Mariners takeaways: Mariners cling to slim playoff hopes, Seattle to host 2023 All-Star Week
When Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez raised the flag atop the Space Needle, it became official: the 2023 All-Star Game was coming to Seattle.
The pair of Mariners Hall of Famers were in attendance for a Thursday press conference, where MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that Seattle would host the 2023 Midsummer Classic, including the T-Mobile Home Run Derby and SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.
“Major League Baseball is delighted to bring the All-Star Game to the Mariners and their fans in 2023,” Manfred said. “The City of Seattle has been home to many of our game’s most popular figures in recent history, and we look forward to showcasing the sport’s current stars and everything that All-Star Week has to offer throughout the Emerald City.”
Seattle last hosted the game in 2001 at T-Mobile Park, then named Safeco Field, and hosted the festivities for the first time in the Kingdome in 1979.
Mariners CEO John Stanton also told reporters that the franchise would commit $50 million to improve the stadium and surrounding buildings in the neighborhood adjacent to T-Mobile Park. That would open up the ability to host events such as concerts and galas, such as those hosted by the Rockies earlier this summer.
“We’ve got an awesome ballpark,” manager Scott Servais said. “I get the luxury of going into all these ballparks around the country in our league and I still love coming home to ours. I think the setting is great.
“It’s a great city. ... We’ll do it right.”
Seattle submitted a bid to host the game in 2018, one that impressed Manfred and MLB. The ballpark itself was an important factor in the decision, but Manfred said that envisioning “a compact series of events” helped push Seattle over the top.
When the league decided to move this summer’s All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver in response to a Georgia voting law, Manfred said that Seattle wasn’t considered, only because they already had penciled in the Emerald City for 2023 or 2024.
“Which is really a credit not only to the Mariners, but the community groups that they worked with,” Manfred said.
It’ll be a community-wide event, Mariners President of Business Operations Catie Griggs said, joining Manfred and Stanton at the podium.
“We are excited to make this a uniquely Seattle event, highlighting the amazing people, food, (culture), and baseball community that we all have here.”
SEAGER NOMINATED FOR ROBERTO CLEMENTE AWARD
The T-Mobile-themed pink carpet connected the dugout stairs to home plate, and Kyle Seager walked to his moment of recognition surrounded by applause.
On Wednesday, the Mariners announced Kyle Seager as the team’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, defined by the MLB as given to the player “who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”
Seager stood alongside Mariners CEO John Stanton and Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez on Wednesday to receive his award as Seattle’s nominee. Martinez won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2004.
It’s one of the more prestigious individual awards in baseball. Seager was honored for his philanthropic efforts across his 11-year tenure with the Mariners. Earlier this season, the third baseman and Gold Glove winner began his seventh year as a spokesperson for the Refuse to Abuse Campaign, part of the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV). Per a Mariners press release, Seager raised over $113,000 for the 2021 Refuse to Abuse 5K event, hosted by T-Mobile Park.
Throughout his Mariners career — with stats that appear near the top of several all-time franchise leaderboards that include hits, home runs, and games played — Seager has visited the Seattle Children’s Hospital, and founded the Kyle Seager Vs Cancer campaign with the help of the Vs Cancer Foundation.
“Seager also supports charities such as the American Heart Association, Big Brothers-Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Clubs, and Mariners Care, the Seattle Mariners non-profit foundation,” the press release wrote.
“The fact that Kyle has done that here in Seattle is really important, and I think it’s really important for our younger players to understand what it means to give back,” Servais said. “They get all caught up … in (their) career. You want a certain status, and you want to play for a long time in a city, but it’s so important to give back.
“Whether it’s (in) children’s hospitals, youth sports, whatever … I think it’s great that our guys do it and I think it’s great that Kyle has given back.”
Fans can vote for Seager at mlb.com/clemente21 alongside nominees from 29 other big league clubs. Voting ends on Sunday, October 3, at the conclusion of the regular season.
DUNN OUT FOR SEASON AFTER REHAB DISCOMFORT
Justin Dunn took the mound for the Rainiers on Thursday night. Four pitches later, he left it.
One of Seattle’s early-season starters, Dunn joined Triple-A Tacoma for a rehab assignment before what was supposed to be an eventual recall to the Mariners. But after just four pitches, Dunn seemed uncomfortable, and motioned for manager Kris Negron and trainers to come get him.
His four pitches of work came in a seventh inning relief appearance against El Paso. With a solidified starting five in Seattle, Scott Servais told Dunn he would pitch out of the bullpen if he were to rejoin the team this season, as did Justus Sheffield earlier this month.
Dunn threw a live batting practice session earlier in the week, and “felt really good about it,” Servais told reporters. The plan, at the time, was to send Dunn to El Paso to join the Rainiers and begin a rehab assignment, and hopefully rejoin Seattle in the final weeks of their playoff push.
And so Dunn, in his new relief role, took the mound in the seventh inning of Thursday’s Triple-A contest between the Rainiers and Chihuahuas. That’s where trouble struck.
“Yeah, obviously he didn’t feel well,” Servais said Friday. “He wasn’t comfortable throwing, so he came out of that ballgame, off the mound. He’ll get checked, probably have another MRI.”
The results of the MRI as of Sunday are unknown.
Dunn and Sheffield could return to the rotation in 2022, though it’s unclear how things will stand six months from now; starter Tyler Anderson’s contract expires this winter, and the team will have to decide whether they use their team option on Yusei Kikuchi’s contract for another four years and $66 million.
This offseason’s free agency period adds another layer of uncertainty for Seattle’s rotation in 2022. But for the next two weeks, Dunn would have served as a reliever.
“Certainly, it looks like his season will come to an end,” Servais said.
ANDRES MUNOZ FLASHES TRIPLE-DIGIT SPEED IN REHAB INNING
Seattle’s bullpen already ranks near the top of the league, but they’ll receive an “electric” boost when Andres Munoz arrives in 2022.
Munoz, a 22 year-old reliever sent to the Mariners alongside Ty France in a well-known seven-player deal, appeared in an Arizona league game for the first time since 2019 on Friday night. He made 22 appearances with the Padres in 2019, but an elbow injury forced Tommy John surgery before the 2020 season, and closed the book on a 2021 return.
His first time on the mound in the Seattle organization? One inning, three strikeouts.
“He’s special. … Good for him,” Servais said of the right-hander. “Awesome young man… The sky’s the limit with this guy.”
It’s an electric arm, Servais told reporters Saturday. Known to clock triple-digits with his fastball, Munoz topped out at 101 miles per hour during his one-inning appearance in Arizona.
“It’s one that I’d probably compare to kind of what we thought with Edwin Diaz when he showed up,” Servais said. “Electric, 100-mph type stuff.”
As of now, there’s no reason to believe that Munoz won’t be ready come spring training next year, Servais said.
ROSTER MOVE
Seattle designated first baseman Jose Marmolejos for assignment on Tuesday. He was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma on Friday after clearing waivers.
UP NEXT
Kyle Schwarber lined a single to right field, and extended Boston’s extra-inning lead to four in Seattle. For the fans that had deemed two previous runs in the inning within reach, Schwarber’s two-run single was the nail in the coffin on Wednesday afternoon.
Before Scott Servais could signal to the bullpen for a new pitcher, Seattle’s fans headed for the exits, and an eventual series loss to the Red Sox hung in the balance.
“It doesn’t look too bright right now, but we are not eliminated,” Servais said. “We will continue to compete.”
An off-day Thursday led to a three-game set in Kansas City that kicked off Friday. Their odds to make the playoffs at that point? Just eight tenths of a percent, per FanGraphs.
Seattle won Friday, and lost Saturday. They took Sunday’s rubber match 7-1, and despite a win that featured three extra-base hits from rookie Jarred Kelenic, their postseason hopes dipped slightly to 0.7 percent.
“When you get to the end of the year, everybody needs to step up,” Servais said. “And seeing those young kids being relaxed, confidence growing, we feel really good about what we have to play for the rest of the season and beyond.”
All seven of Seattle’s games this week are on the road, starting with a four-game set in Oakland that kicks off Monday. They’ll head to Anaheim Friday for three games over the weekend.