Mariners 1st Base 2019 and Beyond

The Seattle Mariners began 2019 with Jay Bruce and Edwin Encarnacion splitting most of the time at first base along with Daniel Vogelbach on occasion. Vogelbach was designated hitter when he was in the lineup most of the time against lefties.

Jay Bruce who the Mariners acquired from the New York Mets for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in May. At that point, Vogelbach ended up at designated hitter most of the time with Encarnacion playing first base.

When Encarnacion was traded to the New York Yankees Vogelbach played some first base well as DH.  The Mariners brought up Austin Nola from Tacoma when Encarnacion was traded. Nola had been a career minor leaguer, however; Jerry Dipoto and Scott Servais decided to give him a chance to play some first base though he had done a lot of catching in Tacoma. This allowed flexibility for the Mariners to.

Austin Nola ended up being a surprise being able to hit well in the major leagues. He ended up playing a lot at first base while Vogelbach spent more time at DH. Vogelbach ended up being the Mariner’s representative in the All-Star game. It was a bit of a surprise when Omar Narvaez and Domingo Santana was having better seasons but Vogelbach was popular with the fans. 

In the second half of 2019, Vogelbach started slumping especially against left-handed pitchers. He did end up with 30 home runs but only a .208 batting average.  Right, it is hard to tell whether Vogelbach will be on the Mariners in 2020.  A lot could depend on whether they can trade Domingo Santana or not.

The Mariners don’t have room in the outfield where Santana struggled defensively most of the season. I could see Santana at DH and first base too if he stayed with the Mariners. He could play the outfield on occasion too.

The future at first base is in the hands of Evan White the Mariners number one draft pick in 2017. When it happens will be when he is ready. Defensively he is already major league ready it is his hitting that is in question.

If Evan White has outstanding spring training in 2020 he likely would be the starting first baseman. This would lead the Mariners having to trade either or both Santana and Vogelbach. Austin Nola could play first base on occasion while spending the rest of the time at second base along with occasion at third base and the outfield.

Major league rosters are expanding to 26 players in 2020 so a spot is open for two utility players or an extra infielder or outfielder. Austin Nola could be the designated hitter against lefties if Evan White is on the roster, and Santana is traded. Nola would still play first base on occasion if White is struggling at the plate or at least against top right-handed pitchers.

The Mariners could play Omar Narvaez at first base on occasion if White starts the season at triple-A. At some point, though White will be in Seattle during the 2020 season since Jerry Dipoto wants to go with youngsters; this will only happen if they think White is ready.

I hope White is ready to face major league pitching because his defense will help the Mariners for sure. He is able to cover more area then either Nola or Vogelbach. Go M’s.

Sunday Off

If you anticipated something from me on Sunday I am sorry. I decided to give myself the day off from writing here. It hasn’t happened in a while but since the Seahawks didn’t play no preview to mention.

The Washington Huskies had their worst game of the season losing to Stanford on Saturday 23-13. It didn’t help Stanford had the ball twice as long as the Huskies and quarterback Jacob Eason was out of sync except with wide receiver Aaron Fuller.

Eason looked so bad you wanted to think how anyone would believe he could start in the NFL well as any college team. I guess it happens or maybe it was the Stanford defenses that cause the problem too.  He was throwing the ball too hard most of the time for the receivers to catch the ball. For example, on a fourth-down where the Huskies were hoping to score he threw a ball to tight end Hunter Bryant which went right by him so fast when Bryant was making his cut.

We do hope Eason and the rest of the Huskies will bounce back next week in Arizona. The Huskies can’t afford another loss though I am sure most of us think they couldn’t afford the loss against Stanford.

I am not sure why most figured the Huskies were favored by a large margin going into the game except Stanford had a lot of injuries, especially on the offensive line. They were down to six healthy offensive linemen and they controlled the line of scrimmage. The Huskies haven’t won at Stanford since 2007 so they should have taken care of business without thinking they would win the game in the first place by just showing up. That is what I think anyway.

Washington State Cougars had Saturday off. They play at Arizona State next Saturday while the Huskies are in Arizona.  The Cougars have lost two games in a row without a victory in the Pac-12 so they have to rebound after the last two terrible games.

The news came out during the bye week that defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys resigned. I am sure most Cougar fans didn’t put the whole blame on the collapse of the Cougar's defense. We will have to see how the defense plays the rest of the way.

The Seahawks will be back in action getting ready for their next game this coming Sunday against the Browns in Cleveland. A game the Seahawks should win but don’t overlook the Browns. The Seahawks can’t afford a loss especially after beating the Rams on Thursday night.

Next time I will be looking at the Mariners first base choices going into next year and how I thought the position looked like during 2019.  

The Seattle Mariner Catchers

This last season the Mariners have had the best catcher’s duo in a long time if ever. Together Omar Narvaez and Tom Murphy had 40 home runs. Also, from June on they had Austin Nola who was brought up from Tacoma. He primarily played first base along with some second and a little catching. He was considered the Mariners 3^rd string catcher which helped out a bit allowing sometimes using Narvaez and Murphy in the game at the same time. One of them would catch while the other was the designated hitter.

The question is will both catchers be back this coming season or will Jerry Dipoto trade one of them for another area of need. You have to figure both Narvaez and Murphy will be at the highest level of trade bait they probably will be. I don’t expect they both will have as good a season next year as in 2019.

The Mariners have a catching prospect Cal Raleigh who was drafted last year in the third round.  He is another key to the Mariners rebuild however; I don’t see him on the team until 2021 or 2022.

So does Dipoto trade either Narvaez or Murphy for another needed piece to the puzzle or keep both of them next year.  Though I like to see them around again next season getting another player at a position more needed or a prospect or two sounds good too. Austin Nola can be used as the backup catcher or the Mariners can acquire another catcher in the same way they did Tom Murphy.  We will see, won’t we?

Seahawks Win

The Seahawks and the Rams came down to the last seconds to see who would win the game. The Rams missed a field goal as time ran out giving the Seahawks the win 30-29.

In some people’s opinion, Russell Wilson had one of his best games ever; however, with just over two minutes remaining in the game safety Tedric Thompson dove and caught an interception. It wasn’t called an interception so the Seahawks had to have the play reviewed and it was overturned.  The Seahawks offense all they had to do was get a first down to guarantee the win; however, Russell Wilson did a lateral that almost turned the ball over. We can give the Rams some credit for a good defense at the time but better playing on the side of the Seahawks would have helped.

The Rams were able to get several first downs marching down the field but a penalty for taking too much time moved the Rams back and a couple good stops by the Seahawks the Rams had to kick a field goal which they missed.  I will take the game for sure but the Seahawks need to play better especially on the defensive side. Rams are a good team so taking the win is good.

The Seattle Seahawks are now 4-1. The next game will be on Sunday, October 13 in Cleveland against the Browns. The Seahawks are in second place in the NFC West division. The San Francisco 49ers is 3-0 after having a bye week. They will take on the Browns at home on Monday night football.

Seahawk Thursday

Tonight the Seattle Seahawks play the Los Angeles Rams at home on Thursday night.  We are hoping this will be a tight game in the favor of the Seahawks. We do know the Seahawks do well on national television so we hope for the same.

Left tackle Duane Brown along with running back Rashaad Penny and cornerback Neiko Thorpe will be ready to play. Rashaad Penny and Thorpe were both out with hamstring injuries. Penny has been out the last two weeks while Thorpe missed three games. 

The Los Angeles will be without former Washington Huskies safety Taylor Rapp with an ankle injury. Also, linebacker Bryce Hager is out with a shoulder injury. Everyone else for both teams should be ready to go.

It will be especially nice to have Penny back to give Chris Carson some time off. Although Carson is the number one running back Penny gives the Seahawks more speed. Carson should get a lot of the carries; however, Penny will give them a different look when he comes in. We should still see CJ Prosise on many of the passing downs.

It will be important for the Seahawks offensive line to have a good game because the Rams have a very good defensive line and we don’t want Russell Wilson running for his life. Go Hawks!

Look At the Mariners’ Bullpen For 2019

The Seattle Mariners bullpen probably was one of the reasons the team won only 68 games for the season. So much that the team turned over the roster in the bullpen; none of the pitchers starting the season in the bullpen end the season in the bullpen.

Over the season the Mariners used 33 pitchers out of the bullpen. Cory Gearrin was the last pitcher who started the season with the Mariners but didn’t last. The Mariners put him on waivers August 23, and he was picked up by the New York Yankees. It turned out good for him because he is now in the playoffs. He led the Mariners in appearances at 48. He had a decent ERA of 3.92. Obviously, the Mariners staff didn’t feel he was part of the team’s future.

Hunter Strickland the Mariners signed as a free agent during the off-season to be the team’s closer, however, injuries early on in the season he ended up pitching in only four games for the Mariners. Shortly being activated off the injured list the Mariners traded him along with Roenis Elias to the Washington Nationals for three prospects. One of the prospects was Taylor Guilbeau who became the Mariner's left-handed specialist in the middle of August. Elias pitched in several roles in the Mariners’ bullpen including closer before the trade to the Nationals. He was tied for second in appearances for the Mariners at 44 games with Anthony Bass and Brandon Brennan. Actually had he not been hurt and on the injured list for a while, Brennan would have been the only reliever on the team for the season. The Mariners see him as a member of the bullpen for 2020.

The Mariners acquired Austin Adams from Washington Nationals on May 4. He became a bright spot in the Mariners’ bullpen with his enthusiasm. He did spend some time in July on the injured list. Also, near the end of the season, he was hurt once again. He is going have to undergo ACL surgery. So likely he will miss at least the early time of next season. The Mariners look to him to pitch in either the seventh or eighth inning for them.

The Mariners ended the season with 11 pitchers in the bullpen because of the expansion of the roster in September.  Many of those pitchers will compete to make the roster as one of the eight members of the bullpen. With the rosters expanding from 25 to 26 next year this will allow teams to carry eight relievers along with five starters. They will be able to have an additional infielder, outfielder, or catcher as well.

Besides the eleven pitchers ending the season in the bullpen the Mariners will likely acquire a few more pitchers during the off-season plus allowing some additional pitchers off their double-A Arkansas team to compete. In September Zac Grotz, Reggie McClain, and Art Warren spent time in Arkansas as well; so those three will be competing for spots along with several other pitchers.

Erik Swanson the Mariners acquired along with Justus Sheffield from the New York Yankees last off-season for James Paxton has a real shot to make the Mariners as a reliever. He has spent most of his career as a starter but showed the Mariners in September he can be a valuable piece of the bullpen.

Whether the Mariners have a winning record next season or not the bullpen will be much improved next year. They showed that in the second half of the season. It will be interesting to see if the Mariners will pick up a closer or go with one of the guys who are on the roster right now.  Matt Magill who the Mariners acquired from the Minnesota Twins on July 21 ended the season as the closer so he may get the shot as the closer when next season begins.

It will be interesting to see what the bullpen will look like next season. I expect a combination of veterans and youngsters. Go M’s.

Mariner Season Over Now to Analyze

The Seattle Mariners ended the season 68-94. Though the team was in rebuild mode I am not sure fans expected the team to have only 68 wins especially getting off to a 13-2 start.

Over the days ahead look at what they did and what we hope will happen next year.

I will begin with the starting pitching. Marco Gonzales had a solid season with a record of 16-13 with an ERA of 3.99. He could have had another win or two having pitched very well in his last two outings without any help by the offense.

Yusei Kikuchi didn’t have a very good season for his first one in the major leagues; however, everyone in the Mariner organization is hoping for success next year and beyond. He had to get acquainted with being in a new country, and the loss of his father.

Justus Sheffield came up to pitch for the Mariners when Mike Leake was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks at the end of July when the trading deadline ended. He shows promise though he wasn’t able to go more than five innings. We are expecting more from Sheffield next season. If he can get into the sixth innings more times than not and have a record around .500 it will be a good year.

Justin Dunn came up in September to make a few starts. He got off to a rocky start because of nervousness; however, he did show us what the future may look for him.

Wade LeBlanc and Tommy Milone both started early on in the season; however, manager Scott Servais and or general manager decided to go with an opener which was less successful than they would have liked. Both LeBlanc and Milone did OK at times but don’t show much to be on the team in the future. Except in the final game of the season, Milone came in after Dunn went a couple innings while LeBlanc was moved to the bullpen in September. They both might be invited back for spring training but I don’t see them making the team. If either does maybe as the fifth starter at the beginning of the season before Logan Gilbert is inserted into the starting lineup. Gilbert may start the season at double-A Arkansas or triple-A Tacoma if he isn’t on the Mariner staff. At some point, he will be there next year.

Erik Swanson who was part of the trade bringing over Justus Sheffield from the Yankees for James Paxton started early on in the season with mixed reviews. He was sent down to Tacoma in mid-June then returned on July 16. The Mariners used him as an opener a few times then moved him to the bullpen where he found success. The Mariners now will Swanson primarily in the bullpen. If he does start it would likely be as an opener or an injury causes one of the starters to be out for a period of time.

So the Mariners starters next season should be Gonzales, Kikuchi, Sheffield, Dunn, and Gilbert whether at the beginning of the season or during the season. The Mariners could acquire another starter whether by trade or free agency.

Next time I will look at the bullpen. In other news found out Monday pitching coach Paul Davis will be reassigned to another position within in the organization while third base coach Chris Prieto and bullpen coach Jim Brower contracts haven’t been renewed. Prieto worked with the outfielder as well. The outfield defensively didn’t go over well this season so not sure whether it was part of his dismissal; I will get into that when I write about the outfield. The bullpen wasn't much success for the most part though improved in the last half of the season. I will get into the bullpen on my next post about the Mariners.