The Seattle Mariners announced their Opening day roster just before their Opening day game against the Red Sox. Unfortunately, the Mariners, like many other teams, will miss some key players on their roster. Matt Brash, Gregory Santos and Bryan Woo were sent to the injured listmeaning the Pitching got the biggest hit. However, this is still a strong roster, with strong pitching.
Catchers:
The catching duo will be Cal Raleigh and Seby Zavala. It’s obvious that the majority of the playing time will go to one of the better catchers in the game in Cal Raleigh. Raleigh combined to have a 116 OPS+ over the last two seasons with a 7.1 bWAR.
Zavala owns a 72 OPS+ in his major league career and will provide the backup duties. Solid defender behind the dish, that will get Raleigh off his feet when needed.
First Base:
Ty France will try to rebound after a difficult 2023. In 2023, France had a .703 OPS, which is very weak for a 1st baseman. The Mariners hope France will rebound to his success in years prior to 2023. In a three-year span from 2020-2022, France hit .285/.355/.443 with 42 home runs in 335 games. France had a strong spring with a .897 OPS, which gives the fans hope for a bounceback.
Second Base:
The Mariners added a great bat at second base in Jorge Polanco this off-season. A position the Mariners haven’t had a lot of success in recent years. Polanco came off a strong showing in 2023 with a 115 OPS+ out of the second base spot, although he did miss some time with injuries. When healthy, Polanco provides a consistent middle of the order bat.
Short Stop:
It was a breakout season for J.P. Crawford in 2023, with his first season over a .750 OPS in his career. Not only did Crawford eclipse the 750 mark, but he also even collected an OPS over 800 (.818) while providing strong defense at a premier position. Crawford added more power and was amongst the league leaders in walks. A big improvement for Crawford.
Third Base:
The Mariners will have two players for the third base job in Luis Urias and Josh Rojas. Urias had a strong spring with an OPS over 800, mainly because of a .500 slugging percentage. The just 26-year-old Urias is looking for a comeback season, after a mediocre 2023. Between 2021 and 2022, Urias combined for 111 OPS+. It’s Urias time to show his 2023 was a fluke and take the majority of the at bats.
Left Field:
The left field job is still up in the air. We will see Dominic Canzone, who I recently wrote an article about, get the majority of the at bats in Left. Luke Raley will also get time at the left field spot butis more versatile to move around to RF or 1B.
Canzone is coming off a great spring with a .1051 OPS, showing his capabilities. He hasn’t shownit in his first season, but the underlying numbers provided more promise in the young Left Fielder.
Center Field:
What can you say about Center Fielder Julio Rodriguez. One of the better overall players in the game and an MVP Candidate in 2024. Julio had a .834 OPS in a so called down sophomore season in his own regards. He showed that during spring with a crazy 1.179 OPS. Even with his down year, Rodriguez provided 5.3 bWAR and ended up 4th in MVP. Time to take the award thisyear.
Right Field:
The Return of Mitch Haniger! The Mariners traded Robbie Ray for the Right fielder after an injury riddled 2023 for the Giants. Haniger owns a 119 OPS+ over his career, so when healthy he is a very strong bat. Haniger showed he was healthy with a 1.288 OPS in spring, looking for a bounce back in his familiar ballpark. With Seattle Haniger owns a .817 OPS and a 126 OPS+.
Bench:
The Mariners will have Seby Zavala, Luke Raley, Josh Rojas and Dylan Moore on their bench. Of the four, Raley will likely get the most playing time. The Mariners got Raley in a trade and he will have a very important role. You can play him left, right and first. Coming off a year with a .824 OPS, you don’t lose anything with Raley.
Moore won his job after a tremendous spring. It was a welcome sign for Moore who had a hard time recovering from surgery in the core area. Moore will likely be a bat that plays the majority ofthe time against left-handed pitching.
DH:
The Mariners added a power bat in Mitch Garver to fill the DH spot. It worked for the Rangers, where he posted a .870 OPS. Garver has had an up and down career, owning a .825 OPS overall. However, as he doesn’t have to put energy in catching, he can completely focus on hitting.
Starting Pitching:
The Mariners lost Woo just before opening day, but still have one of the better rotations in the game. It starts with veteran Luis Castillo who will make the opening day start. The steady Castillo will provide quality innings, it’s what he has always done.
Castillo is followed by Strike Machine George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Emerson Hancock. The young right handers are all extremely talented in their own way. Kirby (3.37 ERA)and Gilbert (3.47 ERA) have both been consistent over the last two seasons. Miller made his MLBdebut and pitched to a solid 4.32 ERA (3.98FIP) in 2023. He added a splitter this offseason and had a solid spring with it (3.75 ERA).
The biggest question mark is obviously Hancock. Hancock pitched to a 4.50 in 3 starts in his brief call-up last year. He didn’t have a good spring pitching to an ERA over 10. However, with the Woo injury, he will be part of the rotation, looking for better results.
Bullpen:
The bullpen took the biggest hit with Brash and Santos. Until that time, the Mariners will go with Closer Carlos Munoz, Lefties Tyler Saucedo and Gabe Speier, newly acquired Ryne Stanek, filled out with Austin Voth, Trent Thornton, Cody Bolton and Collin Snider.
