PEORIA, Ariz. — The sprint to the finish effectively started Friday when the Seattle Mariners sent 11 players to minor-league camp. It’s now less than two weeks before the club must determine its 25-man roster.
“We’re running out of innings for guys, yeah,” manager Lloyd McClendon said. “It’s just that time of year.”
One of the key competitions ended March 13 when Chris Taylor suffered a broken right wrist on a foul ball. Taylor is expected to miss another three-to-five weeks, which effectively turned Brad Miller into the starting shortstop.
Miller might have won the job anyway, but he now gets all of April to prove he deserves to keep it.
“It’s easier said than done,” he said, “but I try to have the same approach and the same mindset regardless of (whether) I’m a 12-year veteran or I’m a rookie, whether it’s the World Series or spring training.”
Miller has three errors this spring, but two came in the first few games. He is 9-for-24 with four doubles and two home runs in 11 games after getting two doubles and a sacrifice fly Saturday against the Cubs in Mesa.
“He seems to be in a better place this spring with himself from a mental standpoint,” McClendon said. “He’s not as uptight about things. I think his game is better as a result.”
That leaves four spots still, to some extent, up for grabs: Fifth starter, backup catcher, second lefty reliever and fifth right-hander reliever.
Let’s break them down.
Fifth starter
McClendon has taken to saying there are two spots available in the rotation, which is a strange walk-back from his previous statement that only one opening exists, unless James Paxton’s job is viewed as being at risk.
That’s a reach since Paxton seems a likely candidate, from the way the spring rotation is lining up, to start the second game of the season. So let’s assume Paxton is in.
That gets us back to the presumed spring launch point of a choice between right-hander Taijuan Walker and lefty Roenis Elias.
Right now, the numbers say it’s Walker’s job to lose…but not so fast.
“My evaluation is probably a little different from yours,” McClendon said. “I don’t worry about the numbers per se. … They both need to be consistent, particularly in the strike zone. Continue to show poise.”
Each has pitched four times. Walker has yet to allow a run in 12 innings, while Elias has given up six in 112/3 innings. Walker has allowed four hits; Elias has allowed 18.
Elias points out the club “knows what I did last year at the major-league level,” which is true. It’s also true that Walker shows growing signs of harnessing the gifts that made him the organization’s top pitching prospect.
“Everything feels good,” Walker said. “Everything feels strong.”
That’s how it looks, too. So when do we get a decision?
“I don’t think it’s fair to make it the last day,” McClendon said. “I don’t think that’s fair to anybody. I would say by the last week of the spring, we got to have things pretty much narrowed down.”
Backup catcher
John Baker was signed in late January to a minor-league deal in order to provide veteran insurance in the event anything happens to starter Mike Zunino, whom McClendon has ticketed for 130 starts.
Baker is a left-handed hitter, which complements Zunino’s righty bat, but defensive stalwart Jesus Sucre, who is already on the 40-man roster, remains a heavy favorite to win the backup job.
“He shuts down the running game,” McClendon said, “and he’s very adept (at calling a game).”
Second lefty reliever
The Mariners, not happy with the talent on hand, signed veterans Rafael Perez and Joe Saunders to minor-league deals just prior to camp in an effort to boost competition.
Turns out, they needn’t have bothered. Neither Perez nor Saunders have pitched well, while two guys with one combined game of experience above Double-A, have delivered one shutdown outing after another.
In a pinch, David Rollins likely gets the nod over Tyler Olson simply because Rollins is a Rule 5 pick who can’t be sent to the minors unless he clears waivers and Houston rejects the chance to reacquire him for $25,000.
Olson can simply be reassigned to minor-league camp.
Perez and Lucas Luetge were among Friday’s cuts. While Saunders is still around, he has allowed seven runs in 41/3 innings — although six runs came in one disastrous inning on March 8 against the Reds.
“I know veterans tend to come later in the spring,” McClendon said. “So you have to be patient with your evaluation. To jump to conclusions right off the bat is just not good. You learn to be patient and let things play out.”
Saunders might have until March 31, which is when the Mariners must notify him, as a Rule XX (B) free agent, as to whether he will make their 25-man roster.
Fifth right-handed reliever
This requires some presumptions. First, that two lefty relievers will be part of what projects as a seven-man bullpen.
All-Star closer Fernando Rodney is a lock, of course, and while Yoervis Medina, Danny Farquhar and Tom Wilhelmsen all have options, it would be a surprise if they don’t make the club.
If that’s all true, the last right-hander job shapes up as a battle between Dominic Leone, who compiled a 2.17 earned-run average last season in 57 games, and Carson Smith, a potential closer who is extra tough on right-handed hitters.
Both have been inconsistent this spring.
Now, throw in a wrinkle named Erasmo Ramirez, who is out of options. The Mariners are likely to try to sneak him through waivers, but scouts from opposing clubs contend Ramirez is unlikely to go unclaimed.
A trade is possible, but the Mariners have little leverage because, as other clubs realize, their alternative is losing him to a waiver claim.
Ramirez has also been linked to Japanese clubs. Such a move would require that he clear waivers but, generally, clubs don’t interfere if a player has an agreement in place with a Japanese club.
If all of that falls through, it’s possible — not likely, but possible — the Mariners keep Ramirez as their long reliever rather than simply surrender him through a waiver claim.
Doing so, though, would likely force both Leone and Smith to the minors. The Mariners don’t want to do that.
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