A ‘step back’ season for the Seattle Mariners in 2019? Many players don’t think it has to be

The phrase has hovered around the Seattle Mariners since general manager Jerry Dipoto first mentioned it during a busy offseason.

To move forward, the Mariners would have to take a “step back” in 2019, Dipoto said.

Mariners players have different ideas about what that means.

“I don’t think anyone can really define or project what’s going to happen this year,” said Opening Day starting pitcher Marco Gonzales earlier this spring in Peoria, Arizona.

Wednesday, Gonzales opened the club’s season with a win in Japan over the Oakland A’s, giving the Mariners — even if for a fleeting moment — the best record in baseball.

“We weren’t picked to do well last year, and came out hot out of the gate,” he added. “We just lost some steam. It’s hard to predict in this sport what’s going to happen.

“I’m foolishly hopeful, but I’d rather be that than doubt any of the guys in this room.”

The room has a lot of new and unfamiliar faces, which has contributed to much of the uncertainty surrounding the season. Many of the recognizable names are gone.

Slugger Nelson Cruz elected free agency in October, along with seven others who logged time with the Mariners.

November saw longtime Mariners catcher Mike Zunino and outfielder Guillermo Heredia traded to Tampa Bay, and starter James Paxton shipped off to the New York Yankees.

In December, second baseman Robinson Cano and closer Edwin Diaz left in a deal with the New York Mets; shortstop Jean Segura, righty Juan Nicasio and lefty James Pazos were traded to Philadelphia; and outfielder Ben Gamel was later sent to Milwaukee.

In a span of less than three months, the Mariners swapped players in nine separate transactions, acquiring some up-and-comers, and some more established players to create this new look for 2019.

“When you don’t win, and you don’t reach your goals, there have to be changes made,” said Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager, who is now one of the club’s longest-tenured players.

“We understand that. But, all of the guys in here have been a lot of fun. A lot of new, young faces. It’s been a really athletic and exciting group.”

Seager, who could be out until June recovering from surgery to repair a tendon in his left hand, is entering his ninth season with the Mariners since debuting with the major-league club in 2011.

Only former ace Felix Hernandez, in the final year of his contract and facing an uncertain future, has been with the Mariners longer. He is entering his 15th season since making his first major league start in 2005.

“It’s just me and Felix who have been here for any extended period of time,” Seager said. “It’s new. It changes every single year.”

Neither has been to the playoffs. No Mariners players have either, since 2001.

And to break that streak, Dipoto has turned the roster over, getting younger in some cases or veterans who are near the end of their contracts.

Seattle had 11 players listed on its Opening Day roster for the two-game series in Japan that weren’t with the club when the 2018 season ended.

Only four of those players — Hernandez, Ichiro Suzuki, Edwin Encarnacion and Jay Bruce — have completed at least 10 years of major league service.

Six of those players weren’t born yet when Suzuki, the oldest player on Seattle’s Opening Day roster at 45, who announced his retirement after the Mariners won their second game in Japan on Thursday, made his professional baseball debut in Japan in 1992. Former Washington Huskies standout Braden Bishop is the youngest at 25.

Seager and Gonzales acknowledge the change but point out there’s still a core left from a team that won 89 games in 2018.

“I kind of look at our lineup on paper and everything, and I don’t see any reason why we won’t score a lot of runs,” Seager said. “I think we have a lot of very talented players on this team.”

Gonzales said the influx of youth gave the Mariners a “dynamic vibe” at spring camp that will ideally carry over into the regular season.

“You have a lot more competition,” he said. “You have a lot faster-paced workouts, and young guys coming in and just being diligent about what they do.

“We’ve had a great group of guys that really want to learn, and want to get better, and that’s really where we need to start.”

The Mariners are trying to set a tone that translates into wins, Gonzales said.

“We want to create a winning culture,” he said. “I think to do that, we need to push each other in a healthy way, and play for each other, and pull the rope in the same direction.

“I think that’s where we’re trying to start.”

Mariners starter Wade LeBlanc thinks this year’s team may even been in a better position to make a deeper playoff push than in past seasons.

“It doesn’t feel like a step back at all,” he said. “My personal opinion, this team in a lot of ways feels better set up than last year for success. Last year, we had a lot of good players, and we had a really good chemistry, but you never know until the lights come on.

“It seems like we have a lot of athletic guys, a lot of defensive-minded guys that can also do damage at the plate. We lost a lot, but at the same time I think we replaced a lot of the stuff that we lost.”

LeBlanc, who has played professionally since 2006, says this Mariners team reminds him of the San Diego Padres team he played on in 2010.

Preseason projections had the Padres finishing last in the National League West, but the club led the division much of the season, and up until the final month.

“We weren’t expected to do anything — anything close to what we ended up accomplishing,” LeBlanc said.

“We had the young guys. We had that energy. And then we had those veteran pieces that could kind of keep those young guys off of the roller coaster, so to speak, and keep them as even-keeled as possible over the course of 162, which is really crucial.”

Domingo Santana, who hit his first career grand slam in Wednesday’s opener, said earlier this spring he notices a similar energy to when he was with a young Brewers team that challenged for a playoff spot in 2017.

“Obviously here they have more veterans than we had with the Brewers, but at the same time, you see the same thing,” said Santana. “We all know we’re trying to compete and raise the bar a little bit.”

Mariners manager Scott Servais consistently pointed toward the future throughout spring training, noting the progression of the newer, younger players — but not at the expense of this season.

“It’s fun to watch these young guys,” he said. “They’re taking advantage of opportunity. They’re comfortable. And, when you get comfortable, and you want to show people how good you can be, and everything is lined up right, the talent comes out.

“And there’s plenty of talent in our clubhouse right now with the young players we have.”

Even if some of those players don’t break with the Mariners as the season begins, or even by the time it ends, Servais said the future of the club appears bright.

“I’m very excited about the next couple of waves that are coming,” he said. “Both sides — the position players and the pitching. There’s a lot to look forward to.”

This story was originally published March 21, 2019 at 9:28 AM.