Mariners season preview: All-Star additions, Julio’s debut, and hope for 2022
Tacoma resident Taylor Leacy was one of more than 4,300 who made their way to Cheney Stadium on a chilly Tuesday evening to watch the Rainiers open the minor league baseball season.
With big league spring training delayed, and Opening Day pushed back until later this week following the lockout this winter, it was the first glimpse fans got of regular season baseball this spring.
Leacy, born in 1993 and a lifelong fan of the club, sported an Edgar Martinez jersey and a Rainiers logo cap for the occasion.
Then he pointed out his tattoo — Seattle’s throwback golden trident logo, displayed on his left forearm.
Leacy added the ink after former Mariners slugger Dae-Ho Lee walked off the Rangers in Seattle back in 2016.
He headed to Tacoma’s season-opener this week to watch Taylor Trammell play, and was rewarded when the outfielder crushed a double to center in the first inning — which bounced off the wall 425 feet away — to drive in the Rainiers’ first run of the season. (Trammell was injured later on in the series.)
Josh Freeland, 38, arrived in the South Sound while serving in the military in 2006, and coaches youth baseball in Dupont.
Joined by brother Jacob Freeland, 35, baseball brought the pair to watch the Rainiers open last season’s Triple-A West championship defense with a victory over Angels affiliate Salt Lake.
“It’s opening night,” Josh Freeland said. “It’s super exciting. We love baseball.”
This spring, perhaps more so than any in recent memory, there’s much for this loyal, patient fan base to be excited about. The organization has spent past seasons building one of the game’s top farm systems and adding proven pieces along the way with hopes of opening a sustainable competitive window at the big league level for years to come.
It was only six months ago when the Mariners’ young, but talented group — many of whom return this season — nearly took the club to the postseason for the first time in two decades.
Seattle exceeded expectations last season, finishing 90-72, second in the American League West, and still in the postseason mix on the final day of the regular season in October.
Though they finished just short of ending a postseason drought that has continued since the 116-win season in 2001, the Mariners’ impressive run in the final weeks brought fans a renewed sense of hope — and excitement — for 2022.
Beginning with Friday’s season-opener in Minnesota, the club will look to build on last summer’s momentum.
“We talked about it today a little bit as a team — it is a journey,” Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters in Arizona this week with spring training winding down.
“We are about to go on a long, long journey and we need to enjoy it along the way. I think this group will. We’ve got enough personality in that clubhouse and guys at different points in their career that are all looking forward to it.”
Though spring training and the beginning of the major league regular season were delayed by the lockout that spanned from December to early March, the anticipation surrounding this season’s club remained.
Servais noted to reporters in Peoria when spring training opened the focus this season will remain on continuing to improve each day.
“I think it’s important that we understand where we came from,” he said. “ … For me, you’ve kind of got to step back in time — and a lot of these guys in this room were here in 2019 and the crazy COVID year in 2020, and then going through what we did last year with a little bit of a rocky start and then building off that.
“So, we’re in a really good spot. I think we’re in a position to take the next step. But, it only happens if you get better — and that’s not going to change. You just focus on getting better, 1 percent better every day when you come to work.”
Mariners starter Marco Gonzales noted to reporters following the Cactus League opener the competitive energy was building.
“With the excitement we have surrounding our team,” he said, “and the guys we have here and the momentum off of last year, I mean, how can you not be hungry and ready to go?”
After spending the past three seasons developing young talent and adding experience from outside the organization, the Mariners certainly do seem ready for a memorable run in the months ahead.
“We have a good mix of players,” Servais told reporters earlier this week before the club departed for Minnesota. “Again, a little bit shorter spring, but I think we have a good idea on who we are.
“Now we’ve got to go out and do it.”
In November, they added a proven starter to their rotation, signing ace left-hander Robbie Ray, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, who led the league in ERA (2.84) and strikeouts (248) last season while making a league-high 32 starts and tossing a league-high 193 1/3 innings.
Seattle also added a former All-Star to their infield in second baseman Adam Frazier in the same week in a trade with the Padres.
When spring training began in March, the club was quick to add more offense to the roster, acquiring two more former All-Stars in outfielder Jesse Winker and third baseman Eugenio Suarez through a trade with the Reds.
The key additions bring more excitement to the foundation the Mariners have already built.
“There’s definitely a great buzz around here and it’s fun to be a part of it,” Winker told reporters in Arizona when he joined the club this spring.
Gonzales, now in his sixth season with the club, returns to the starting rotation this season, as does Chris Flexen. Logan Gilbert is also back after a solid rookie season in 2021. Rookie Matt Brash rounds out the rotation to open the season.
Seattle’s bullpen remains intact, minus the loss of Casey Sadler, who posted baseball’s best ERA (0.67) in 2021, but will miss the season following shoulder surgery.
Of Seattle’s 90 wins last season, relievers helped the club to a league-best 33 one-run wins and kept the team afloat despite a negative run differential.
Several others in the bullpen — including the reliable Paul Sewald and Drew Steckenrider — return, plus the addition of Sergio Romo, who inked a one-year deal with the team last month.
The Mariners also return three catchers — Tom Murphy, Luis Torrens and Cal Raleigh — this spring.
First baseman Ty France returns after leading the club on offense (.291/.368/.445) in 2021, while shortstop J.P. Crawford is also back, and has become a staple of the Mariners’ lineup since arriving in 2019.
Another steady contributor in the lineup, outfielder Mitch Haniger, is back, while outfielder Jarred Kelenic will look to build on his rookie season last summer.
And perhaps the most exciting development as the Mariners begin the season will be the arrival of outfielder Julio Rodriguez — the club’s top prospect and No. 3 prospect in all of baseball, per MLB Pipeline rankings — who was named to the Opening Day roster earlier this week.
The Mariners posted a video to social media Monday, showing the moment Servais told Rodriguez, in his office in Peoria, the young outfielder would open the season with the big league club.
The seventh-year manager remarked he thought Rodriguez looked comfortable playing in center field, he agreed, and Servais then posed this question.
“If you had to play center field in a big stadium with an extra deck on it, you think you could handle that?”
“Yeah,” Rodriguez responded. “Come on.”
“I think it’s time, Julio,” Servais said as the 21-year-old prospect smiled. “I think it’s time.”
“Bring on the J-Rod Show,” he continued. “OK? You good for that?”
“Yes,” Rodriguez responded as he lifted both hands in the air.
Following a shortened spring camp and an opener that was set for Thursday, but delayed by weather, the Mariners were set to begin their anticipated season Friday afternoon against at Target Field.
They play four against the Twins there, then travel to Chicago to play the White Sox in a three-game series.
The opener in Seattle — which begins a nine-game homestand against the Astros, Rangers and Royals — is set for April 15 against defending AL West champion Houston.
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Mariners season preview: All-Star additions, Julio’s debut, and hope for 2022."