Mariners announce 30-man roster for Opening Day
Baseball season has finally arrived.
The Seattle Mariners, along with the rest of Major League Baseball, released their roster for this shortened 60-game season Thursday morning.
This 30-man iteration of the roster can stand for two weeks before it must be cut down to 28 players, and then trimmed again to its final 26 two weeks after that.
Here is a detailed breakdown of who the Mariners will carry when they open the season with a seven-game road trip Friday night in Houston, who they have added to their three-man traveling taxi squad, and who is on the injured list:
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 will move forward with a six-man rotation this season to give their starters adequate rest after such a long layoff during the COVID-19 shutdown, and this pitching order stayed in tact through two weeks of intrasquad games during summer camp. Manager Scott Servais has indicated several times he believes this group will be better than some expect. “I keep saying it, and I truly mean it — I think our starting pitching doesn’t get enough credit,” he said recently. “ … It’s going to be a fun group to watch as the season progresses.” … Gonzales will make his second consecutive Opening Day start as Seattle’s ace Friday in Houston, opposing two-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander. Gonzales led the majors with 34 starts last season, finishing 16-13 with a 3.99 ERA. He signed a four-year, $30 million extension with the Mariners in February. … Walker and Graveman are both poised to make their returns from long Tommy John recoveries during the Astros series. Walker said during camp the similar experiences have bonded him, Graveman, and Gonzales, who had the surgery earlier in his career. “Those two years off really changes you mentally if you go about it the right way, and I feel like all three of us have, and I feel like we can get back to the game now,” Walker said after his final intrasquad start. Walker didn’t allow a run in summer camp, while Graveman allowed just one. … Seattle is expecting a substantial jump from Kikuchi in his second season with the club, and has seen an uptick in velocity with his revamped delivery. “Yusei’s in a really good spot,” Servais said recently. “I like his stuff. The stuff has ticked up from what we saw last year, and you can see the comfort level. He’s just relaxing a little bit more, which is great.” … Sheffield and Dunn both pitched briefly in Seattle last season, but still have rookie status as they make the first Opening Day roster of their respective careers. Sheffield was the star of Seattle’s final day of summer camp Wednesday, striking out eight of the 12 batters he faced in four perfect innings. He and Graveman finished tied with a team-leading 13 strikeouts in intrasquad games.
CATCHERS (2)
Austin Nola
Joe Hudson
The skinny: This group suddenly changed Wednesday night, when general manager Jerry Dipoto announced primary catcher Tom Murphy would open the season on the IL. After taking two foul balls off the same area of his left foot during summer camp, Murphy was eventually diagnosed with a fractured metatarsal bone. He was officially placed on the 10-day IL Thursday, and no timeline has been given for his return. “It is a blow and I feel really bad for Murph,” Servais said following Wednesday’s intrasquad game. “This guy, he works as hard as anybody that we have, and he comes to the ballpark with a great attitude every day. Things happen. Unfortunately it just wasn’t responding to the treatment.” Murphy by far had the most major league experience of any of the catchers in Seattle’s 60-man player pool, playing parts of five big league seasons with the Rockies and Mariners, and appearing in 67 games behind the plate for Seattle last season. … Nola will take on the bulk of the catching duties until Murphy returns and is now the presumed Opening Day starter. A longtime infielder in the minors, he converted into a catcher in 2016 at the suggestion of a coach to try to carve out a path to the majors. He debuted with the Mariners last season, primarily playing infield and forcing his way into the lineup with his consistent bat, and appeared in seven games behind the plate. Nola was expected to share the catching load in tandem with Murphy this season. … Hudson cleared health protocols more than a week after camp opened, and appeared in just four intrasquad games, but the Mariners believe he is game ready enough to slot into the backup role. “The quicker we can get him up to speed and get him comfortable … the better off we’ll all be,” Servais said Wednseday. “Very confident both in his ability to make adjustments and get on board with our guys.” Hudson signed with the Mariners in January. He’s caught eight games at the major league level.
INFIELDERS (4)
1B Evan White
2B Shed Long Jr.
SS J.P. Crawford
3B Kyle Seager
The skinny: No surprises here. This is what the starting infield has been projected to look like since the offseason. … White will finally make his long-awaited big league debut in Houston after signing an unprecedented six-year deal with the Mariners last winter. There is plenty to be excited about with White, who consistently displays plus defensive skills, and was heating up at the plate as camp wrapped up. He finished 9-for-29 with four doubles, two homers and four RBI in intrasquad games. He also launched a slightly foul ball out of T-Mobile Park on Tuesday night. … Long’s bat was slow to appear in camp, but took a turn for the better near the end — he smoked the first pitch he saw Wednesday for an opposite-field home run. Long will get a long look as Seattle’s every day second baseman this season as Dee Gordon moves into a utility role. … Crawford and Seager are the two remaining regular starters from last season’s infield. Seager, entering his 10th season in the majors, is now the longest-tenured Mariner after Felix Hernandez’s departure at the end of 2019, and continues to be a leader in the clubhouse. Crawford, in his second season with Seattle, has been asked to take on more of a leadership role as the club looks toward its future, and has embraced the challenge. “Last year, a new team, new organization, I was just trying to come in here and show them what I could do,” he said early on in camp. “This year, now that they know what I can do, it’s time to take over. I’ve always been that guy to kind of take leadership, so I want to do that here.”
OUTFIELDERS (2)
CF Mallex Smith
RF Kyle Lewis
The skinny: Yes, the Mariners will really open the season with just two true outfielders on their roster. With Mitch Haniger still working his way back from multiple surgeries, and top prospects like Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez still developing, the outfield group is thin this season and gaps could often be filled in by utility players. … Smith, who was Seattle’s starting center fielder a season ago, has looked game ready despite clearing health protocols more than a week after camp opened. He hit 5-for-12 with a double, RBI, two walks and three stolen bases in his five intrasquad appearances. … Lewis continued to build on his scorching debut last September as the Mariners’ hottest hitter in summer camp. He finished 10-for-23 with a double, team-leading four homers and eight RBI. … Jake Fraley was initially projected to be Seattle’s Opening Day left fielder, but a slow start with the bat in camp — he finished 3-for-20 in eight intrasquad games — seems to have hampered that plan.
UTILITY (4)
Dee Gordon
Tim Lopes
Jose Marmolejos
Dylan Moore
The skinny: The Mariners will likely lean on this versatile group a lot as they open the season with 20 consecutive games. All have positional flexibility and can be trusted to roam the outfield, and one of them will likely get the nod as the starter in left field for Opening Day. … Gordon, in the final season of a five-year deal, has moved into a utility role this season to make room for Long at second base, and has played significant innings at second, short and in the outfield in his nine seasons in the majors. … Lopes raked all spring, and continued his production at the plate in summer camp — he was 8-for-24 in 10 games with two doubles, an RBI and two stolen bases in 11 appearances — giving the Mariners no reason to option him out. He’s also spent ample time developing all over the field to give Seattle options. “I’m just looking to be consistent on defense at every position,” he said early on in camp. … Marmolejos impressed the final week of camp with his bat, and has significant minor league experience at first base and in left field. His first appearance will be his MLB debut. … Moore was late to clear health protocols after testing positive for COVID-19, but ramped up quickly the final week of camp. He was Seattle’s go-to utility player last season as a rookie, appearing at every position but catcher in 114 games.
DESIGNATED HITTER (1)
Daniel Vogelbach
The skinny: Vogelbach was named Seattle’s only All-Star in 2019 after a hot first half, which included 21 of his team-high 30 homers, but his numbers dipped after the break, and he ultimately finished hitting .208/.341/.439 in 144 games. His bat was slow to arrive in summer camp, too — he finished 5-for-24 in 11 games with two doubles, two RBI, five walks and nine strikeouts — but he was 3-for-3 in Seattle’s final intrasquad game Wednesday.
BULLPEN (11)
RHP Dan Altavilla
RHP Brandon Brennan
LHP Nestor Cortes
RHP Carl Edwards Jr.
RHP Zac Grotz
RHP Matt Magill
LHP Nick Margevicius
LHP Anthony Misiewicz
RHP Yohan Ramirez
RHP Bryan Shaw
RHP Taylor Williams
The skinny: The Mariners are looking for relievers who can handle multiple innings as their starters build up arm strength, and most of these pitchers can fit into that mold. … The carryovers from last season’s bullpen are Altavilla, Brennan, Grotz and Magill. Altvailla is still touching the upper 90s with his fastball, and while control has hindered him in seasons past, he showed more consistent command in summer camp. Magill has looked healthy after dealing with shoulder soreness this spring. … Altavilla, Magill and offseason pickup Edwards are all also out of minor league options, which is something to keep in mind moving forward. … Ramirez was a Rule 5 Draft pickup by the Mariners in December. … Camas High School product Williams, Margavicius and Misiewicz were all standouts for Servais in camp. … The Mariners acquired Shaw, who leads the majors with 573 relief appearances since 2012, on Thursday as a free agent.
TRAVELING TAXI SQUAD (3)
LHP Taylor Guilbeau
UTIL Sam Haggerty
C Joe Odom
The skinny: The three-man traveling taxi squad must include a catcher, forcing Seattle to shuffle its 60-man player pool some with Murphy out for an undetermined amount of time. The Mariners opted to bring in minor leaguer Odom, who caught 87 games between Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma last year. … Haggerty is another versatile option for Seattle, but has been dealing with hip soreness the past week … Guilbeau led all relievers in camp with 10 strikeouts.
INJURED LIST (5)
RHP Austin Adams
RHP Gerson Bautista
RHP Yoshihisa Hirano
C Tom Murphy
RF Mitch Haniger
The skinny: Adams (knee) has been on the IL since February. He was a full participant early on in summer camp, but Servais said Wednesday his ramp up after ACL surgery last fall may have been too quick. “We’re slow playing him a little bit,” Servais said. … Bautista (elbow) was a roster hopeful before spraining the UCL in his throwing arm during an intrasquad game. … Hirano tested positive for COVID-19 last month and arrived at camp late last week to begin workouts. … There is no timetable for Haniger’s return as he continues to rehab from multiple offseason surgeries. He had yet to resume baseball activity as of the first week of July, and there’s a chance he misses the entirety of the 2020 season.
This story was originally published July 23, 2020 at 9:26 AM.
