piece by Daniel Kramer from MLB.com.
When he asked Servias about platooning, 4th outfielder designations, and matchup rotations, he responded...

“I think all of them may be correct...Not just me, but most managers, you ride the hot hand... There’ll be some guys that are not going to be happy every day not being in the lineup, but that's a good thing”

Scott isn’t too big on giving precise answers on these kinds of things, for instance in his spring training interview with Brock and Salk of Seattle Sports the skipper wouldn’t even name Castillo the opening day starter. Rather saying that he is “definitely one of the best 5 starters this year”. 

We do know that Servais has played the right vs left matchup rather heavily when constructing his lineups. Canzone, Raley and Rojas get most of the run against RHP, while Haniger, Urias, Moore and Taylor see more LHP. 

All in all I think this breakdown of plate appearances is likely for each platoon player:

Dylan Moore and Samad Taylor probably split 250 appearances with the majority of them coming in corner OF spots. I think those splits give everybody enough rest and keep the lineup potent. I can say with confidence in any case, I trust Servais to pull the right levers. He’ll also be getting a ton of input from newcomer Brant Brown on approaching matchups. May the odds be ever in our favor.

Lots of love and GO Mariners!