Inbox: What's Mariners' top All-Star moment?
Robinson Cano's game-winning home run made me wonder, what has been the greatest All-Star moment in Mariners history? -- Sandy A., Woodinville, Wash.Excellent question, so I put it to my readers with two Twitter polls. The first one asked: What is the best All-Star Game highlight in franchise history? And
-- Sandy A., Woodinville, Wash.
Excellent question, so I put it to my readers with two Twitter polls. The first one asked: What is the best All-Star Game highlight in franchise history? And I was surprised to see that the winner was "Having eight Mariners at the Safeco Field game in 2001," which earned 40 percent of the vote. Second was
I also asked what was the Mariners' best "fun" All-Star moment, and that turned out to be a close vote, with Randy Johnson's monumental showdown with John Kruk earning 32 percent, just ahead of Griffey hitting a ball off the warehouse in Baltimore at 29 percent. Griffey winning three Home Run Derby titles was third at 21 percent, with
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Any chance the Mariners look to sign
-- Michael C., Eugene, Ore.
I can't speak for Dyson, but most players prefer to wait to hit the open market in their first chance at free agency to see what is possible. In Dyson's case, he was a 50th-round Draft pick of the Royals in 2006 and never has made huge money. He's earning $2.8 million this year in his final season of arbitration eligibility after totaling $4.4 million his first five years in the big leagues.
So it's certainly possible the Mariners could approach him about an extension, but it's also quite likely he'll want to wait until the offseason. If so, they could look to trade him at the July 31 Trade Deadline for pitching help, knowing he'll become a free agent in two months and they have some outfield depth now with long-term controllable players like
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Will we ever see
-- Kali R., Federal Way, Wash.
Martin has been playing well for Triple-A Tacoma, but the Mariners are in an interesting spot there, with so many of their young outfielders stepping up this season. There's not much room for Martin with Gamel, Haniger and Dyson playing so well that it's hard to get playing time for Heredia, who has been outstanding when given opportunities. So unless someone gets hurt, or should the Mariners move Dyson at the Trade Deadline, it's hard to see Martin rejoining the club until September when the roster can be expanded.
With Sam Gaviglio in Tacoma, does it look like
-- Brenden N., Redmond, Wash.
Gaviglio was only sent down because he won't be needed in the rotation until the fifth game back after the All-Star break, so the club added a reliever --
Will the Mariners ever allow another pitcher to work in the World Baseball Classic?
-- Marty A., Tacoma, Wash.
That's a question that won't be answered until the next Classic in four years, but I assume they will, with the event being supported by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association and regarded as a big success in helping grow the game internationally. That said, I'm sure the Mariners -- and all teams -- will seek assurances to protect their players as best as possible. Commissioner Rob Manfred said at this week's All-Star Game that he'd spoken to Mariners ownership about their situation of Drew Smyly needing Tommy John surgery after pitching in WBC 2017, but Manfred said studies have shown no correlation between pitchers getting injured more if they perform in the Classic.
He is correct in that there are pitchers who get hurt every year, whether there is a Classic or not. And some pitchers who performed in WBC 2017 have done very well this season. But the timing of the event will always be a concern for teams, particularly regarding pitchers.
What do you think the Mariners have to do to make a late push for a playoff position, being four games below .500 and four games behind in the Wild Card chase?
-- Anthony W., Royal City, Wash.
It's clearly going to come down to pitching. The Mariners need to be more consistent offensively as well, in order to get over .500 and keep climbing. But this is a very good offensive team that's averaged 4.78 runs a game, which is sixth in the American League and pretty good for a team that plays half its games in Safeco Field. If Seattle keeps it up, this will be the second-highest-scoring Mariners team since 2003.
Historically, the Mariners have been near the bottom of the AL offensively but one of the AL's top pitching squads -- helped in part by Safeco Field. But they're currently 10th in the AL with a 4.56 ERA, which is their highest mark at the All-Star break since 2004.
Some of that is a definitely a result of injuries, but the club has
Greg Johns has covered the Mariners since 1997, and for MLB.com since 2011. Follow him on Twitter [
@GregJohnsMLB]().