The Seattle Mariners Outfield

Going into the 2016 season the Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto felt it was important to get more athletic in the outfield so he traded for centerfielder Leonys Martin and signed free agent outfielder Nori Aoki who will play mostly left field except when Martin needs a rest.

The Mariners are pretty set in the outfield with Seth Smith and Franklin Gutierrez will share right field. There will be Nelson Cruz who may play some right field when he is not designated hitter. Most likely Gutierrez will be in left field when Aoki is playing in center or needs a day off. How much Gutierrez will play again will depend on his health however platooning with Seth Smith should be able to help him and the Mariners.

I am sure Nelson Cruz will want to play much as he can in the field however the Mariners want to play him at designate hitter. When he is in the field he will play right field. At those times Seth Smith and Franklin Gutierrez will be the primary designated hitters. What I like to is that most of the time Smith or Gutierrez will be on the bench to pinch hit. They are the Mariners best pinch hitters.

At this point the Mariners have no place on the roster for any other outfielders unless Stefan Romero makes the team as the platooning right handed hitting first baseman or Sean O’Malley can make it as the utility infielder. Since both can play the outfield it would be an added plus since none of the other candidates have any experience in the outfield.

If neither Romero nor O’Malley makes the opening roster they most likely are the top candidates to call up in case of an injury. The third candidate would be Boog Powell who the Mainers plan to start the season in Triple A. He probably would be the best choice if Martin came down with an injury in center field. Also, O’Malley can play in center field as well. So the choice of who comes up in case of an injury is the one who is doing the best at the time. Romero can play in center field in a need basis however Aoki would play in center field if that was the case Martin was injured.

I really do like the look of the outfield the Mariners have going into the season. It would be nice if they had more depth in the minor leagues to step forward. I am sure Dipoto is searching to see what he can find for the outfield in case any of the starters go down.  Next time I will be looking at the bullpen. Go Mariners!