SEATTLE -- Jurrangelo Cijntje remains an ambidextrous wonder, and he will continue to explore avenues to pitch with both arms as he climbs up the Mariners’ farm system.
But Cijntje will be exclusively focused on pitching right-handed when he reports to his first big league Spring Training on Feb. 11.
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Mariners general manager Justin Hollander confirmed the club’s designation for Cijntje as a right-hander rather than a switch-pitcher on its formal list of 34 non-roster invitees to camp that the club released on Friday.
Cijntje will continue to occasionally pitch left-handed -- but only in bullpen sessions for now. He will not throw with both arms in any Cactus League games, suggesting that this could be a semi-permanent move.
“We think that's his highest ceiling, is as a right-handed starter,” Hollander said at the club’s FanFest on Sunday. “I think as part of his routine and part of his sort of high-performance buildup and body management, having him continue to work left-handed is valuable. We may bring it back at some point. But for the start of camp and for the foreseeable future, he's going to pitch right-handed in games.”
Cijntje -- the No. 91 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline, and Seattle's No. 7 -- also revealed at Mariners FanFest this weekend that he turned down an invitation to pitch for Team Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic.
“Going into this year, I was down to go, and then I got the invite,” Cijntje said. “And I was like, 'I'll think about it with my family and my agent and all that.' And I think it was best for me to stick and go to a big league camp. Because that's something that probably will help me to make it especially. You want to play around these guys, too.”
One of the sport’s most intriguing prospects for his multi-arm ability, Cijntje struggled with the workload when pitching from both sides at times last season.
Initially, Cijntje was deployed as a right-handed starter every Saturday in the Minors, followed by a relief appearance exclusively as a lefty on Wednesdays. But he was experiencing mixed results in those lefty outings, which led the club to abandon them after three times through and have him throw lefty in certain matchups within his right-handed starts.
“I struggled a little bit doing that, just because it's not like something I did before,” Cijntje said. “But it's just like some things -- you just learn from it and just keep looking forward.”
Overall, Cijntje had nine strikeouts, 19 walks and was tagged for a 1.118 OPS when pitching left-handed in 9 2/3 innings, compared to 111 strikeouts, 32 walks and a .618 OPS in 98 1/3 innings as a righty.
“I’m looking forward just to keep going with the both-sides thing and try to do it as long as I can,” Cijntje said.
This weekend’s development is not a significant surprise.
Given the lofty MLB Draft pick that the Mariners selected Cijntje with (No. 15 overall in 2024) and the bonus pool money they allotted him ($4,880,900), the club always viewed him as a starter. And his more effective side is the right, which was actually his secondary handedness until he grew up and became more polished.
Lefty pitching was largely a luxury once Cijntje reached Mississippi State. And because he struggled from that side and its associated routine in his first pro season has reprioritized his player development plan.
The Mariners were always going to be nimble with that.
“I don't know that we learned a ton, because it's so unique,” Hollander said. “And we were just trying to find the right thing for him.”
That said, because Cijntje is 22 years old and has two college seasons and 108 1/3 innings of pro ball under his belt, he could be close to the Majors -- potentially in 2026, albeit later on. He finished '25 at Double-A Arkansas, the affiliate that the Mariners typically graduate their pitching prospects from, including George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo.
“I’ve always thought that once you're at Double-A, you're ... on the depth chart,” Hollander said, later adding: “So it's certainly realistic that at some point this year, Jurrangelo is up here pitching for us.”