Who breaks camp with the Mariners? Here is TNT’s 30-man roster projection
Four months after the Seattle Mariners were supposed to open the 2020 season against Texas, baseball’s actual Opening Day is just a few days away.
After a three-month baseball shutdown due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, unproductive negotiations between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players’ Association that seemed endless, and a three-week summer camp period to get ready for a 60-game sprint, the Mariners open Friday night in Houston.
But, what will their expanded 30-man roster look like?
The News Tribune takes a look at who could break camp with the team as they prepare for 20 consecutive games before their first off day in August.
STARTING ROTATION (6)
LHP Marco Gonzales
RHP Taijuan Walker
LHP Yusei Kikuchi
RHP Kendall Graveman
LHP Justus Sheffield
RHP Justin Dunn
The skinny: The Mariners announced their six-man starting rotation earlier this week, and will alternate their righties and lefties. The plan is to keep this rotation in tact for the entirety of the season to give the starters the chance to build up innings after such a long break. … Marco Gonzales will make his second consecutive Opening Day start when the Mariners meet the Astros on Friday and oppose two-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander. Gonzales was Seattle’s most reliable starter a season ago, finishing 16-13 with a 3.99 ERA. His 34 starts led the majors, he tallied 203 innings and routinely pitched late into games. “My No. 1 priority is to eat up as many innings as I can and go out and win a ballgame,” Gonzales said after his second and final intrasquad start Saturday. He signed a four-year, $30 million extension with the Mariners in February. … Walker, Seattle’s first-round draft pick back in 2010, lines up against Lance McCullers Jr., another former first-rounder, in the Houston series. He’s back with the Mariners after three seasons with the Diamondbacks — two of those spent undergoing and recovering from Tommy John surgery — and says he’s “way different” than the pitcher that left Seattle in 2016. … Kikuchi impressed in spring training with his new delivery, and kept up with his rigorous throwing program during the shutdown. He struggled with command during his first intrasquad outing last week, but the Mariners have reason to believe he can improve on a shaky debut in 2019. Kikuchi will pitch opposite Zack Greinke in Houston. … Graveman’s first start against the Astros’ Josh James will be his first in the big leagues in more than two years after undergoing Tommy John in 2018. He’s “ready to pitch,” he said earlier in camp, and looked sharp in his first intrasquad outing, adding a four-seamer to complement his usual sinker. … Newcomers Sheffield and Dunn, who bonded during their time spent with Double-A Arkansas last summer, round out the group. Sheffield has a bit more big league experience, appearing in eight games for Seattle last year while Dunn started four during his September call-up, but both are out to prove they belong in the rotation long term. They’ll get their first chance to when the Mariners head to Anaheim at the end of the month. “As long as we keep going and pushing each other, I feel like we’re going to be pretty good in the future,” Sheffield said after the two opposed each other in an intrasquad game for the second time Thursday. … Seattle’s three most recent first-round draft picks — Logan Gilbert (2018), George Kirby (2019) and Emerson Hancock (2020) — are all starters, but will likely spend the entirety of the summer developing in Tacoma. Gilbert is the only pitcher of the three with an outside shot of debuting — he’s handled Seattle’s big league hitters well in two intrasquad outings, striking out seven — but the club is unlikely to rush him to the majors in a short season.
CATCHERS (2)
Tom Murphy
Austin Nola
The skinny: This hasn’t changed. Murphy and Nola entered spring training as the projected catching tandem for the Mariners this season, and that is still the case. Neither opened 2019 with Seattle — Murphy arrived following the season-opening Japan series via a trade with San Francisco, and Nola was promoted from Triple-A Tacoma in June to fill a roster gap — but both hit well enough to stick. Murphy hit .273/.324/.535 with 18 homers in 75 games for the Mariners in 2019, while Nola hit .269/.342/.454 in 79 games, primarily playing first base. Trading last year’s primary catcher Omar Narvaez to the Brewers in December made it clear the club planned to move forward with Murphy and Nola. Murphy has dealt with a foot contusion during camp, but projects as the Opening Day starter. Nola will also get plenty of reps behind the plate this season, and offers the Mariners an additional utility option as a former infielder. … The Mariners have three more catchers — Joe Hudson, Brian O’Keefe and top catching prospect Cal Raleigh — in their 60-man player pool. Hudson is the only catcher of the remaining three with big league experience, though he did not clear health protocols until last week, and has appeared in just two intrasquad games since joining camp. If he is not game ready by Opening Day, O’Keefe is the most likely catching candidate for Seattle’s three-man traveling taxi squad. Raleigh is projected to continue his development in Tacoma this summer with the other up-and-coming prospects in Seattle’s player pool.
INFIELDERS (7)
1B Evan White
2B Shed Long Jr.
SS J.P. Crawford
3B Kyle Seager
UTIL Dee Gordon
UTIL Sam Haggerty
UTIL Tim Lopes
The skinny: White will finally get his long-awaited major league debut after signing an unprecedented six-year deal with the Mariners in November. He has already flashed Gold Glove-caliber defense in camp, and his bat is coming around, too. … Long has had a slow start at the plate in camp, but he will still get a long look as Seattle’s everyday second baseman this season. … The Mariners expect Crawford to make a substantial jump in his second season with the club, and he’s indicated he’s ready to take on a bigger leadership role. “Certainly you want your guys in the middle of the field — your catchers, your middle infielders, your center fielder — they need to lead,” Servais said earlier in camp. “He’s aware of that, and I’m excited to see it.” … Now the longest-tenured Mariner, Seager will resume his regular role at third. Here’s a two-run homer he laced to right field the other day. … With the expanded 30-man roster to open the season, the Mariners have the chance to carry a handful of utility players, and Gordon, Haggerty and Lopes seem the three most likely start with the big league club. Gordon, Seattle’s former everyday second baseman, has moved into a utility role this season to make room for Long, and is in the final season of a five-year deal. Lopes, who debuted last year, raked in spring training and carried that production over to summer camp. “He’s not going to back off,” Servais said earlier in camp. “I think he’s saying, ‘Hey, I can hit, I’m going to show you guys I can hit, and I ain’t backing down.’ ” Haggerty was an offseason pickup from the Mets, and was dealing with an elbow injury when spring training shut down, but has been one of Seattle’s most productive players in summer camp, which should earn him a spot on the Opening Day roster. He’s also a switch hitter. Gordon, Haggerty and Lopes all have positional flexibility, giving the Mariners plenty of options in 20 consecutive games to open the season, and additional help in a short-handed outfield.
OUTFIELDERS (3)
LF Jake Fraley
CF Mallex Smith
RF Kyle Lewis
The skinny: Seattle’s utility players offer enough versatility that the club can afford to carry just three true outfielders on the 30-man. … Smith, last season’s everyday center fielder, was a late arrival to summer camp, but believes he will be ready to go Opening Day. “I’m extremely confident in my ability to show up and perform,” he said after his first intrasquad appearance last week. He’s 4-for-8 with a double and RBI in two games so far, and the speed that earned him a league-leading 46 stolen bases last season still plays. … Lewis has been one of the most exciting Mariners to watch in summer camp, and has continued to build off his power-packed debut last September. He hit a pair of dingers in Seattle’s first intrasquad game and is 7-for-19 with a double, three homers and five RBI through seven starts. … Fraley hasn’t had the most productive summer camp, and was dealing with a stomach bug last week, but now is his opportunity to prove he belongs in the big leagues — and he knows it. … Should the Mariners opt to carry a fourth true outfielder, UW product Braden Bishop would be next up. His defense has been sharp in camp, but his bat is still coming around. … Seattle is still without former All-Star right fielder Mitch Haniger, who continues to recover from multiple offseason surgeries and has not yet resumed baseball activity. He’s currently on the 45-day injured list, not in the 60-man player pool, and there’s a chance the Mariners don’t see him at all in 2020. … Fans can continue to dream about the future, but probably won’t see top prospect Jarred Kelenic roaming the Mariners’ outfield this season. He’s made a convincing argument during summer camp to be elevated to the active roster, but the Mariners don’t want to rush the 21-year-old slugger to the big leagues. “I think we need to be smart here,” Servais said last week. “Certainly Jarred’s got tremendous talent, there’s no question. He’s gong to be fun to watch in a Mariner uniform for a long time, but oftentimes you see players that do get rushed through a little bit, and they can really take a step backwards, and we don’t want to do that with Jarred. We want to make sure the time is right for him and for us, and then go forward and never have to look back again.” … Seattle’s other top outfield prospect, 19-year-old Julio Rodriguez, wasn’t projected to make the Opening Day roster, but will miss out on 4-6 weeks of development time in Tacoma this summer after fracturing his left wrist during a drill last week.
DESIGNATED HITTER (1)
Daniel Vogelbach
The skinny: Out of minor league options, Vogelbach entered last season needing to prove he could perform against big league pitching. He had a hot first half, slashing at .238/.375/.505 with 21 of his team-high 30 homers, and was named Seattle’s only All-Star. His numbers dipped in the second half, and he ultimately finished hitting .208/.341/.439 through 144 games, while also appearing in 57 at first base. Vogelbach will get a chance to regroup in this shortened season, and show the Mariners the power and patience he displayed early on in 2019. He assured earlier in camp he will be ready when Opening Day rolls around. “When we take the field there’s no setbacks or excuses,” he said. “There’s going to be none of that. I’m going to be ready to go and ready to perform.”
RELIEVERS (11)
RHP Austin Adams
RHP Dan Altavilla
RHP Brandon Brennan
LHP Nestor Cortes Jr.
RHP Carl Edwards Jr.
LHP Taylor Guilbeau
RHP Matt Magill
LHP Anthony Misiewicz
RHP Yohan Ramirez
RHP Erik Swanson
RHP Taylor Williams
The skinny: Servais has indicated the Mariners plan to open the season with 17 pitchers — the six in their rotation and then 11 in the bullpen to chew up innings as their starters build up stamina. There are a lot of ways this group could shake out given that the Mariners have three open spots to work with on their 40-man roster, and it’s sure to evolve as the season progresses, but this is one possibility. … Adams has looked in summer camp like the reliever the Mariners counted on late in games last year before his season-ending ACL injury last September. Magill is another who was reliable last season, and has progressed well in camp despite dealing with shoulder soreness in the spring. … Altavilla has struggled with consistency in parts of four seasons with Seattle, but has yet to allow a run in summer camp and has five punchouts. … Adams, Altavilla, Magill and offseason pickup Edwards are all out of minor league options. … Brennan and Swanson pitched well for the Mariners out of the bullpen last season, and have multi-inning potential. Cortes is another who can go multiple frames with starting experience in the minors to lean on. … Guilbeau performed well enough to earn a big league job in the spring, and continues to impress in summer camp. He and Cortes lead all relievers in camp with seven strikeouts apiece. … Ramirez was a Rule 5 Draft pickup by the Mariners in December and will get a look this season. … Camas High School product Williams and Misiewicz are two that have stood out to Servais in summer camp, giving them a good shot at making the Opening Day roster. Misiewicz would need to be added to the 40-man roster. … Hard-throwing right-hander Gerson Bautista was a roster hopeful before injuring his elbow last week. … Veteran Yoshihisa Hirano was a closer candidate this spring, but didn’t report to summer camp until the weekend. He reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 in June, delaying his arrival. Servais has said it would be “a stretch” for Hirano to be game ready by Opening Day. … Sam Delaplane and Joey Gerber are two pitching prospects who could also show up at T-Mobile Park this summer.
TAXI SQUAD (3)
LHP Nick Margevicius
C Brian O’Keefe
UTIL Dylan Moore
The skinny: Because players will not be able to fly commercially to join clubs on the road this season, or be called up on the fly, each team will travel with a three-man taxi squad on road trips. … Margevicius has big league experience as a starter — he debuted with the Padres last year and appeared in 17 games, starting 12 — but could also fit in as a reliever who can eat up multiple innings should the Mariners need an extra arm. … Taxi squads must include a catcher, and O’Keefe likely gets the nod with Hudson still getting in game shape after arriving to camp late. … Moore appeared in 113 games for the Mariners last season as a super utility player, but was a late arrival to camp, meaning he could start the season out here. Jose Marmolejos and Patrick Wisdom are the other utility options who could fit in, though Marmolejos would need to be added to the 40-man roster.
