Healy debuts, believes he'll be ready for opener

March 17th, 2018

PEORIA, Ariz. -- felt like "a kid in a candy store" making his Mariners debut in Saturday's 7-0 win over the Angels in a split-squad game at Peoria Stadium. Seattle was just as happy to welcome back one of its primary offseason additions, as the 26-year-old played for the first time since undergoing surgery on his right hand at the start of Spring Training.
Healy went 1-for-3 with an RBI double and also hit a hard shot at Angels second baseman that was ruled an error in his first at-bat. He also displayed a deft glove at first base with several nice scoops and a long stretch to save a high throw. All in all, it was a solid debut after five weeks of rehab from his bone spur procedure.
"I feel like obviously there's a ways to go, but Day 1 to be able to go out and put some good swings on good pitches, it's a great platform to be able to build on," said Healy, who was acquired from the A's in November. "I'm excited to finally take this first step forward. It's a big deal to go out and compete with these guys."
The Mariners brought in Healy to fill their first-base hole, but continues to provide a strong option there as well. He hit his fourth home run of the spring in a 1-for-3 day as the designated hitter.

Healy is only worried about his own preparation, and he'll be back in the lineup on Sunday against the Indians. With just eight games left this spring, he believes there's time to get ready.
"Obviously only time will tell, but I think I'm set up for success with this coaching staff and the way they've structured my plan," Healy said. "Getting three at-bats today was huge. There'll definitely be a couple days I go to the Minor League side and try to get 8-10 at-bats in a day and ramp it up as this gets better. I feel there's time to be able to do this, and I'll wait and see."
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Lawrence shines in start vs. A's
Non-roster invitee continued his strong bid to land the final bullpen opening by throwing four scoreless innings in Seattle's 4-1 victory over the A's in Mesa in the other split-squad game.
The Mariners wanted to stretch the 30-year-old right-hander out a little as he's pushing for a long-relief role if Seattle goes with an eight-man bullpen as expected to start the season. Lawrence has a 0.75 ERA with one earned run on eight hits in 12 innings with 13 strikeouts and one walk over five outings.
Marco back on the mark
Wearing a wrap on his right hand that had been bruised by a line drive in his previous start, southpaw bounced back from his first rough outing of the spring with 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the Angels.
Gonzales, destined to be Seattle's No. 4 starter with still sidelined by a strained lat, allowed just one hit with one walk and three strikeouts in lowering his ERA to 1.10 in five Cactus League starts.
"It's a huge boost of confidence, the way I feel and the preparation and ability to just come here every day and not worry about getting my arm loose or how it feels or recovery and all that stuff," said Gonzales, who was coming off Tommy John surgery last season. "It comes so much more naturally right now. I think that's where my confidence is coming from, just how great my arm is feeling."

Roster move
The Blue Jays claimed left-handed reliever  off waivers, which drops Seattle's 40-man roster to 37 and leaves another opening for a non-roster invitee or pickup from another team to be added before the start of the season.
Moll, formerly the Mariners' No. 26 prospect per MLB Pipeline, had already been optioned to Minor League camp last week. Seattle claimed the 26-year-old off waivers in November. He posted a 10.80 ERA in 6 2/3 innings over 11 relief outings for Oakland as a rookie last season and didn't allow a run with just one hit over four innings in four Cactus League appearances this spring.
Injury updates
took batting practice and worked out with the team on Saturday, but he missed his third straight game since straining his right calf. He is probably still "a few days away from playing," according to manager Scott Servais.

(left hamstring) and (right quad) hit in the cage, but they likely won't return to games until Wednesday at the earliest. With a Tuesday off-day, the inclination at this point is to give the injured veterans the extra day next week before returning to action.
Up next
, one of the surprises of camp, gets the start in Sunday's 1:10 p.m. PT game against the split-squad Indians at Peoria Stadium (watch live on MLB.TV). The 24-year-old right-hander has a 1.38 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 13 innings over four outings (three starts), as he competes for the fifth spot in the rotation. , and Nick Vincent are among the scheduled relievers.