Opening Day Roster

Here we are on March 27 with the Seattle Mariners having one last game remaining in spring training and the season begins in two days.

The roster is somewhat set for the first game of the season though a spot or two could change. The Mariners could use someone to take the spot of David Phelps in the bullpen. The Mariners could change the utility player or the backup catcher if someone is available that they consider better though likely won’t happen.

The opening roster looks like this for Thursday with four starters Felix Hernandez who will start the opening game for the tenth season in a row followed by James Paxton, Mike Leake and Marco Gonzales who had outstanding spring training. If Gonzales can pitch anything like he did in spring training the Mariners will do well in that spot. We do know over the season that there will be highs and lows so if he can keep the lows to a minimum we could see a solid spot in the four hole. Right now the Mariners don’t need a fifth starter until the middle of September so they are going with two long relievers in Wade LeBlanc and Casey Lawrence. This could change if the Mariners pick up another reliever. The most likely candidate to be the fifth starter is Ariel Miranda who will start the season in Tacoma. There is no time table right now when Erasmo Ramirez will be able to pitch and he likely will go on a rehab assignment first.

The Mariners will be going with two catchers in Mike Zunino and Mike Marjama. Zunino started off rough in spring training however he came alive in the late stages of spring training including recently hitting three home runs in a game. His bat could make the difference in the lineup for the Mariners. Depending how well he is hitting the Mariners are planning to start Marjama a couple times a week though early on with off days it may not happen for a couple weeks.

The infield will have Ryon Healy at first base along with Daniel Vogelbach who has made the opening day roster. The Mariners will try to get Vogelbach some action in the first series and then they go to San Francisco where he likely will be used as a pinch hitter. How long he will be with the Mariners will depend how well he hits along with Healy as well. Healy only got action in spring training the last couple weeks. Vogelbach likely will be sent down when the Mariners will need the fifth starter however that can depend how much the bullpen is being used as well.

The other three spots in the infield are familiar and expect with Robinson at second base, Jean Segura at shortstop and Kyle Seager at third base. The utility player at this time is Andrew Romine who can actually play every position on the field. He likely is the emergency catcher as well.

The outfield will be Dee Gordon in centerfield with Mitch Haniger in right. Ichiro played on Monday in a minor league game getting one hit in six at bats. Right now don’t know if he will start on opening day or whether Guillermo Heredia will instead. Heredia will be starting some in left field when Ichiro doesn’t and he will give Gordon and Haniger rest when they need it. Ben Gamel is ahead of schedule in his rehab from injury however he will probably start the season on a rehab assignment himself. How soon he will be back may depend how well Ichiro does playing in left field. Heredia is a solid backup outfielder for the Mariners especially for his defense.

Now the look at the bullpen; I already mentioned that LeBlanc and Lawrence will start out as long relievers. So they will be the two guys who will pitch at least two innings when called upon. The other relievers will be Dan Altavilla who had outstanding spring training. Depending whether the Mariners have a lead or not he will probably come in the sixth or seventh inning where Phelps was expected to.  

Nick Vincent and Juan Nicasio will pitch the eighth inning followed by Edwin Diaz in the ninth inning as the closer. Vincent and Nicasio could come in the seventh inning as well especially early in the season. James Pazos and Rzepczynski are the two lefties that will come in anywhere between the sixth and ninth inning; If necessary Pazos can go a couple innings as well.

So this looks like a solid roster long as we don’t see any more injuries to players. Far as the pitching goes I don’t have much confidence in the depth of the pitching in triple A at this time anytime. So we hope that both Felix and the Big Maple can stay healthy most of the season. Getting at least twenty-five starts out of them both will help the Mariners get into the playoffs. Jerry Dipoto will look to add to the starting pitching in July if they are still in the race. Go M’s.