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Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Who will replace Edgar?
PEORIA, Ariz. -- For well over a decade, the Mariners have been able to pencil in No. 11 as the designated hitter and forget about it.
Edgar Martinez would give the Mariners such quality -- a career average of .312, 1,261 RBIs and 309 home runs, most of it as a DH -- that by the end of the 2004 season, the American League's Designated Hitter of the Year award would be named his honor.
There's no No. 11 in camp this year. After 18 seasons, Martinez has headed off into retirement.
As the Mariners prepare for their first full workout of the spring today, it's worth taking a look at how his departure and a winter of frenzied buying on the free-agent market sets the 2005 lineup.
The acquisitions of first baseman Richie Sexson, third baseman Adrian Beltre and shortstop Pokey Reese mean the Mariners, who couldn't find a set group in a run-starved 2004 season, can have a fixed starting lineup entering the season.
The wild card is Bucky Jacobsen. A big-swinging right-hander with plenty of power, Jacobsen ended 2004 with the expectation that he'd have a great shot at being the next DH. But he underwent knee surgery and isn't fully recovered.
Jacobsen can swing and can run in a straight line, but he can't start and stop on the run. When Cactus League games begin in two weeks, he probably won't be ready to play. A couple of weeks later, he might be.
A joint decision by manager Mike Hargrove and the front office that rookie Jeremy Reed would get a look in center field has impacted the DH spot, too. If Reed takes over in center, the next move would be to move last year's center fielder, Randy Winn, to left field. That would leave last year's left fielder, Raul Ibanez, out of a position.
At the end of last season, then-manager Bob Melvin put Ibanez into some games at first base. But the acquisitions of Sexson and Beltre have locked Ibanez out of the infield, too.
So Ibanez, who rallied with a .340 August and .352 September to finish the season with a .304 batting average, is free to be the DH. The trouble is, he's a competent defensive player and someone who wants to do more than just hit.
So what to do?
Well, for now, it's a solid bet that Ibanez is the DH, Winn is the left fielder and Reed is the center fielder. But if Reed, who hit .397 in a handful of games in September, is going to make the team in that role, he must have a productive spring. He doesn't have to hit .400, but he'd better not hit .150, either.
There's one other position with wiggle room. Dan Wilson has been the starting catcher for a decade, but when he was re-signed to a one-year contract this offseason, it was with the understanding that the club wanted to give first crack at the catcher's spot to Miguel Olivo.
Olivo, who came to Seattle with Reed from the Chicago White Sox in the Freddy Garcia trade, is 26. Wilson will turn 36 before the spring is out. Seattle has been looking for the eventual replacement for Wilson since the winter of 2001, when the club traded for Ben Davis.
Olivo is the guy now, but after looking like a hitter with Chicago (.270, seven homers and 26 RBIs in 46 games), he struggled (.200, six homers, 14 RBIs in 50 games) with Seattle. In addition, his defense was shaky, particularly when it came to blocking balls in the dirt.
Olivo worked on his defense after the season and seems ready to take over as the starting catcher. But if he isn't, Wilson is standing by.
"Both those guys (Reed and Olivo) are going to have to hit," Hargrove said. "They've got to show something. But if they do as we hope and expect them to do, then our lineup is pretty well set."
The infield is sewn up: Sexson at first, Bret Boone at second, Beltre at third and Reese at shortstop.
Ichiro Suzuki will, of course, complete the outfield by reprising his role in right field for the fifth consecutive season.
Much of the competition will take place in the battles to land the backup roles, starting with Jacobsen, whose health may not give him a real chance to make the team.
"Not being healthy is going to hurt," Hargrove said. "I think he'd have a great chance to make the team if he was healthy."
Jamal Strong, riding high after a hitting .324 in a half-season at Class AAA Tacoma, and Chris Snelling, finally healthy after losing about two seasons to injuries, want to be backup outfielders.
One could win a job, or both could be skipped over.
Ibanez can serve as a fourth outfielder when he's not at DH, and Willie Bloomquist, who figures to be one of the utility infielders, can play the outfield.
Bloomquist will have competition for his job. Veteran utility infielders Ricky Gutierrez and Benji Gil are in camp, and Class AAA shortstop Ramon Santiago would give Hargrove a strong defensive option as backup middle infielder.
Third basemen Justin Leone and Greg Dobbs will make a push for the roster, too, though if either makes it, he'll have to serve as a backup at first base in addition to his other duties.
Four backups will make the team, with Bloomquist and Gutierrez perhaps the top prospects to do so.
POSITION REPORT
The 31 players who will compete for the 13 or 14 non-pitching spots on the Mariners' 25-man Opening Day roster:
CATCHERS (6)
| Player | Age |
| *Ryan Christianson | 25 |
| *Wiki Gonzalez | 30 |
| Miguel Olivo | 26 |
| *Kit Pellow | 31 |
| Rene Rivera | 21 |
| Dan Wilson | 35 |
INFIELDERS (17)
| Player | Age |
| Adrian Beltre | 25 |
| Yuniesky Betancourt | 23 |
| Willie Bloomquist | 27 |
| Bret Boone | 35 |
| Greg Dobbs | 26 |
| *Benji Gil | 32 |
| *Ricky Gutierrez | 34 |
| *Adam Jones | 19 |
| Justin Leone | 27 |
| Jose Lopez | 21 |
| *Mickey Lopez | 31 |
| Michael Morse | 22 |
| Pokey Reese | 31 |
| *Ramon Santiago | 25 |
| Richie Sexson | 30 |
| Scott Spiezio | 32 |
| *Matt Tuiasosopo | 18 |
OUTFIELDERS (8)
| Player | Age |
| Wladimir Balentien | 20 |
| Shin-soo Choo | 22 |
| Raul Ibanez | 32 |
| Jeremy Reed | 23 |
| Chris Snelling | 23 |
| Jamal Strong | 26 |
| Ichiro Suzuki | 31 |
| Randy Winn | 30 |
*non-roster invitee to major league camp
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