Seattle Mariners 2016 Report Card Part 3

Now I do my report on each position of the infield, outfield, dh and utility player. I will start at first base where Adam Lind and Dae-Ho Lee performed the duties most of the year. I give them a grade of C-. Adam Lind was the left handed hitter and Lee the right handed hitter in a platoon situation. They both had power combining for a total of thirty-four home runs and one hundred-seven runs batted in although the batting average was low especially for Lind at .239. Why I give them a grade of C- is that they were inconsistent at the plate especially in the second half of the season. In fact Lee was sent down for ten days to triple-A because he was struggling at the plate. He did do better after returning to the team. They both did a good job playing defense at first base. Adam Lind is a free agent so likely he won’t return especially when the Mariners acquired Daniel Vogelbach from the Chicago Cubs. He is expected to be the Mariner’s first baseman next year though he had little chance playing in September when he was called up because the Mariners were in the playoff chase. Lee is a free agent as well but his status is more up in the air. It depends how much interest is found around the majors for his services and whether the Mariners feel that they need to platoon once again at first base. I will get back to that at another time.

Second base was all Robinson Cano who played there for almost all the games. He was the Mariners player of the year and he was so outstanding at the plate and in the field so his grade is an A like no other. This was his best season as a Mariner and we hope that we can see more of this from him. He had his highest total ever in home runs with thirty-nine the second most on the team to Nelson Cruz and second in runs batted in to the same guy with one hundred-three. He and Cruz along with Seager to some extent had a lot to do with the success of the Mariners.

Speaking of Kyle Seager his grade is A-. He would be higher on his grade however he had a slow start to the season in April batting less than .200. The amazing thing though is that he had five home runs every month of the season from April through September. I am not sure if anyone has ever done that before. His defense was pretty good most of the season though he did have a few lapses as well. It would be nice if next season he could get off to a better start. His batting average for the season was .278. It would be nice next April he batted somewhere between .200 and .278. He struggled at the plate in September as well though he continued with his home runs.

Shortstop with Ketel Marte playing the position for one hundred and nineteen games; he was out mostly the other forty-three games because of injury and mono. Not sure how much either one affected him when he returned. I found it hard to grade him whether C- or D+. You can take either one. His batting average was .259 which was not bad for someone who missed the 43 games and it was his first full season in the majors however his defense was inconsistent and sometimes awful. Everyone including the Mariner coaching staff found that Shawn O’Malley played a good shortstop when Marte was out. As the utility player playing several positions most felt before that playing shortstop was his shortcoming. Now we know that he could play shortstop for a good period of time. In fact so much we wonder why Servais did not play him more there the last couple weeks of the season when it was obvious that Marte was struggling. We will get more on him on another post considering his future with the Mariners.

Now the utility position which Shawn O’Malley took over in late May or so and never gave up the spot. Luis Sardinas started out there in the beginning of the season however his hitting was not good batting .181 in thirty-two games. He was sent down in May to Tacoma and then the Mariners traded him to San Diego. Also Chris Taylor came up for  a couple games but because of errors he was sent back down to when O’Malley came up for the rest of the season and he was eventually traded to the Dodgers. Both Sardinas and Taylor were not only in spring training for the utility position but as a possibility at shortstop in the future depending on Marte. Neither one worked out nor the Mariners brass felt they had no future.

Now in the outfield we will start with left field. I give the grade of C+. Norichika Aoki was the primary player at that position. He platooned hitting against right handed pitchers. First half of the season he struggled so much that he was sent down to Tacoma for a few weeks. When he returned his offense became much better that he was one of the key players down the stretch run. In fact so much that his batting average and on base percentage were right about his career average; the Mariners are thinking about picking up his 2017 option however it may not happen depending if they can acquire a regular corner outfielder. His defense was the sore spot most of the season and often was replaced in the late innings. Franklin Gutierrez and Seth Smith shared left field when Aoki was sent down to Tacoma with Nelson playing right field.

Centerfield was patrolled for the season primarily by Leonys Martin who played a solid defense. He was out for a short period of time with an injury that put him on the disabled list. It did take him some time to get his batting and running on the bases back in gear. Though his batting average was .247 he did have a career high of fifteen home runs.

Right field I would give a grade of A-. Most of the season Seth Smith and Franklin Gutierrez platooned there though when Aoki was out Nelson Cruz played right field. Gutierrez was inconsistent however he did have fourteen home runs for the Mariners. His defense was not as good as we are accustomed to and his batting average was .246. Right now it is hard to know whether he will return in 2017. Seth Smith was another one that was inconsistent as well and he ended up with .249 however had sixteen home runs. Smith had some key home runs and carried the team a few times during the season. Heredia who played most of the year in double-A and triple A came up a few times in August and then was part of the hands on team that manager Servais called it. He and Ben Gamel who the Mariners received in a trade with the Yankees late August were those two guys coming in playing left and right field in late innings. One or both could be on the team next year.

Designated Hitter there is no other grade than an A since Nelson Cruz was the primary one especially the second half of the season. The first half he played some right field however Franklin Gutierrez and Seth Smith did solid there themselves. Also Dae-Ho Lee did so when Aoki was sent down to Tacoma. Cruz despite his sore wrist was the major driver offensively the last couple weeks when the Mariners were going toward the playoffs. If it were not Cano he would have been the Mariners player of the year.

That is my report card on the Mariners. During the off-season I will write about the Mariner players where I see them next year including on the Mariners or not. Also I will give my opinion for any transactions and trades that general manager Jerry Dipoto makes. I am sure he will be a busy man though probably not as much like last off season however we will see. Have you all a great holiday season and look forward to next season Go M’s.