Seattle Mariners "Dynasty"

[Trent Booty]

Seattle Mariners "Dynasty"

Hey everyone, I will be posting my Seattle Mariners game here. I've done a couple short term sims so far, just experimenting with the game, and I have a set of settings and stuff that I like to employ and ll that stuff so I'm now finally ready for my official long-term game to start!

As the title suggests, I will be playing with the Seattle Mariners. They are my favorite team, and I am very well-versed in their farm system, etc. so it will be interesting to see fringe guys I know a lot about potentially impress and make their way through the system and then up to Seattle.

I've set up the rosters to match opening day rosters, I've done a few things like set up Charlie Blackmon's conctract extension, the Harvey/Mesoraco trade, etc. before I start. I've also changed a few setting to allow things like draft pick trading (which I will barely use).

Now to get in to the roster. I will start with the coaching staff.
I am acting as the manager and GM.

- Jerry Dipoto will act as my assistant manager to start the year. He is signed through 2020 so come then I will maybe explore other options then, but for now I am happy with him as my assistant.

- Manny Acta is my bench coach. I actually dislike him IRL and he has a "controlling" personality in the game, so I will likely look to replace him as his contract expires after 2019. He apparently wants to eventually move on to manage in the MLB so I will let hm go to chase that option after his contract expire. He has a career record of 372-518 as a manager, so good luck to whatever team tries to sign him as a manager, lol. Depending on how we do in 2018, I might even can him this off-season instead and get things started a little bit earlier.

- My pitching coach is Mel Stottlemyer Jr, who is about as average a pitching coach as you can have. He's from Washington and likes to develop hard throwing pitchers, so guys like Edwin Diaz, James Paxton, Dan Altavilla, James Pazos, and Juan Nicasio (all have plus fastballs) all really excel working under him. He is signed through 2019 but I have no reason not to try and re-sign him after that unless a better candidate comes along somewhere.

- My hitting coach is obviously none other than the greatest Mariner of all time, Edgar Martinez. He focuses on improving hitters contact so they can hit for high average, and I think guys like Dee Gordon, Jean Segura, and Robinson Cano (all have 60+ contact) will all really benefit from having Edgar around. I intend to keep him as long as possible.

- My head scout is Scott Hunter. He is a pretty good scout, especially good at scouting in the minor leagues and scouting amateurs. He heavily favors tools, so come draft time I will be relying on him after the first 5-10 rounds.

- Lastly, my head trainer will be Rob Nodine. He has an average reputation and while he is very bad with arm injuries, he really excels at treating and preventing leg and back injuries. He is also a legend in his field regarding fatigue, as somehow he allows players to go multiple days without needing rest. This also helps pitchers being able to pitch on less than 4 days rest if needed (I will start the season with a 4-man rotation due to a lot of off-days early in the schedule so this will come in handy to start the year.)

That is my MLB coaching staff, I don't really have any guys in the minors that I plan on potentially rushing up to help at any point. That could change as the season progresses and I see that my AA manager is leading the team to an amazing playoff run, or that all my hitters in high-A are mashing thanks to the awesome hitting coach, etc.

That will do it regarding the coaching staff. My next post will be the opening day roster, as I will be taking things slow to start out because I will be trying to line up with the MLB draft at the same time in my game and in IRL as I'd like to get the guys that are getting drafted IRL.

After I get the opening day roster and get guys who are on the DL to start the season covered, I will then go into my top-30 prospects (I created the list myself, and won't be using the in-game top-30 prospect list). After covering top prospects, I will then start making posts detailing any roster moves such as trades, releases, etc. and also monthly posts to highlight the Mariners and other top stories from around the MLB.

Anyone who is reading this, please let me know what you think of this so far and if it'll be something you'll be interested in following. Thanks

[dtizzle]

Are you suspending Cano 80 games?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Trent Booty]

Originally Posted by dtizzle

Are you suspending Cano 80 games

I will be suspending him 80 games starting on May 15th, when he started serving his suspension IRL. He will be eligible to return in mid-August and will be ineligible for the playoffs should we make it. I will keep Dee Gordon in CF however unless my other CF options (basically only Heredia) are setting the world on fire, and/or if my 2B options (Motter/Romine/Beckham) all can't fill in at 2nd base effectively.

[Trent Booty]

Mariners Set Opening Day Roster

Your 2018 Seattle Mariners have their lineup, rotation, and bullpen all set for March 29th, opening day. All 25 spots have been filled, although three of those spots originally belonged to someone else, who unfortunately went down with injuries.

We'll start by breaking down the 25-man roster, starting with the pitchers.

Rotation:
1.) RHP Felix Hernandez
2.) LHP James Paxton
3.) RHP Mike Leake
4.) LHP Marco Gonzales

The rotation will originally be a 4-man rotation, as the Mariners have a lot of off days throughout the first couple weeks of the season. Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyer Jr. will be keeping a close eye on the starters to make sure they're able to go on schedule. Starting opening day will be RHP Felix Hernandez, who failed to pitch over 100 innings last year, the first time that's happened to the king since 2005, the year he made his debut. Following Felix will be LHP James Paxton, who was having a breakout season last year, but injuries limited him to just 136 innings of sub-3 ERA baseball. the third spot in the rotation will go to RHP MIke Leake, who had a 2.53 ERA in 5 starts after the Mariners aquired him last season for 22-year old SS/2B Rayder Ascanio. The fourth spot will go to LHP Marco Gonzales, who the Mariners traded top prospect Tyler O'Neil for in a late July trade.

Bullpen:
Long Relief: RHP Casey Lawrence
Long Relief: LHP Wade LeBlanc
Left- Handed Specialist: LHP Mark Rzepczynski
Middle Relief: RHP Dan Altavilla
Middle Relief: LHP James Pazos
Middle Relief: RHP Nick Vincent
Setup: RHP Juan Nicasio
Closer: RHP Edwin Diaz

The bullpen is anchored by closer Edwin Diaz, who had 34 saves last year. Juan Nicasio, who just signed a 2-year, $16.5M contract this offseason, will be handling duties in the 8th to get the ball to Diaz in the 9th. Nick Vincent, James Pazos, and Dan Altavilla will all be middle relievers to start the year, while Mark Rzepczynski will be the guy tasked with getting tough left handed hitters out in key situations. Wade LeBlanc and Casey Lawrence will both be tasked with providing multiple innings out of the bullpen, and both are candidates to make some starts once a 5th starter is needed.

Lineup:
CF Dee Gordon
SS Jean Segura
2B Robinson Cano
DH Nelson Cruz
3B Kyle Seager
RF Mitch Haniger
1B Ryon Healy
C Mike Marjama
LF Ichiro Suzuki

Bench:
OF Guillermo Heredia
UTL Andrew Romine
1B/DH Dan Vogelbach
C David Freitas

The lineup will see some significant upgrades as the Mariners have acquired Dee Gordon, formerly a 2B/SS and converted him to play CF, and 1B Ryon Healy, who formerly played 3B/1B/DH for Oakland last year before being traded for reliever Emilio Pagan.

Now that the 25-man roster is set and ready to go, here are the guys who are injured and aren't ready for opening day.

Disabled List:
LF Ben Gamel
C Mike Zunino
RHP Erasmo Ramirez
RHP David Phelps (60-day)

LF Ben Gamel, C Mike Zunino, and RHP Erasmo Ramirez will all begin the season on a minor league rehab assignment in Tacoma, and they all have already mostly healed up from their injury and will hopefully be back to Seattle before the end of April. It is unsure what moves will be made to accommodate their returns, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. RHP Davis Phelps, who figured to be a large part of this year's bullpen, will undergo Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2018 season.

[Trent Booty]

BREAKING: Mariners Release RHP Pat Light

The Mariners have released right-hander Pat Light from Triple-A Tacoma. The hard-throwing Light once rated among the better farmhands in the Red Sox system and was traded to the Twins in the 2016 Fernando Abad swap, but his control issues have prevented him from carving out a role in the big leagues. Light logged 16 2/3 innings between Boston and Minnesota in 2016, and while he struck out 16 batters in that time, he also issued 16 walks. Light’s strikeout rate plummeted with the Triple-A affiliates for the Pirates and Mariners last season, and in three spring training innings in 2018, he had issued eight walks and hit two batters.

[Trent Booty]

Mariners Top-30 Prospects

1.) OF Kyle Lewis, 22 (Also: #65 on top 100 prospects)[/SIZE]
When healthy, Lewis shows the makings of becoming a dynamic offensive talent capable of hitting for both average and power. Big and physical, he possesses easy plus power to all fields from the right side of the plate, albeit with some swing-and-miss tendencies. The approach is solid, though, and he controls the strike zone well while showing feel for hitting to all fields. Lewis isn't a burner but shows average speed underway, and he compensates for a lack of range in the outfield with excellent instincts and jumps. Lewis will start the day on the disabled list as he works back from his injury. He will pick it up in Modesto (A+) once he is fully healed.

2.) 1B Evan White, 22 (Also: #5 on top 1B prospects)
A plus runner with solid arm strength, White proved a very capable corner outfielder with the U.S. college national team in 2016. The Mariners, however, will deploy him exclusively at first base, where has has the potential to become a Gold Glove defender. White will begin 2018 in Modesto (A+).

3.) RHP Sam Carlson, 19
After being drafted in the 2nd round in 2017, Carlson made his professional debut the following month in the Rookie-level Arizona League, where he impressed scouts with two strong outings before Seattle shut him down for the season as a precautionary measure. He will spend the entire 2018 season in the Arizona League as well in his first full season as a professional.

4.) RHP Andrew Moore, 23
After dominating AA as a 22 year old, Moore was called up to Tacoma after 5 starts and proceeded to be well above average there as well. He also made 9 starts in Seattle in 2017 where he had below average results. He will begin 2018 back all the way in Akansas (AA) to regain his confidence and could every well quickly be called up to Tacoma should he impress again this year. He also is on the 40-man roster.

5.) OF Julio Rodriguez, 17
Rodriguez has a chance to be a special hitter, one who projects to hit for average and already shows robust raw power during batting practice. Rodriguez does have a pre-pitch waggle in the batter's box that can get his timing out of sync at times and results in some swing-and-miss, but his advanced approach at the plate and his overall bat speed helps solve some of the issues caused by his developing batting mechanics. Overall, he has the ability to drive the ball to all fields and he consistently makes hard contact. On the other side of the ball, Rodriguez shows the makings of an everyday right fielder because of his solid defensive skills and above-average arm strength. His offensive profile is a clean fit at the position, and scouts believe Rodriguez has the potential to be a middle-of-the-order type of run producer once fully developed. He will likely spend the entire year at the Mariners international complex before starting 2019 playing in the DSL for his first real professional action.

6.) OF Braden Bishop, 24
A well-above-average runner and defender, Bishop is graceful in center field with his great jumps and exceptional range. That speed also makes him a threat on the basepaths, though he still has gains to make with both his technique and feel for reading pitchers. Bishop's bat will need to continue to develop for him to reach his ceiling as a top-of-the-order center fielder. Even if it doesn't, he has the hitting ability and speed-defense combo to be a productive fourth outfielder at the highest level.After ending 2017 with a call up to AA Arkansas, where he finished hitting .336, he will continue to try and dominate AA pitching to begin 2018.

7.) 3B Joe Rizzo, 20
some scouts believe Rizzo can become an adequate third baseman, others feel he's destined for first base or left field, where his below-average speed and average arm strength would be less of an issue. Rizzo is thickly built and doesn't require much physical projection, so he will need to focus on conditioning and adding good strength to his 5-foot-9 frame in future seasons. He will begin 2018 in Modesto (A+) and playing 3B every day to see if he should stick there long term. A call up to Arkansas (AA) isn't out of the question if he performs well.

8.) RHP Max Povse, 24
After starting in Double-A to open 2017, the 6'8 right hander pitched well enough to earn a late-June promotion to the big leagues, where he was ineffective in relief. He spent the remainder of the season in Triple-A, bouncing between the bullpen and rotation and pitching to uneven results. This year he will start in Tacoma's rotation, where he'll focus solely on starting. Should things go badly, he could very well shift to focusing on pitching out of the bullpen full time moving forward.

9.) RHP Art Warren, 25
Warren began his career as a starter, earning mid-season All-Star honors with Class A Clinton before advancing to the Class A Advanced California League in his first full season. He returned to the Cal League in 2017, this time as full-time reliever, and promptly turned in a breakout campaign as part of a loaded Modesto bullpen. That success followed Warren to the Arizona Fall League, where he put a bow on his season by tossing 11 1/3 scoreless frames while closing games for the Peoria Javelinas. This has prompted the Mariners to start Warren in AA for the first time in his career. He has a path to the Seattle bullpen if he continues to impress, as he could easily become a dominant middle reliever in a major league bullpen.

10.) RHP Matthew Festa, 25
A full-time move to the bullpen led to a breakout first full season for Festa, as he showed impressive bat-missing ability, garnered All-Star honors in the Class A Advanced California League, and then capped his season with a successful turn in the Arizona Fall League. He will begin 2018 in AA Arkansas with the ability to move up to Tacoma rather quickly if he performs well or veterans in Tacoma struggle.

11.) RHP Wyatt Mills, 23, Modesto (A+)
12.) OF Eric Filia, 25, Arkansas (AA)
13.) SS/3B Juan Querecuto, 17, Unnasigned
14.) OF Anthony Jiminez, 22, Modesto (A+)
15.) RHP Nick Rumbelow, 26, Tacoma (AAA)
16.) OF Ian Miller, 26, Tacoma (AAA)
17.) OF Luis Liberato, 22, Modesto (A+)
18.) RHP Seth Elledge, 22, Modesto (A+)
19.) LHP Anthony Misiewicz, 23, Arkansas (AA)
20.) RHP Rob Whalen, 24, Tacoma (AAA)
21.) RHP Chase De Jong, 23, Arkansas (AA)
22.) 2B Donnie Walton, 23, Modesto (A+)
23.) 2B Joseph Rosa, 21, Clinton (A)
24.) OF Ronald Rosario, 21, Everett (A-)
25.) LHP Oliver Jaskie, 22, Clinton (A)+
26.) RHP Darin Gillies, 25, Arkansas (AA)
27.) SS/2B Bryson Brigman, 22, Modesto (A+)
28.) OF Chuck Taylor, 24, Arkansas (AA)
29.) INF/OF Griefer Andrade, 21, Clinton (A)
30.) RHP Kyle Wilcox, 23, Clinton (A)

[Trent Booty]

D’Backs Acquire International Bonus Slot From Mariners For Righty Edwin Quezada

The Diamondbacks have acquired a 2017-18 international bonus slot from the Mariners, as per press releases from both teams. Seattle will get minor league right-hander Edwin Quezada back on their end of the swap. The amount of money changing hands isn’t yet known, though international pool money can only be dealt in $250K increments.

The Mariners actively looked to add to their bonus pool during the current international signing period as the team pursued Shohei Ohtani. The M’s added roughly $2.5MM in additional international funds in trades with the Marlins, Twins, and White Sox over the offseason, though once Ohtani chose to sign with the Angels, the Mariners reversed course and began to unload some of that excess cash. GM Jerry Dipoto added two arms to the system in the form of southpaw Anthony Misiewicz (while sending $1MM in pool money to the Rays) and right-hander Shawn Armstrong from the Indians for $500K, and now the Mariners have added anotherpitcher in Quezada.

The 21-year-old was signed out of the Dominican Republic last year and he made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League, posting a 1.74 ERA, 2.71 K/BB rate, and 46 strikeouts over 41 1/3 innings of work. Quezada appeared as a reliever in 12 of 15 games. He also has interesting potential as a hitter as he has 50-grade power on a 20-80 grade scale.

[Trent Booty]

Red Sox Trade Roenis Elias To Mariners

The Red Sox announced that they’ve traded left-hander Roenis Elias to the Mariners in exchange for a player to be named later or cash.

Boston had originally acquired Elias alongside right-handed reliever Carson Smith in a trade that sent Wade Miley and Jonathan Aro to Seattle. The Mariners had two open 40-man spots prior to the trade, so they don’t need to make a corresponding move for Elias, who will report to Triple-A Tacoma.

Elias, 29, debuted with the Mariners as a 25-year-old back in 2014 and turned in a terrific rookie season, tossing 163 2/3 innings of 3.85 ERA ball with 7.9 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9 and a 45.4 percent ground-ball rate. His sophomore season yielded comparable results in 2015, but the Mariners flipped him for a more established arm at the time in the form of Miley.

Despite his quality results in Seattle from 2014-15, Elias was a scarcely used piece in Boston. The Sox gave him just eight big league innings in total from 2016-17, and he spent most of his time with the organization in Triple-A. Elias had a solid season with Pawtucket in 2016 when he turned in a 3.60 ERA over 125 innings (19 starts, two relief appearances), but injuries limited him to just 43 innings between the Majors and minors last year.

With the Mariners, Elias will likely be shuttled between Tacoma and Seattle for much of the season and serve as a depth option for both the rotation and the ’pen, though he’s worked exclusively as a reliever with Boston this season. Given his previous success with the M’s and his solid 2016 season in Triple-A, it’s not out of the question that he could eventually claim a more permanent role on the big league roster.

In two relief appearances in AAA Pawtucket this year, Elias had only thrown 2 innings but had given up 4 ER with a 3.50 WHIP. The Mariners will slowly ease him more into a long-relief role, before possibly giving him some starts in Tacoma before maybe making appearances in Seattle.

[Trent Booty]

Mariners Release Josh Smith, Matt Hague; Assign Jayson Werth To Triple-A

The Mariners have made a few transactions at their top affiliate. Righty Josh Smith and infielder Matt Hague have both been released from the Triple-A roster.

Seattle had inked both Smith and Hague to minor league deals, but evidently felt the roster spots in Tacoma were better utilized on other assets. One of those is Jayson Werth, a 15-year MLB veteran who will be playing in his age-39 season. He has been working out at extended Spring Training but could now push toward the MLB roster if he shows well at Tacoma.

Smith, 30, compiled a 14:2 K/BB ratio in his 10 1/3 innings early this season, though he also allowed seven earned runs on 17 hits. In parts of three seasons in the majors, he carries a 5.30 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 127 1/3 innings. The 32-year-old Hague, meanwhile, is a right-handed hitter who primarily has lined up at first base as a professional. He was slashing an eyebrow-raising .226/.419/.264 through 74 plate appearances, with an unusual mix of only two extra base hits but 19 walks against just nine strikeouts.

UPDATE: Smith has signed a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians and is to report to their AAA affiliate Columbus.

[Trent Booty]

Mariners acquire LHP Anthony McIver from Twins for cash

The Twins have traded Double-A lefty Anthony McIver to the Mariners in exchange for cash. McIver has been solid in 13 1/3 innings of Double-A ball this year, though he’s barely pitched above Class-A Advanced in his pro career to date despite being 26 years of age. The Twins picked him in the 15th round of the 2015 draft, and he’s opened the 2018 season with a 2.70 ERA, a 15-to-5 K/BB ratio, no homers allowed and a 40 percent ground-ball rate.

[Trent Booty]

Mariners activate LF Ben Gamel from the disabled list, option RHP Dan Altavilla to AAA Tacoma

After giving up 7 ER (2 HR) in 3 appearances while only getting 10 outs in the first 10 games (17.18 ERA), The Mariners have optioned reliever Dan Altavilla to AAA Tacoma. To correspond with this move, the 5-6 Mariners have activated LF Ben Gamel from his rehab assignment and will be ready for the game on April 11 against the Royals.

Altavilla started the year throwing two scoreless innings in his first appearance against the Giants on April 3, but the wheels came off in his two appearances that followed. Getting shelled hasn’t always been an issue for Altavilla, as it’s mostly been poor control that has let him down before. However, he’s only walked two guys this year compared to 4 strikeouts, so his command hasn’t been his biggest downfall this season. With Gamel ready to be activated, Seattle thought giving Dan some pressure-free innings in AAA wouldn’t hurt, as he could regain his confidence and maybe come back up at some point later in the season. Casey Lawrence was the most likely candidate to be optioned for Gamel but he has impressed and has been quality while eating innings in meaningless blowout games so far this season.

In 6 rehab games with AAA Tacoma, Gamel hit .423 (11-26) with 3 2B, 2 HR and 7 RBI. He also walked twice, while only striking out twice as well. He seems ready to come back to Seattle and contribute right away.
For now, Gamel will assume the full-time LF job from Ichiro. However, Guillermo Heredia will still be the 4th OF, and Ichiro will take over duties at LF/RF occasionally, while mostly contributing off the bench as a pinch runner or pinch hitter late in games. The bullpen goes down to 7 men after starting the season with 8, but guys like Nick Vincent (3.2 scoreless IP to start the year) should be able to handle the extra workload.

C Mike Zunino is still trying to fine his stroke in Tacoma, so he’ll probably taker another a week or so to get comfortable before he returns to Seattle. He’s expected to be 100% after this upcoming home stand (3 vs. OAK, 4 vs. HOU) so he’ll likely miss another 7 games at least.

SP Erasmo Ramirez is also trying to find a groove in Tacoma after starting a rehab assignment there shortly after the season started. He’s only made one start in Tacoma so far, so he’ll likely have to wait another 2-3 weeks before he’s ready to return to Seattle. With the Mariners about to have to find a 5th starter, they were hoping Erasmo would be back in time to slot right into that spot, but it’ll likely go to either Casey Lawrence or Wade LeBlanc, who are both already on the 25-man roster.

[Trent Booty]

Mariners #19 Prospect Could Potentially Miss Entire 2018 Season Due To Shoulder Problems

Left-handed pitcher Anthony Misiewicz was one out away from getting through 4 scoreless innings in his 2018 debut for AA Arkansas when he noticed something didn't feel right. After a lengthy mound visit, he was taken from the game and sent to the locker room for testing. That was April 7th.

It is now April 13th, and the Mariners #19 prospect just found out that he's suffering from shoulder inflammation. Misiewicz, 23, has been shut down indefinitely and there is no real time table for his return.

After getting drafted in the 18th round by the Mariners in 2015, he made his pro debut in Everett (A-) as a 20 year old and had a 2.14 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP in just under 50 innings that summer. The following year, he spent the entire year in A+ Modesto with mixed results. In 2017 he was traded by the Mariners to the Rays along with infielder Luis Rengifo for C Mike Marjama and RHP Ryan Garton. He pitched some in AA that year but didn't have the sucess he had in rookie ball his first professional year.

This offseason, the Mariners traded some of the international signing bonus money they originally acquired for Shohei Ohtani, to the Rays to get Misiewicz back in the organization. He was expected to pitch in AA all year and potentially leap over other Mariners prospects such as Chase De Jong or Andrew Moore and make the jump to Tacoma. It now looks like he will miss most of, if not all of the 2018 season.

[Trent Booty]

Mariners Make A Flurry of Roster Moves Due to Injuries

The Mariners have activated both C Mike Zunino and RHP Erasmo Ramirez from the disabled list, and called up LHP Ariel Miranda from AAA Tacoma. These moves were made necessary as RHPs Felix Hernandez and Mike Leake both have been placed on the 10-day DL due to a dead arm (Felix) and a shoulder strain (Leake). C Mike Marjama has also been optioned to AAA Tacoma to accommodate for Zunino’s return.

Hernandez (4.43 ERA) and Leake (3.31 ERA) have both been great for the Mariners this season, and their injuries put them in a unfortunate position, as they’re dealing with a rotation of Paxton/Gonzales/Ramirez/Miranda/LeBlanc, which is less than their ideal situation this early into a season. Felix should only miss the 10 days and might make a start or two in Tacoma to regain some arm strength, but Leake is likely out until late May and we’ll likely not see him again until June.

Erasmo Ramirez will finally join the Mariners after missing the first month of the season and making three rehab starts in Tacoma. Ariel Miranda started the year in Tacoma and has been excellent, giving up just 6 ER in 3 starts, as well as striking out 20 compared to only 7 walks. Since Felix is only going to miss two starts, it gives Miranda, Ramirez, and LeBlanc each a chance to show they belong at the major league level and stay in the rotation. Casey Lawrence also has to prove he can be a valuable innings eater as he’s struggled of late, and the Mariners could very well send him to Tacoma, transition one of the three aforementioned starters into his long relief role, and put Felix back in the rotation that way.

Zunino, who is finally coming back from his injury he suffered at the end of spring training, hit 4 HRs in 12 games in Tacoma and should transition back into his starting catcher role. Mike Marjama hit .220 in his absence and while backup catcher David Freitas has hit worse (.136), he’s gotten on base at a much higher clip and drew 4 walks in limited playing time, while Marjama has failed to draw a walk mostly playing every day. Freitas is also a much better catcher defensively, and handles the Mariners pitching staff better.

[Trent Booty]

Injuries Continue to Hurt Mariners

After making his 2018 debut, Erasmo Ramirez strained his shoulder and will go on the 10-day disabled list, joining Felix Hernandez and Mike Leake. Coming up to replace Erasmo is RHP Christian Bergman, who has impressed in his lone start for Tacoma this year. Roenis Elias was also a candidate to come up, but he’s still being worked back as a starter and has yet to make his first AAA start this season.

Ramirez will likely miss 2 months before making more rehab starts in Tacoma. A post-ASB return is likely.

Ramirez gave up 4 ER but was able to get through 7 strong innings in the 3-4 loss to the White Sox. The Mariners will be keeping a closer eye on their starters, as they’ve felt pressured to let the starters go an extra inning at times to conserve the bullpen.

Bergman has made one start for Tacoma this year, and he went 6 strong innings only giving up one run. He has a 1.86 ERA this year for Tacoma and hopefully can make some strong starts to help Seattle, who has gotten off to a poor start due to injuries to their starting pitching.

[Trent Booty]

Mariners April Report
Record: 11-16

The Mariners got off to a slow start in the 2018 season, as they find themselves 7.5 GB from the surprise Oakland Athletics (19-9) and 5.5 GB from the 18-10 Houston Astros for the 2nd wild card spot.



The Mariners are 7th in AVG, 2nd in SB, as those are the only notable statistics the Mariners are in the top-10 in.



The best hitters for the Mariners so far have been Kyle Seager and Mitch Haniger, who have been a great combo in the 5th and 6th spots in the lineup. Another huge surprise has been Dan Vogelbach, who has hit .344 in 12 games (8 starts) and has started to play more and more 1B as Healy has struggled through the first month of the season.



As for the starters, Leake was brilliant in his first 5 starts before getting hurt, and Marco Gonzales and Paxton have anchored the rotation, making every start so far.



Vincent-Nicasio-Diaz have been awesome, so if our starters can manage to have a lead through 6 innings, it’s a good chance we’ll win the ballgame.

Organizational Injury Report:

Hisashi Iwakuma and Ashton Goudeau, both pitching in AAA Tacoma, both suffered serious arm injuries and will miss the rest of the 2018 season.

Mike Leake will likely be able to return in late May-early June, as he is three weeks away from being able to pitch in games again, and will likely make one, if not two rehab starts in AAA Tacoma.

Erasmo Ramirez will still be out another two months, so a post-ASB return is looking more and more likely.

Felix Hernandez was activated from the 10-day disabled list and will start on May 3rd against Oakland. Casey Lawrence was optioned to AAA Tacoma, while Wade LeBlanc will shift to the bullpen to fill the long relief role opening left by Lawrence. Lawrence had a 7.59 ERA in 21.1 IP, he mostly pitched during blowout games and he couldn’t prove to the Mariners brass that he deserved to stay in the bullpen.

The Mariners rotation is now Paxton/Gonzales/Felix/Miranda/Bergman.

[Trent Booty]

Ichiro Retires, Will Coach Short Season-A Everett In 2018

The Mariners announced today that future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki is moving to a managerial role where he’ll serve as manager of the Everett Aquasox (A-), effective immediately. RHP Chasen Bradford, who has been effective in AAA Tacoma will replace Ichiro on the 25-man roster.

The 44-year-old debuted with the Mariners back in 2001 and promptly won both Rookie of the Year and MVP honors, kickstarting what will unequivocally go down as one of the greatest careers of this generation or any other. In parts of 18 Major League seasons, Ichiro batted .311/.355/.402 with a whopping 3,089 hits, including 362 doubles, 96 triples and 117 home runs. He went 509-for-626 in career stolen-base attempts (81.3 percent success), scored 1420 runs and 780 RBIs despite roughly 80 percent of his MLB plate appearances coming out of the leadoff spot.

That, of course, only covers Ichiro’s career in North America. Prior to coming to the United States, Ichiro had already achieved legendary status in Japan’s [league redacted], where he debuted as an 18-year-old and went on to spend nine seasons starring for the Orix Blue Wave. Ichiro batted .353/.421/.522 in 4098 *** plate appearances, tallying 1278 hits in establishing himself as one of the most gifted players on the planet and a generational talent that is nearly peerless.

Ichiro’s accolades are virtually limitless. Before even coming to Major League Baseball, he’d racked up seven *** All-Star appearances, three Pacific League MVP Awards, seven Pacific League batting titles and seven Gold Glove Awards. His achievements in MLB closely mirror that mountain of hardware, as in addition to Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in 2001, Ichiro made 10 MLB All-Star Games, won 10 Gold Gloves, collected three Silver Slugger Awards and won a pair of American League batting titles as well.

[Trent Booty]

Dee Gordon out with a fractured thumb, Mariners call up RHP Cook

Dee Gordon has suffered a fractured thumb and is out 4-5 weeks. RHP Ryan Cook, an all star in 2012 has been recalled giving the Mariners an 8-man bullpen. Andrew Romine will go from a backup infielder to a super-utility player who plays everywhere on the diamond at times.

This will mark the first appearance in the Majors for Cook, a former All-Star, since the 2015 season. His career has been slowed considerably by injuries in recent years, as a lat strain wiped out his 2016 season, and he underwent Tommy John surgery that October, shelving him for the entirety of the 2017 season as well.

Now 30 years old, Cook is off to an outstanding start in Tacoma, where he’s yielded just three runs on 10 hits and three walks with 17 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings of work. Cook hasn’t allowed a homer so far this season, and he’s inducing grounders at a healthy 53.1 percent clip.

That sort of output was par for the course for Cook early on in his career. From 2011-14 with the A’s, he racked up 190 2/3 innings of 2.60 ERA ball, averaging 9.3 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 with average or better ground-ball rates along the way. If he’s fully healthy, he’ll be a welcome addition to the back of a Seattle bullpen that has struggled of late.

If Cook can return to form, the Mariners will control him not only for the 2018 season but also through the 2019 campaign. He entered the year with four-plus years of Major League service time, so he’ll be arbitration-eligible once more this offseason.

[Trent Booty]

LeBlanc out with sore shoulder, Lawrence recalled

Wade LeBlanc left the Mariners most recent game (May 12 vs. DET) with a sore shoulder, and it is now announced that the Mariners long reliever will be out a little under 2 months to rehabilitate the injury. LeBlanc has had 2 poor outings as a starter, but as a reliever, he’s been very valuable due to being able to pitch 2, sometimes 3 innings and save the Mariners from having to use and eventually overuse other guys in the bullpen. He has an ERA in the 3s as a reliever compared to his 13.50 ERA in his two starts (8 ER in 5.1 IP).

In his place, Casey Lawrence has been recalled, coming back into the long relief role. With injuries to Tacoma starters Hisashi Iwakuma and Ashton Goudeau, Lawrence has been starting games in Tacoma ever since he was sent down and he’s had an excellent 1.93 ERA in 3 starts. The Mariners were reportedly considering calling up OF John Andreoli, the guy who replaced Ichiro on the 40-man roster, as the team is currently without a true 4th OF but they decided against it and wanted to keep the 8-man bullpen going, thanks to Andrew Romine’s versatility.

[Trent Booty]

Robinson Cano Suspended For 80 Games

Mariners star Robinson Cano has received an eighty-game suspension for testing positive for substances banned by the MLB-MLBPA Joint Drug Agreement. Since the ban begins immediately, Cano will be eligible to return in the middle of August.

The implications, to be sure, are many. Cano will not be eligible to draw his usual salary, meaning he’ll forfeit $12MM and save the team the same amount. And he’ll surely lose some sponsorship opportunities, costing him further money. The veteran second baseman also will not be eligible to participate in the postseason if the Mariners make it in.

Cano remains under contract for five more seasons beyond the present one. He was hitting .243 with 6 HR, 22 RBI and a 0.3 WAR. He’s slated to earn $24MM per season from 2019 through 2023. While that means the M’s won’t be looking for a long-term replacement, they will need to replace him in the near-term. For the immediate time being, Gordon Beckham is up to take a roster spot. Beckham was hitting .300 in Tacoma, which is why he’s being recalled over the likes of John Andreoli and Taylor Motter, two other hitters in Tacoma on the 40-man roster.

[Trent Booty]

Seattle Mariners May Report

Record: 29-27

The Mariners went 18-11 in May after a 11-16 April to finish with an overall record of 29-27. We are now 2 GB of the Astros for 1st place in the West and only a half-game out of the 2nd wild card, currently held by the Rays.

Team ranks/stats:



Starters:



After the rotation battled a lot of injuries, a couple of our starters really stepped up and played well. James Paxton already has 91 strikeouts, which leads the league, and Christian Bergman, who wasn’t even supposed to be on the 40-man roster before Phelps went down for the year, has emerged into possibly our 2nd best starter. He just came away with the Pitcher of the Month award for May as he went 5-0 with a 2.37 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 6 starts. Felix has a 3.23 ERA in 11 starts as well and Marco Gonzales has been a quality back end starter this year. Once Leake comes back (he’s about to start a rehab assignment in AAA in about a week), we could have a very legit rotation.

Relievers:



CL Edwin Diaz has already accumulated 1 WAR and has 17 saves, which is leading the MLB as of June 1st. Vincent and Nicasio have both been good in the 7th and 8th innings, and Bradford and Cook have been really good in limited playing time so far. LeBlanc is hurt, and when he comes back he’ll almost certainly replace Lawrence again as the long reliever, as Lawrence has really struggled in Seattle this season. Rzepczynski and Pazos have both been kind of just warm bodies in the pen that get low leverage innings or in Scrabble’s case, high leverage moments against one certain LHB. Altavilla has yet to come back after his awful start to the season, and he’s actually still struggling in AAA with a ERA over 6.

Batters:



Again, Seager and Haniger have been great, Haniger has been especially hot since moving to the 3rd spot in the lineup in place of Cano, who is still suspended for 64 more games. Vogelbach has stayed hot, as his AVG is still over .300, and while Zunino has been awful in 29 games, June is coming up, and last June Zunino hit .304 with 10 HR and 31 RBI. Zunino is due for a hot streak soon and June JUST so happens to be coming up. Healy has also struggled as well, with Vogey taking more and more starts from him at 1B. Taylor Motter also made his 2018 as Beckham went to the 10-day DL but didn’t miss any additional time. For now, Motter is back in AAA but we’ll be seeing him again at some point. On the fielding side, Mitch Haniger has yet to make an error this season, despite playing the most games in the field this season. And Zunino is breaking out as a top defensive catcher in the MLB.

Injury Report:

- In the minor leagues, SPs Hisashi Iwakuma (AAA), Ashton Goudaeu (AA/AAA), #19 prospect Anthony Misiewicz (AA), and Ljay Newsome (A) are all out for the year.
- #12 Prospect LF/RF/1B Eric Filia (AA) is also out, but for only for about 6 more weeks. Filia was suspended the first 50 games of the season for smoking pot and was tearing through AA his first couple games back but then went down with a torn ligament in his ankle.
- OF Trey Griffey, son of Mariner HOF Ken Griffey Jr. is still pursuing football, but is rumored to focus fulltime on baseball starting in 2019.
- AAA UTL Zach Shank has retired from professional baseball due to the numerous injuries he’s sustained while playing, and is taking a coaching job for the Mariners AZL team to help out the youngsters playing there.
- Robinson Cano is still suspended 64 games but is also dealing with a fractured hand that will most likely be fully healed by time his suspension is over.
- CF Dee Gordon’s fractured thumb is progressing well, and we’ll likely see him back in Seattle by mid-June, as he only has about 1-2 weeks left before he can play again.
- SP Mike Leake is also about to come back in a week, although he will need a few rehab starts in Tacoma before he is able to return so we’ll likely see him back in Seattle around late June-early July.
- Erasmo Ramirez is still out another 5 weeks or so, so he likely won’t be able to rejoin the Mariner until after the ASB after he’s made a few rehab starts.
- Wade LeBlanc is out another month or so, but a rehab assignment isn’t needed so he’ll likely be back before the ASB.
- David Phelps is progressing well and will likely be ready for opening day 2019.


Around the league:

- Giancarlo Stanton (28 HR, 69 RBI) is on pace to hit 80 HRs and drive in 196 RBIs and be worth 11.2 WAR.
- Edwin Diaz leads the league in saves with 17 and is on pace to have 49.
- James Paxton is on pace for 263 K and 8.1 WAR
- Jon Jay tied an AL record with 7 at bats in a single game
- Jhonny Peralta signed a minor league contract with the Brewers right after the season started, and tied the NL record for strikeouts in a single game with 5
- Before he was sent down in late April, Mike Marjama tied a Mariners single game record with 2 triples.

Next post will be all about the draft! I’ll post the Mariners draft results (at least the top-10 picks and then any other interesting guys I’m able to grab I n the later rounds) and possibly do a post-draft top prospects list! A couple guys in the minors have been exceptional and are starting to warrant a promotion. I also want to recap the interesting prospects who are doing well, and the guys who are doing bad. I also have some promotions I need to announce, and I’ll probably try and do all of that before I post the June report/update.