‘We just have to be patient.’ Mariners will stay in Peoria, limit workouts over weekend
Seattle Mariners starters Justin Dunn and Taijuan Walker were throwing bullpen sessions Thursday at the Peoria Sports Complex, preparing just like they would any other day, when manager Scott Servais walked over and told them to shut it down.
The directive had officially come down from MLB — baseball would follow the precedent other professional sports leagues set, postponing games in an effort to slow the nationwide coronavirus outbreak.
The remainder of spring training games in both Arizona and Florida would be canceled, and Opening Day delayed at least two weeks, the regular season now tentatively set to begin April 9.
“You never really get told to shut a bullpen down,” Dunn said during a conference call Friday. “We knew it was important. We were glad to get some information, and glad that we’re trying to get things under control, and do the right thing for everybody.
“We’re just hoping to get some more information, and keep learning about what’s going on, and how we’re going to handle the whole process.”
The Mariners had two weeks of Cactus League games remaining before Thursday’s announcement, and though it was uncertain where they would begin their season, they were still on track to take the field March 26 against the Rangers.
They went through a somewhat altered morning routine due to rain, wondering if it would impact the two games they were slated to play that afternoon — a split squad day against the Reds and Royals.
Hours later, the entire baseball season was shrouded in uncertainty.
“Yesterday was one of the craziest days I’ve ever had in baseball,” Servais said during a conference call Friday. “I went through the strike as a player. I can only compare it to that. Players sat around in the clubhouse. We went through our normal morning meeting, interviewing a few guys, understanding we were probably getting some news on direction later in the day.
“Then when (Mariners chairman) John Stanton came down addressed the team on the delay to the start of the season, and all those things, it was pretty surreal. Not just baseball, but all over our country with the number of live sporting events that have been shut down, a lot of people are impacted.
“But, that is not the important thing here. The important thing is we do the right thing for everybody in our country, and certainly Seattle where it’s been hit really, really hard. You see the number of people that are struggling and dealing with the situation health-wise, but also what it’s done to the economy. It really affects everybody.
“Baseball is really just a very, very minute part of this. We will adjust. We will be back. It just has to be at the right time.”
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow will we cover spring training in 2020?
The Seattle Mariners are ready to report to spring training and so is The News Tribune. Beat reporter Lauren Smith will be on the ground in Peoria, Ariz., from the first full squad practice. And our coverage will continue through the final roster decisions at the end of March, bringing fans the latest on the second year of Seattle’s rebuild. Click on the arrow in the top right for more.
Looking to the future
While the Mariners aren’t exactly expected to contend for a playoff spot in 2020, these six weeks of preseason workouts and games will give us a closer look at some of the top prospects — like outfielders Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez, and former first-round draft pick Logan Gilbert — expected to be key pieces of the club’s future, and some of the young players battling for Opening Day roster spots. We’ll also be able to catch up with the more experienced players — like veteran third-baseman Kyle Seager and ace pitcher Marco Gonzales — already in Seattle’s clubhouse.
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Dunn said “relief, but then more questions” followed the decision to shut down spring games and delay the season.
“I’ve been monitoring it for a while,” he said. “My add works for the DOH in New York, so I’ve been getting updates on this since it really first got going. But, then to see what happened in the (NBA), and you realize how quickly it could spread through a league with one person getting it, and now they’re all touching the same ball or same puck, and you realize it’s probably best for everybody in that situation to just shut it down and get things under control, and keep everybody’s best interests at heart.
“So, in a way, I kind of saw this coming, but you never really think it’s real until it happens.”
For now, the Mariners, like the other 29 clubs, are waiting for further instructions from MLB and the MLB Players Association.
They plan to remain at their facility in Peoria until the season begins, but will only hold light workouts this weekend as they await more clarification Monday. Workouts are currently closed to the public and the media.
The Mariners had their regular morning meeting scheduled Friday, but no organized field workouts planned. There will be no batting practice, defensive drills, base running drills or pitchers throwing sides, and groups will be limited to 20-25 players working out together versus the usual groups which can be twice that size.
Seattle still has 49 players (and another on the 60-day IL) in major league camp, and shares its building with about 150 of its minor leaguers on the other side, as well as essential staff.
“The facility will be open at certain times for guys to come in, if they want go out and play catch, keep their arms alive, get in the weight room for a workout there,” Servais said. “We want to do the right thing. ... We’ve come up with a plan as far as limiting the number of people that are in the building at the same time — just the exposure that creates to everyone.
“Certainly want to be very cognizant of wiping down the weight room equipment, everything you’re doing with the people in the building. I think just reducing the number of people in the building at the same time is the one thing we can do.”
Servais noted every organization might be approaching this differently at their own facilities, but there should be more clarity Monday.
“When we get to Monday and we’ve got clear direction, we may pick up some of the baseball activity, but for right now it’s really day-to-day,” he said. “We’re just looking to try to get through the weekend, and then reevaluate where we are.”
The Mariners were getting closer to nailing down their final roster, shaving the number of players in big league camp from 71 to 49 over the past two weeks. Servais said he’s been most impressed with Seattle’s young pitching, and the development several young players have shown this spring.
“That’s probably the most disappointing thing for me, is that we’d made a lot of headway as far as how relationships were going and what we were doing with player plans,” Servais said. “You hate to lose the momentum that we had there, but things are out of our control.”
As they wait for another directive, Servais said the Mariners will slow things down, but also keep their players active ahead of the regular season — whenever it may begin.
“We just have to be patient,” Servais said. “We have to communicate the best we can with our players. ... It is what it is, we’ve got to deal with it and everybody else is trying to do the best we can just like we are.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 10:23 AM.
