5 takeaways from the Mariners’ final week of Cactus League play
The Mariners have wrapped up their Cactus League schedule and have returned home to Seattle to prepare for their 2021 season-opener Thursday night against the Giants.
Here are five takeaways from the final week of spring training:
1. Outfield prospect Taylor Trammell will be on the Opening Day roster
Mariners manager Scott Servais knew there was a lot to like about 23-year-old outfielder Taylor Trammell when he saw him play in the instructional league in Arizona in the fall, but did anyone predict Trammell would have a camp like this?
“He’s certainly surpassed my expectations coming into this camp,” Servais said recently. “I knew he was a good player. I didn’t know how close he was to being ready to be a major league player and help us.”
Servais announced during the ROOT Sports broadcast of Saturday’s game that Trammell would be on the Opening Day roster.
Here’s what the manager said postgame about the young outfielder’s reaction to the news:
“Big smile,” Servais said. “He actually teared up. It’s a lot. These young kids have been thinking about it their whole lives — what they go through, what their families go through to kind of get to that point where you’re in.
“He’s certainly earned it. He’s had a heck of a spring training. I think the sky is the limit for him and he’s going to get plenty of opportunities to see what he can do at the major league level.”
Trammell, who was acquired last summer in the seven-player deal with the Padres and is considered the No. 6 prospect in Seattle’s organization by MLB Pipeline and a top-100 prospect overall, hit .311/.392/.644 with six doubles, three homers and nine RBI, six walks, 17 striekouts and two stolen bases in 45 at-bats this spring.
“He showed all the tools,” Servais said. “He can run. He can defend. We’ve seen power. The ball jumps off the bat. And there’s still plenty of room for growth in this young player.”
2. Top prospects Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez will open the season in the minors
As they continue to solidify their roster for Opening Day, the Mariners reassigned their top two prospects, outfielders Kelenic and Rodriguez, to minor league camp Friday evening.
Where Kelenic would open the season was one of the most discussed topics surrounding Mariners camp early on, and though the Mariners have long maintained they believe the 21-year-old — who has only 92 plate appearances above A-ball — needs more experience in the upper levels of the minors before debuting, many still wondered if Kelenic could play his way onto the Opening Day roster.
Then Kelenic was sidelined for 11 spring training games with an adductor strain. Though he has impressed since his return — he hit .300/.440/.700 with two doubles, two homers, five RBI, four walks and only one strikeout in 20 at-bats this spring — he will stay put in Arizona when minor league camp begins.
“Obviously it’s frustrating,” Kelenic said recently. “I’m a competitor and I want to help this team win as soon as possible. But, I understand where they’re coming from and all I can do right now is focus on what I need to focus (on) and get there as soon as possible.”
Kelenic said he hopes to get as many reps as possible in minor league games in Arizona, and get the call to Seattle soon.
“That’s all that I’m focused on right now is moving in the right direction, because at the end of the day what I really want to do is help this team win,” he said.
“He is going to work tirelessly to continue to improve, and when he gets to the big leagues, he’s going to be ready to contribute every day and be a big-time player,” Servais said.
Rodriguez will also begin his season in the minors, though this was more expected. The 20-year-old played 84 games between Low-A and High-A in 2019, and missed out on developmental reps at the club’s alternate site last summer with a wrist injury.
Rodriguez hit .313/.421/.563 with two doubles, two homers, four RBI, six walks, 11 strikeouts and three stolen bases this spring across 32 at-bats.
Servais noted he was impressed with the strides both Kelenic and Rodriguez have made in camp this spring.
“They’re starting to settle in,” Servais said. “They’re working their way through at-bats, they’re making good swing decisions. We saw the power that both of these young guys have. They can really run. They’re good athletes. They can defend.
“It’s really exciting to watch them play. They do need to play and they need some more experience, and they both understand that, but they both want to be big-time players on our ball club and big parts of this organization for many years to come.”
3. The Mariners could be without the reigning American League Rookie of the Year on Opening Day
Center fielder Kyle Lewis, who last fall became the club’s first Rookie of the Year winner since Ichiro Suzuki in 2001, could be unavailable when the Mariners take the field for the first time Thursday night.
Servais said Saturday the 25-year-old has been diagnosed with a bone bruise on the outside of his right knee after colliding with the outfield wall in a game against the Dodgers last week.
Lewis has not played since. He did not appear in the Mariners’ final spring training game Monday against the Reds in Goodyear or participate in the live batting practice session at the club’s complex in Peoria.
“We’ll see how Kyle is coming along and progressing,” Servais said Saturday. “I’m very hopeful that he can be available for us on opening night, but if he’s not, we’ll adjust. We need to play the long game on this. I know we get all excited about April 1 and opening night and what it means for our team, but we have 161 games to play after that. Just trying to rush back for one night — we’re not going to do that.
“I want to make sure he’s completely ready to go. If he’s not, maybe he starts a little bit later than everybody else, but he’s going to play a lot of baseball for us this year and just want to make sure he’s 100% before we fire him out there.”
Lewis hit .297/.386/.568 this spring with five doubles, a triple, a home run, seven RBI, six walks and nine strikeouts in 37 at-bats.
4. The rotation is set for the season-opening series against the Giants
Seattle opens its season with three games against San Francisco, with ace Marco Gonzales, James Paxton and Chris Flexen scheduled to make their first starts.
Gonzales will be making his third consecutive Opening Day start for the club after leading the Mariners in starts (11) and innings (69-2/3) during the shortened 2020 season, when he posted a 7-2 record and career-best 3.10 ERA.
The 29-year-old veteran left-hander made four Cactus League starts, allowing 12 runs (11 earned) with 10 strikeouts and four walks across 15 2/3 innings, but there is no concern he will be ready Thursday.
“He’ll be ready to roll opening night,” Servais said.
Seattle’s season-opener, which will allow 9,000 fans inside T-Mobile Park due to COVID-19 restrictions, is already sold out. Gonzales recently addressed the significance of having fans back in T-Mobile Park, and the energy they bring, after pitching in front of empty ballparks last year.
“With fans it starts from the moment that you come out of the dugout and walk to the bullpen,” he said. “At T-Mobile, down in our bullpen, fans are hanging over the rail down there in the beer garden and talking to you — good and bad, you hear it all — so I think we’ve missed that sort of engagement, that fan interaction.
“That’s why you play this game, to play at the highest level and to play in front of thousands of people. It will be a bizarre feeling to see fans again, but it sure will be something that will get your adrenaline pumping.”
Gonzales said he is “looking forward to absorbing all of the excitement” that comes with being the Opening Day starter — especially with fans back in the seats — and letting it fuel his first outing.
“I hope that people enjoy it and appreciate it as much as we will,” he said.
James Paxton, who returned to the Mariners on a one-year deal in February, is expected to follow Gonzales in the rotation, and make his first start Friday.
Paxton posted a 1.08 ERA in two Cactus League games this spring, allowing one run across 8 1/3 innings while striking out 17 and walking four.
The 32-year-old left-hander spent the past two seasons with the Yankees, posting career highs in starts (29) and wins (15) in 2019 before back surgery last February and a flexor strain in August limited him to five starts in 2020.
Right-hander Chris Flexen, who joined the Mariners in December after spending a season pitching for the Doosan Bears of the Korean Baseball Organization, is scheduled to pitch Staurday.
The 26-year-old posted a 5.79 ERA in five spring training starts, allowing 10 runs (nine earned) across 14 innings while striking out 15 and walking five.
Slotting him in the third starting spot also breaks up a rotation crowded with left-handers.
“We are going to have a lot of left-handed pitching in our rotation, so we want to split that up and mix it up the best we can,” Servais said. “That’s where we’ll go the first three days out.”
After that? The Mariners haven’t announced how the rest of their rotation will map out for the remainder of the homestand. They host the White Sox in a three-game series beginning Monday.
While the order of the final three starters hasn’t been announced, who they will be has been decided. Left-handers Yusei Kikuchi and Justus Sheffield, and right-hander Justin Dunn will each resume their roles in the rotation. The seventh pitcher who was in competition with Dunn for the final spot, left-hander Nick Margevicius, will open the season in the bullpen.
5. Mariners making final roster decisions ahead of Opening Day
The Mariners have two more days before their season-opener to trim their roster down to 26 players.
Here are the 31 players who were still in camp as of Monday afternoon:
Starters: Justin Dunn, Chris Flexen, Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi, James Paxton, Justus Sheffield.
Relievers: Ken Giles, Kendall Graveman, Nick Margevicius, Keynan Middleton, Anthony Misiewicz, Rafael Montero, Andres Munoz (60-day IL), Casey Sadler, Drew Steckenrider, Domingo Tapia, Will Vest.
Catchers: Tom Murphy, Luis Torrens.
Infielders: J.P. Crawford, Ty France, Dylan Moore, Kyle Seager, Evan White.
Outfielders: Jake Fraley, Mitch Haniger, Kyle Lewis, Taylor Trammell.
Utility: Sam Haggerty, Shed Long Jr., Jose Marmolejos.
