Mariners already down a key cog as Seattle preps for spring training

SEATTLE, WA - MAY 31:  Mitch Haniger #17 of the Seattle Mariners heads out to the field against the Los Angeles Angels at T-Mobile Park on Friday, May 31, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Rod Mar/MLB via Getty Images)
By Corey Brock
Jan 24, 2020

The truck carrying the Mariners’ equipment to Peoria, Ariz., does not leave for another 10 days. Seattle’s pitchers and catchers don’t have to worry about reporting to Peoria for nearly three weeks. Heck, we’re not even out of January and the Mariners are already having to deal with an injury to a player — and a significant player at that.

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During the team’s annual pre-spring training lunch Thursday, Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto revealed that outfielder Mitch Haniger — who two years ago was one of the top players in the American League — will miss in upwards of eight weeks after suffering an injury to his core Monday.

“This is all coming together over the course of the last 40 hours, so it’s still very fresh,” Dipoto said. “He’s attacking it very aggressively because he does not want to miss any more time.”

Haniger, who was limited to 63 games in 2019 due to a litany of injuries including a ruptured testicle, will likely need surgery, though the club is still awaiting further word about the severity of the injury. The 29-year-old could miss the first month of the regular season.

It’s a bummer of a way to start off the spring because the rebuilding Mariners could certainly use Haniger’s bat this season, either to help them win games or to rebuild his trade value so Seattle could consider shopping him to another team.

Haniger was a 6.1-WAR player according to Baseball-Reference in 2018, driving in 93 runs with a .366 on-base percentage. He got off to a slow start last season, hitting .220 before landing on the disabled list on June 7 with a ruptured testicle he suffered after fouling a ball off himself a few days earlier. He was expected to be healthy for the start of spring training but suffered the injury taking batting practice on Monday.

“Mitch was in the midst of what perhaps was his best offseason since he’s been with the Mariners,” Dipoto said. “Mitch is very diligent in his preparation, and all of his metrics, the test scores and athletic explosiveness were off the charts.”

The Haniger injury figures to open the door for rookie Jake Fraley to win the starting job in right field job with a strong spring — with Kyle Lewis likely to start in left and Mallex Smith to man center. Fraley, 24, slashed .298/.365/.545 between Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma last season. He then hit .150 in 40 at-bats with the Mariners before he was shut down on September 7 with a sprained right thumb.

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Braden Bishop will also get a long look this spring, and Haniger’s injury might mean that the organization’s top two prospects — outfielders Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez — could potentially get more at-bats during spring training than they would have otherwise.

A call to arms

The Mariners’ roster is close to a finished product, but that doesn’t mean Dipoto is done tinkering. The GM hinted that a few moves could potentially take place over the next couple of days.

The team could still add a starting pitcher and possibly a reliever before pitchers and catchers report to camp on Feb. 12. The relief pitcher isn’t as much of a priority, as the organization has a stable of young arms they want to look at this spring, but adding a starter makes more sense. The team currently has four spots spoken for with Marco Gonzales, Justus Sheffield, Kendall Graveman and Yusei Kikuchi. There’s a chance Justin Dunn, Nestor Cortes or Phillips Valdez could possibly win the No. 5 spot in the rotation. And Logan Gilbert, who was Seattle’s first-round pick in 2018 and pitched at three levels in 2019, might not be far off from making the jump to the big leagues.

Finding a spot for Nola

It appears the Mariners will head into the start of 2020 with Austin Nola as the team’s primary backup catcher to Tom Murphy.

Nola was the team’s best hitter in the second half of the season, one of Seattle’s few bright spots in a 94-loss season. A minor-league free agent before last season, Nola began 2019 in Tacoma before reaching the big leagues for the first time in June.

He hit .269 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs in 79 games and played 44 errorless games at first base. He also played at second base, third base and in the outfield in addition to catching seven games. While he’ll likely spell Murphy behind the plate 1-2 times a week, the team will allow him to bounce around to keep his bat in the lineup.

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“His primary function is at catcher, but we won’t limit that,” Dipoto said.

Managing expectations

The Mariners surely liked what they saw last September from rookie outfielder Kyle Lewis, who became the first player to hit six home runs in his first 10 big-league games. And while the team would certainly take that kind of production in 2020, it’s unfair to ask Lewis to replicate that Herculean feat.

So what does Dipoto foresee for the former first-round pick in 2020?

Defensively, Lewis likely pegs as the starter in left field. Dipoto thinks he can be a plus-defender. Offensively, it could be a mixed bag.

“I would venture a guess … some ups and downs,” Dipoto said. “Kyle will hit home runs. If we give him 450 plate appearances in a neutral environment, you’re going to see home runs. That’s what he does.

“I think he’s going to get on base, I know he’s going to hit for power. You’re going to see a (potentially high) strikeout rate, but I also think you’ll see a walk rate that makes that strikeout rate more palatable.”

Around the horn

In 2018, Dipoto said the Mariners had what was the oldest roster in the American League. Two years later, Dipoto expects the team will have the youngest roster … Shortstop J.P. Crawford, who hit .188 in the second half, is already in Arizona working with hitting coach Tim Laker. Among other things, Crawford is trying to create more leverage in his swing … People talk about first baseman Evan White’s strong defense, but Dipoto thinks some people may be sleeping on his offensive potential. White’s changes in the last year or so to add lift to his swing are apparently paying off. “It’s real power,” Dipoto said. … Manager Scott Servais said no one made more improvement from the start of last season to the finish than catcher Tom Murphy. … Gonzales was asked about baseball’s sign-stealing controversy, especially since the Mariners share the same division as the Astros and typically face them 18 times a season. “I hope it’s a good year to be a pitcher,” he said.

(Photo: Rod Mar / Getty Images)

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