SEATTLE -- Mallex Smith has been waiting all spring to get back into action for the Mariners. The speedy center fielder finally got the chance Monday in an 8-0 exhibition loss to the Padres at T-Mobile Park as he takes aim at being ready for Thursday’s home opener.
While his teammates were recovering from jet lag from their Japan trip and still getting their legs back under them, Smith has his own challenges. He’s attempting to get ready with limited preparation time after missing most of Spring Training with a strained right elbow.
Smith went 0-for-3 from the leadoff spot in six innings of duty Monday on a night the Mariners only managed two hits, a lackluster effort no doubt attributable in part to having been half a world away just last Thursday playing games that counted.
“I’m a lot fresher than these guys,” Smith said. “I didn’t get to play much this spring. So, where that makes me a little rusty in rhythm, it gets me ahead in energy and just having a step on everybody. So that definitely plays to my part. I’m as ready as I can be.”
Smith got about 20 at-bats in Minor League games on the backfields in Arizona last week while his teammates were in Tokyo. He never played any Cactus League contests, so Monday’s action was a big step toward facing big league pitching and starting to get his timing back.
He’ll play again Tuesday in a 1:10 p.m. PT exhibition against the Padres and hope to be ready to roll Thursday. Is that enough time to get tuned up?
“Yeah,” Smith said. “If it’s not, we’re going to find out, right?”
Manager Scott Servais acknowledged his team was dragging a bit with players still adjusting their body clocks back from the 12-hour time difference and mentally flipping the switch after playing games that counted and now essentially being back in Spring Training mode.
“We knew these games would be a little challenging,” Servais said. “We just need to keep things going as far as the pitchers getting their work in. Obviously, the Padres threw their ‘A’ lineup out there and they swung the bats really good.”
There is a reason Major League Baseball gives teams about a week after playing in Japan before pushing them back into regular-season action. The international travel can take a toll.
“I can’t speak on how they feel,” Smith said. “But I know Dee [Gordon] texted me at 12 o’clock in the morning and said something about [it being] tonight. And I didn’t know what tonight he was talking about. And then he said, ‘Sorry bro, I’m still on Japan time.’ I’m pretty sure it’s hard for them.”
Servais had Smith leading off Monday so he could get as many at-bats as possible in his six innings of work but isn’t ready to commit to that for the regular-season games quite yet.
Gordon performed well in the leadoff role in Seattle’s two wins over the A’s in the Opening Series and has hit in that spot much of his Major League career, so he’s certainly a viable option if Smith still seems to be searching for his timing.
Servais doesn’t want to lock into any set lineup yet anyway with so many new players and moving parts.
“We’ll be a little more fluid than we have been in past years,” he said.
The Mariners acquired Smith to fill their leadoff role, however, and he stole 40 bases and posted a .296/.367/.406 slash line for the Rays last year.
Gordon struggled with a foot injury last year while putting up a .268/.288/.349 line with 30 stolen bases, but the 30-year-old is a former National League batting champ who led the Majors in stolen bases in three of the four seasons before being acquired by the Mariners.
In other words, Servais has some speed to play with if Smith is ready to go. That can’t come soon enough for the 25-year-old from Florida.
“It’s nice to be back with the team and actually playing," Smith said. "It hasn’t been fun, that’s for sure. But I’ve just been anticipating this moment right here.”