Spring training winds down: Who'll stay, who'll go for Mariners?
PEORIA, Ariz. – There are now three days left of spring training here, and by the time the Seattle Mariners fly to Las Vegas on Thursday to play their final two games, they’ll have decided upon a 25-man roster.
Given that 39 players remain in camp today, that’s a lot of bad news to be given – and some high anxiety between now and then.
“I’ve been through this three years in a row, coming down to the final week with the chance to make a team,” Chris Shelton said. “You’re lying if you say you don’t think about it – this is your livelihood.”
Consider just some of the options the Mariners still have in camp: Wladimir Balentien, Mike Morse, Shawn Kelley, Chris Jakubauskas, Cesar Jimenez, Shelton, Jamie Burke, Rob Johnson, Randy Messenger, Reegie Corona, Garrett Olson, Jesus Delgado.
Only a few of those players will make the opening day roster.
“It’s fun, it’s exciting,” Jakubauskas said. “It’s human nature to think, ‘Can it happen for me this year?’ I’m starting the game, and that’s all I can do. Spring training has been a blast, and being here the last few days of camp? Hard to ask for more.”
Every spring, teams hope the final cuts are the toughest to make – it means there’s depth in the system. Still, there are teams that hand out jobs each year. And it doesn’t always come down to talent.
Balentien and Morse, for instance, are out of minor league options.
If the Mariners don’t keep them on the roster, they can become free agents. Corona is a Rule 5 draftee, and if he’s not on the roster, he must be offered back to the Yankees.
Right-hander Delgado, similarly, must be kept or placed on waivers, making him available to another team.
The optimal situation is to keep the best 25 players in camp. That rarely happens.
The front office and the manager and coaching staff usually agree on most decisions, but general managers hate losing any player they like to a last-day decision, and hate eating big salaries even more.
Is Miguel Batista one of the best pitchers on the staff? Moot point – he makes $9 million, and general manager Jack Zduriencik isn’t likely to give up Batista without trying to trade at least part of that contract.
For those on the bubble, the final days are a waiting game.
“Are you headed for Minnesota and the big leagues or to Fresno, or wherever Tacoma opens up?” asked Kelley. “You can’t help but wonder, ‘Where am I going?’”
“Everybody is waiting, waiting, waiting,” Jimenez said. “You try to make the decision easy for them.”
Sometimes, the issues are more than just who can help the team most.
If Balentien makes the team, for instance, he’ll likely play only against left-handers, and then come out in the late innings for defense. That’s a tough role for a 24-year-old, and it might mean a wasted season for him.
Given the chance, Balentien would snap at it.
“I was in the same situation the last week last spring,” Balentien said. “I was like the last cut. All I can do is play hard. I want to be part of this team.”
Similarly, Jimenez has had shoulder issues this spring and admits he still feels a slight pinch when warming up – though insists once he’s loose, there’s no problem. Does the team take him north, or start him on the disabled list to give him more time?
For players like Kelley, Johnson and Jakubauskas, this is the first time they’ve really had a chance to make a big-league team. For others, like Burke and Shelton, it’s been an every-year experience.
“I’m used to it, but I don’t know that it makes it easier,” Burke said. “Over a lot of springs, it wasn’t my time. This, I hope, is still my time.”
“I read Philippians 4, verse six the other day, which starts ‘Don’t be anxious about anything,’ and I’m leaning on that,” Johnson said. “To have an opportunity like this is a gift. All I can do is let my ability take over. I’m not going to worry about it.”
What’s the best way to survive the final week, when you have no control over the ultimate decision?
“Don’t think, just play,” Olson said.
“It’s not easy keeping it out of your mind,” Messenger said. “Every outing is magnified, everything you do is more intense. Part of this week is, they want to see how you react to that.”
blogs.thenewstribune.com/mariners
Monday
Seattle relievers
Jesus Delgado,
Mark Lowe and
Randy Messenger allowed seven runs over the final three innings, turning a pitching duel into an ugly, 9-7 loss to Milwaukee.
Today
Seattle plays at Cleveland in a 1:05 p.m. game (710-AM). Probable starting pitchers: Seattle’s
Chris Jabukauskas vs.
Scott Lewis.
Notable
Non-roster outfielder
Mike Wilson wanted to show the Mariners he had power and could drive in runs. After hitting his sixth home run of the spring in the fifth inning – then No. 7 with two outs in the ninth to tie the game – Wilson leads Seattle in home runs and RBI (17). ... No. 5 starter
Ryan Rowland-Smith threw six innings and allowed two runs – on a fifth-inning home run by
Prince Fielder. It was his strongest game of the spring, and followed a series of three games in which Seattle starters
Erik Bedard,
Felix Hernandez and
Carlos Silva were shelled. Rowland-Smith, who began the game 2-for-2 at the plate this spring, drew a walk and struck out in two appearances. ... Manager
Don Wakamatsu and pitching coach
Rick Adair took all 19 pitchers left in camp to the bullpen, not to pitch but to listen. “A lot of it had to do with their bullpen routines, signs, communication with catchers – how critical that stuff is,” Wakamatsu said. ... Shortstop
Yuniesky Betancourt is taking daily bunting drills and spending more time bunting for hits, not just sacrifices. The theory is that the occasional bunt for a hit would open up defensive holes by forcing the infield corners to play in for Betancourt. Will he try it in a game? Not even the Mariners know that. ... Reliever
Roy Corcoran offered no excuses after a couple subpar appearances. “I don’t care when they say you’re just working on things. It’s not like that,” Corcoran said. “I can’t go home and think that because it makes me feel weaker as a person, like I can get away with doing it. I can’t. Jack (Zduriencik) expressed that early in camp – your performance is going to dictate what happens, and there is a sense of urgency. I want to pitch well. But I haven’t. I will.” Coming off a year in which he had a 3.22 earned run average in 50 games, Corcoran has battled arm problems this spring – when hitters have batted .357 against him and his ERA has ballooned to 12.79. Still, it’s a small spring sample. Corcoran has pitched only 6 innings. ...
Ichiro Suzuki batted third against the Brewers and went 1-for-2. Of his 1,264 major league starts, only 13 have been in a spot other than leadoff. ...
Ken Griffey Jr. was smiling more broadly than usual. Wife
Melissa and the kids have rejoined him briefly during spring break. “After this, I’ll probably see them three times the rest of the season,” Griffey said. “It’s gonna be tough.” ... Even in a 17-12 loss,
Kenji Johjima earned praise from his manager. “Joh did a phenomenal job with (Jarrod) Washburn and made adjustments as the game went on and had four really clean innings,” Wakamatsu said. “What’s impressed me is Kenji went out of his way to go over and talk to the pitchers during the game, to work with them.” ... After battling high blood sugar all day Sunday – he was up in the high 300s – diabetic
Brandon Morrow suspected he had a problem with his insulin pump. He got it going again, and his sugar level soon dropped to 98. “I feel a whole lot better today,” Morrow said. He didn’t miss work either day.
Quotable
From Corcoran, on watching other relievers pitch well while he’s struggled: “It’s something I shouldn’t worry about right now, but it’s hard not to worry about it. You’ve got guys throwing the crap out of the ball.”
Larry LaRue, The News Tribune
