Seattle Mariners Team Report
Managers never like it when they see their players make careless mistakes on the field.
Usually, the carelessness is in a game — getting picked off base or dropping a routine throw. but even before exhibition games started this spring, the Mariners’ first casual effort came during stretching exercises.
Right-hander Shawn Kelley, who is in the running to make the bullpen staff, got too close to another pitcher, mark Lowe, and came away with a nasty cut on his chin.
Lowe was on all fours just before the start of a morning stretching program and kicked his foot out just as Kelley moved close. one of the cleats nailed Kelley, opening up a bloody cut on the right side of Kelley’s chin.
Kelley was led away by one of the trainers to have the cut attended to, and Kelley ultimately needed six stitches.
Kelley said the doctor who worked on his chin also deals with hockey players and told him, “If you were a hockey player, I’d stitch you up and tell you to go back out and fight.”
WHERE: Peoria, Ariz. the Mariners and Padres became the first teams to share a spring facility back in 1993, and that’s become the model for all the two-team sites in both Florida and Arizona. Peoria used to be in the middle of nowhere. but now the Rangers, Royals, Reds, Indians, Dodgers, White Sox and Brewers are only short drives away, thanks to the Loop 101 freeway that connects them (more or less). and the city of Peoria and adjacent Glendale have grown up around the facility.
TOP CANDIDATE TO SURPRISE: DH Mike Sweeney. as last year, he comes to camp with a minor league deal. but last year he was given a reasonable shot at making the roster. This year he’s given no shot, but this is someone who is valued for his tremendous clubhouse presence and who hit .381 in his final 25 games last year.
TOP CANDIDATE TO DISAPPOINT: LHP Cliff Lee. He’s being hailed as a second ace at the top of the rotation, and he might be just that. but anybody who has foot surgery two weeks before the start of spring training is liable to try to come back too hard too soon, and that’s when complications can occur.
AUTHORITY FIGURES: Manager Don Wakamatsu, 85-77 in his first year at the helm, helped turn around an organization that had headed south for five of the previous six seasons. He’s got players buying into his system, which neither of the previous two managers was able to do. Pitching Coach Rick Adair has spent time rebuilding the psyches of some of his staff, and the results included the best ERA in the AL last year.
NOTES, QUOTES
—LHP Erik Bedard hasn’t had any setbacks so far in his effort to return to the rotation by May or June after last year’s shoulder surgery. He’s throwing from 100 feet on flat ground for about 10 minutes a day and is building up to 120 feet and 12 minutes before he’ll start to throw harder.
—C Rob Johnson is working on coming up with a new basic position squatting behind the plate this spring. he wants to find a way to keep pressure from building up on his hips. he had surgery on both hips this winter.
—RHP Yusmeiro Petit became the final player to report to camp. he was given permission to report late because of personal issues back home in Venezuela.
—LHP Cliff Lee threw off a mound Feb. 24, the first time he’d done so since having surgery to remove a bone chip from his foot 19 days earlier. Lee reported that he didn’t feel any pain.
—RHP Sean White was a big hit with the Mariners in middle relief last year in part because of the heavy sink on his fastball. he lost that when he came down with tendinitis in the final month of the year, but he showed the same movement in early throwing sessions this spring.
—DH Ken Griffey Jr. had to be held out of many of the running drills in the camp last year. This year, with Griffey having had knee surgery, he’s able to lead the drills when he so chooses, giving the Mariners hope that he will be stronger and fitter start to finish in 2010.
—LHP Mauricio Robles has impressed the veterans with his changeup. Robles is in his first camp with the Mariners after being acquired at midseason from the Tigers in the trade of LHP Jarrod Washburn.
BY THE NUMBERS: 19 — Days between LHP Cliff Lee’s foot surgery and the time he was back throwing off a mound.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I’ve always loved hitting. Now, I love taking groundballs, too.” — INF/OF Dustin Ackley on his conversion to second base.
ROSTER REPORT
If glowing reports in the media were worth anything, the Mariners would walk right into the playoffs. General manager Jack Zduriencik has gotten rave reviews for the way he has reconstructed the Seattle roster, particularly with the trade for LHP Cliff Lee and the signing of free agent 3B Chone Figgins.
ARRIVALS: 3B Chone Figgins (signed as free agent from Angels), LHP Cliff Lee trade with Phillies), LF Milton Bradley (trade with Cubs), 1B Casey Kotchman (trade with Red Sox), RHP Brandon League (trade with Blue Jays), 1B Ryan Garko (free agent from Giants), OF Eric Byrnes (free agent from Diamondbacks), C Josh Bard (signed minor league contract), RHP Kanekoa Texeira (selected in Rule 5 draft from) Yankees, RHP Yasmeiro Petit (claimed on waivers from Diamondbacks).
DEPARTURES: INF Bill Hall (traded to Red Sox), LHP Gaby Hernandez (claimed on waivers by Red Sox), C Kenji Johjima (opted out of the final two years of his contract to return to Japan), RHP Brandon Morrow (traded to Blue Jays), RHP Carlos Silva (traded to Cubs), RHP Chris Jakubauskas (claimed on waivers by Pirates), RHP Miguel Batista (free agent, signed minor league deal with Nationals), OF Endy Chavez (free agent, signed minor league deal with Rangers), 3B Adrian Beltre (free agent, signed with Red Sox), LHP Justin Thomas (claimed on waivers by Pirates), RHP Denny Stark (free agent, unsigned), 1B Russell Branyan (free agent, signed with Indians).
SPRING FOCUS: the Mariners have only one open spot in the lineup — they need to settle on a starting catcher, choosing from among two young players, C Rob Johnson and C Adam Moore, and one veteran non-roster player, C Josh Bard. Most of the rest of the work this spring will be on getting a rotation together in the 3-4-5 spots and setting up the various spots in the bullpen beyond the closer, RHP David Aardsma, and the no. 1 setup man, RHP mark Lowe.
PROJECTED ROTATION:
1. RHP Felix Hernandez
3. LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith
5. RHP Doug Fister
the top end of the Seattle rotation has some serious megawatt star power in Hernandez, the runner up in the Cy Young award race last year, and Lee, the Cy Young winner in the AL two seasons back. Rowland-Smith came into his own the final six weeks or so of the season and is the no. 3 man, but Snell and Fister must prove themselves or give way to other competitors.
perhaps the dark horse here is LHP Ryan Feierabend, who is coming back after missing a year because of surgery, and LHP Luke French and LHP Jason Vargas both will state their case. but special attention needs to be paid to LHP Erik Bedard, who will have the opportunity to give the Mariners three top-end starters once his left shoulder (labrum surgery) has healed in May or June (or even July).
PROJECTED BULLPEN:
RHP David Aardsma (closer)
RHP Brandon League
Aardsma came into his own as the closer and Lowe as the setup man last year, and League could make the right-handed side of the bullpen as long as the workload doesn’t get too heavy.
White and Kelley acquitted themselves well a year ago, but they’ll have to be at least as good this time around if they don’t want to be pushed down the bullpen food chain by the addition of League. the left side of the pen is considerably less proven, and much time will be spent looking at lefty candidates.
Former Nationals closer RHP Chad Cordero is in camp and, more important, is healthy again, and he could dislodge someone easily. Rule 5 draftee RHP Kanekoa Texeira (from the Yankees) will get a long look in the bullpen as well.
1. CF Ichiro Suzuki
2. 3B Chone Figgins
3. LF Milton Bradley
5. DH Ken Griffey Jr.
6. 1B Casey Kotchman
7. CF Franklin Gutierrez
While the lineup is still short of power, one change from last year is the addition of much more high on-base potential in the persons of Figgins, Bradley and Kotchman. so the Mariners’ hitters should come up with more men on base this time around.
Look for Bradley to play left field against right-handed pitching but to DH against lefties and for Griffey to play DH only against right-handed pitching. Beyond that, everyone should get a chance to start almost every day. the exception would be at catcher, where the playing-time winner among Johnson, Moore and Bard will be worked out this spring.
PROJECTED RESERVES:
OF Ryan Langerhans
INF/OF Jack Hannahan
Manager Don Wakamatsu is making it a point to have as much versatility as he can muster, which is why Hannahan, who can play both corner infield spots plus the outfield, makes sense for the roster. and it’s why Garko is going to do some catching for the first time in four years while in the spring camp to provide that extra option. OF Michael Saunders and INF Chris Woodward both were with the Mariners last year and together with new addition C Josh Bard could make a case for earning a roster spot come April.
TOP ROOKIES: 2B Dustin Ackley, the second pick in the draft last year, is at a new position after playing first base in college, but the Mariners see him making a quick jump to the big leagues after he had .400-plus seasons at North Carolina and a .315 average in the Arizona Fall League. RHP Josh Fields, the Mariners’ no. 1 pick (20th overall) in 2008, has a chance to make an impact in the bullpen after finishing with an AFL ERA of 1.64. C Adam Moore (.294, nine homers at Class AAA Tacoma) is the likeliest rookie to break camp with the big club, but he’ll have to beat out veteran C Josh Bard to do it. Before the year is over, look for OF Greg Halman (25 homers at Class AA West Tennessee), SS Carlos Triunfel (.250 in the AFL after being on the minor league DL all year) and RHP Levale Speigner (2.93 ERA at Class AAA Jacksonville) to get a look in a Seattle uniform.
—LHP Erik Bedard (left shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum in August 2009) has hopes to be back by May, but the Mariners think it will be closer to the All-Star break before they see him.
—RHP Chad Cordero (right elbow surgery in July 2008) has lost some weight and gained some motivation after missing virtually the entire 2009 season.
—LHP Ryan Feierabend (Tommy John elbow surgery in March 2009) missed all of last year.
—C Rob Johnson (right hip surgery in October 2009, left hip surgery in November 2009, right wrist surgery in November 2009) might be asked by the Mariners to go slow in the spring, but Johnson says he’s fine and that there’s no need to coddle him.
—LHP Cliff Lee (left foot surgery in February 2010) began throwing off a mound Feb. 24.
—DH Ken Griffey Jr. (arthroscopic left knee surgery in October 2009) could be healthier in 2010 than he was in 2009.
—RHP Sean White (right shoulder tendinitis) had his 2009 season end in late August due to the injury. he will be held back a little during the spring, but the medical staff sees him as being able to compete for a job.