5 takeaways from the Mariners’ second week of Cactus League play
The Mariners are officially halfway through their Cactus League schedule following their 14th game Sunday afternoon against the Brewers.
Here are a few notes from the second week of spring training games in Arizona:
1. Marco Gonzales looks ready for Opening Day
Mariners ace Marco Gonzales looked regular-season ready in his second start Saturday afternoon against the Rockies.
“I thought Marco Gonzales was just outstanding,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said postgame. “ … He just dominated the strike zone and really controlled the counts. Awesome all day long and got great results.”
Gonzales delivered four shutout innings while allowing two hits, striking out five and walking none. He threw first-pitch strikes to 12 of 14 batters.
“Marco is a heck of a competitor,” Servais said. “I always talk about that. Sometimes people say, ‘Oh, it only shows up in the big games or on the big stages.’ No, it shows up all the time in everything he does. All the drill work, whether he’s throwing a bullpen or he’s in the weight room, he likes to compete.
“When it’s his day to pitch, he’s ready to go.”
Gonzales is set to make his third consecutive Opening Day start for Seattle on April 1 against the Giants.
He also had the opportunity Saturday to pitch in front of his father, Frank, who is a pitching coach in Colorado’s organization.
“It’s always very special,” he said.
Gonzales said this was the second time he’s pitched in a spring training game with his father in the opposing dugout. He also pitched opposite his father one year in high school in Colorado, when Frank coached at another local school.
“That day didn’t go too well for him either,” Gonzales said with a laugh. “He’s got some tough luck over there.”
Gonzales said he was planning to sit down with his father — whose birthday was Friday — postgame.
“I’m sure he’ll have plenty of critiques for me,” Gonzales said. “We’ll chop it up. But, truthfully, when we do get to sit down, it’s great, because a lot of times we don’t talk baseball. We talk about life stuff. We talk about family.”
2. James Paxton gearing up for first Cactus League start
The Big Maple is back on the schedule.
After spending the first two weeks of Cactus League play pitching in simulated situations at the Mariners’ complex in Peoria, James Paxton is set to make his first start of the spring Monday afternoon against the Diamondbacks.
“Looking forward to getting him out there,” Servais said. “He’s excited and ready to get rolling again.”
The 32-year-old veteran left-hander has spent what would have been his first two turns this spring building his pitch count and refining his secondary pitches in two simulated games.
“It is about April 1, it’s not about where we’re at here in early March,” Servais said earlier in camp regarding Paxton’s schedule.
Paxton returns to the club that drafted and developed him after spending the past two years in New York. He posted career highs in starts (29) and wins (15) with the Yankees in 2019 before back surgery last February and a flexor strain in August limited him to five starts in the shortened 2020 season.
The Mariners watched him pitch in an open bullpen session in the Seattle area in December, and he appeared in “wonderful physical condition,” Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said last month.
Paxton eventually signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal with Seattle — which could reach as high as $10 million with bonuses — ahead of spring training, passing up other offers to return to the team he spent the first six seasons of his big league career with.
“I love the group here,” Paxton said last month. “I’m excited to be part of it.”
3. Who will win the club’s final rotation spot?
Five pitchers — Gonzales, Paxton, Yusei Kikuchi, Justus Sheffield and Chris Flexen — are already locked into Seattle’s six-man rotation for Opening Day.
Who will be the sixth?
Either Justin Dunn or Nick Margevicius, who both pitched in Seattle’s rotation during the shortened 2020 season.
Dunn and Margevicius have piggybacked starts in their first two outings. Here’s a look at how both have pitched so far this spring:
Dunn — Five innings pitched (one rolled over) with one run allowed (not earned) on four hits, and five strikeouts to three walks.
Margevicius — Five innings pitched with two earned runs allowed on five hits, and four strikeouts to one walk.
“Those guys continue to show well in this camp,” Servais said following . “They’re taking steps forward. … So, I’m excited about those guys’ continued improvement.”
Both likely get two more appearances before Cactus League play wraps up at the end of the month.
Should the Mariners go with Dunn to open the season, they’ll add a second right-hander to the rotation to join Flexen. Should they add Margevicius, they will have five left-handers in the rotation on Opening Day.
Whoever doesn’t win the job will likely either be used as a multi-inning reliever out of Seattle’s bullpen,or stay stretched out as a starter at the club’s alternate site in Tacoma and then join Triple-A Tacoma when the minor league season begins in May.
4. Jarred Kelenic nearing return from adductor strain
Mariners top prospect Jarred Kelenic appears on the verge of making his return to Cactus League games.
The 21-year-old outfielder, one of the players hoping to win the Opening Day spot in left field, appeared to tweak his knee running to first base in his first at-bat of Seattle’s game against the White Sox on March 5. He stayed in the game that day, but hasn’t played since.
Kelenic told reporters in Peoria the following day he didn’t believe the injury was serious, and he was expecting to be back on the field in a week.
He took batting practice on one of the backfields at the Mariners’ complex Sunday afternoon, and told reporters there he feels fully healthy.
“Jarred Kelenic continues to progress rapidly,” Servais said pregame Sunday. “ … He’s moving in the right direction there.”
Kelenic has appeared in four games for the Mariners this spring, in both left and right field, and was hitting 2-for-8 with a home run, two RBI, a walk and a strikeout before the injury.
Other injury updates:
▪ Outfielder Jake Fraley was scratched from Sunday’s lineup after crashing into the wall in left field Saturday against the Rockies.
“He’s stiff today as expected,” Servais said pregame Sunday. “(He) hit the wall pretty good. … I think he’ll get some of that stiffness out and be back in there tomorrow.”
Fraley is one of several players competing for the Opening Day spot in left field. He is 3-for-20 (.150) with a double, home run, four RBI, five walks and eight strikeouts this spring.
▪ Infielder Shed Long Jr. has yet to appear in a Cactus League game this spring as he continues to recover from shin surgery last fall, but was scheduled to take batting practice at the Mariners’ complex Sunday.
▪ Reliever Roenis Elias has a “pretty serious issue” in his forearm and elbow area, Servais said Sunday and is speaking to medical professionals about his options moving forward. Elias exited his appearance against the Dodgers on Thursday with pain in his throwing arm.
5. Mariners set to welcome fans back to T-Mobile Park in April
Washington state is set to move into Phase 3 of its COVID-19 pandemic recovery plan on March 22, Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week, meaning the Mariners will soon be able to welcome fans back to T-Mobile Park.
The club announced Thursday afternoon it has received approval from Washington state and King County officials to host up to 9,000 fans at the ballpark, beginning Opening Day.
The Mariners open their season April 1 against the Giants.
Outdoor professional sports in the state are allowed to bring fans back at up to 25% capacity in Phase 3. T-Mobile Park seats nearly 48,000 at full capacity.
Servais said last week players are “fired up” to have fans back in the stand after playing in empty stadiums last summer.
“It means a lot to them,” he said. “I think we were they were all anticipating and hoping it would happen when you started to see some of the announcements from some of the other areas of the country that were going to allow fans into the ballpark.
“I absolutely think it’s the right thing to do for our fans, for the city of Seattle as we get closer to trying to get back to normalcy. It’s been a long year. A lot of people have suffered in so many different ways.
“Hopefully the vaccine continues to get rolled out at the big numbers it has been. Keep our fingers crossed that we get to the point here where all of us in the clubhouse can get vaccinated. We’re not quite there yet, but I know it’s coming, and looking forward to that, but it’s a big deal. It’s a big deal having fans back in the ballpark.”
Tickets to the first 11 games of the season — which includes three-game series against the Giants and White Sox during the opening homestand from April 1-6, and a three-game series against the Astros and two-game series against the defending World Series champion Dodgers during the second homestand from April 16-20 — will be available initially.
Season ticket holders will have priority to reserve seats before sales open to single-game buyers, the release says.
Mariners Mail subscribers will have pre-sale access March 24, and remaining single-game tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on March 25.
Tickets will be available on the team’s website.
