With the Trade Deadline now past and the three-game series with the A’s postponed, now’s the perfect time to open the Mariners Inbox and answer your questions. And keep them coming by e-mailing me or hit me at my Twitter account and we'll try to get you on the next one!
With the acquisition of Taylor Trammell from the Padres, how is our future outfield going to look? With Kyle Lewis looking like a star and Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez not too far off, there’s obviously not enough room for all four. Not to mention Jake Fraley and Mitch Haniger. I like the intriguing scouting reports on Trammell, but just don’t see how he fits into the plan. -- Dylan U., Olympia, Wash.
Well, if 2020 has taught us anything it’s that we should always expect the unexpected. And Haniger is a perfect example of how you just never know how things will play out, as he’s gone from a 2018 All-Star to a guy who hasn’t played now for most of the past two seasons.
Or look at Rodriguez, who had this short season wiped out by a fractured wrist. There is always attrition and top prospects aren’t immune from health and performance challenges, as Mariners fans know all too well from past first-round Draft picks that didn’t work out as expected.
That said, if all these guys develop and prosper as hoped, that’s certainly not a bad problem. It’s always possible to rotate them between outfield and DH duties. Or if you suddenly have four or more elite Major League-ready outfield prospects, it opens all kinds of potential trade possibilities to bring in a proven pitcher or position player at another place of need.
Look at what the Padres are doing as they’re using their stocked farm system to bring in established veteran help now that they feel the time is right to make a legitimate World Series push with their young team. That is exactly the sort of model the Mariners are trying to follow as they push forward with their rebuilding plans.
Do you think Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert will get called up at the end of this year?
-- Jack V., Lacey, Wash.
No. Clearly the Mariners are choosing to keep those top prospects at the alternate site to continue developing instead of bringing them up and starting their Major League service time clocks in this shortened season. If they had wanted them to start their MLB careers this year, there was plenty of opportunity to already have done that. There seems little upside in playing them for just a few weeks at this point.
When will we know the player to be named later we received in the Taijuan Walker trade to the Blue Jays?
-- Ty C., Seattle
It was announced Tuesday that 19-year-old outfielder Alberto Rodriguez is the player coming in return for Walker. He’s a youngster out of the Dominican Republic who hit .301/.364/.422 with two homers and 13 stolen bases in 47 games in the Gulf Coast Rookie League last year.
Do the Mariners feel that Ty France is a good enough fielder to take over as the third baseman of the future after Kyle Seager leaves? Or is he viewed more as a Daniel Vogelbach replacement at designated hitter?
-- Blake L., Corvallis, Ore.
France will play a lot of DH in this final month, where the Mariners have primarily used utility man Tim Lopes since parting ways with Vogelbach on Aug. 19. France will provide some of the right-handed pop lost with Austin Nola’s departure, and he’ll also get looks at second and third just to keep his bat in the lineup and see where he seems comfortable.
The 26-year-old has played primarily third base, along with some first, coming up in the Minors, and the Mariners are looking at him as an eventual option at third base, where they haven’t had any MLB-ready prospects behind Seager in recent years.
Does a healthy Haniger have a future on the team with so many outfield prospects now or is he trade bait?
-- Patrick F., Corvallis, Ore.
I certainly wouldn’t count Haniger out of next year’s picture. Rodriguez and the newly acquired Trammell are likely at least a year away and while Lewis is a fixture in center now, the Mariners have been using utility guys in the corner spots all season. They can’t trade him given the injury issues of late, but if Haniger is 100 percent next year, he’ll be the right fielder and either re-build that trade value or be a big part of what they’re doing.
What is Ichiro’s role during the short season? Do COVID protocols limit his staff role? I miss him!
-- Jane, Seattle
Ichiro Suzuki is currently in Japan as, indeed, the COVID-19 protocols severely limit the number of coaches and staff members that teams can have around the players this season.
Since Mariners fans have shown great involvement in the fan cutouts idea at T-Mobile this season, does their marketing department plan to send out more pictures of the Seat Fleet sections in the future? I would love to see a clearer picture of me and my dad in the stands.
-- Peter D., Phoenix
The Mariners now have more than 13,000 cutouts installed, with the latest group now going into the Terrace Club sections on the second level. Once each new section is filled, fans in that area are emailed a link that shows where their cutouts are located as well as a photo of that section. It’s not a perfect system, but the Mariners are doing their best so fans can see where they’re sitting.