Cactus League Thoughts: The Finale

The club has seen all it needs to make roster decisions. Let's chat.

It’s that time of year. Final roster decisions have to be made, minor league assignments included, and we get to talk about it.

Here are my final thoughts on the 2024 spring efforts for the Seattle Mariners.

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• Taylor Trammell is not a major leaguer and I fully expect a trade or DFA scenario in the coming… hours.

• The clubs seems to have made their bullpen decisions: Andres Munoz, Ryne Stanek, Gabe Speier, Trent Thornton, Tayler Saucedo, Austin Voth, Collin Snyder, and Cody Bolton.
  
  This may simply mean Tyson Miller, Eduard Bazardo, and Brett de Geus go to minor league camp and serve as options as the season progresses. For the record, options only are a factor when the player is on the 40-man roster. Miller and de Geus are not. They may have contract clauses, even on a minor league deal, that allow them to opt out or forces the club to release them if they don’t make the roster, so stay tuned, but the Mariners appear to have a lot of middle-relief options upon which to call should the need arise. And it will.

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• Brian Anderson was released Sunday.

• We know Samad Taylor was optioned over the weekend, too, but he may be the first position player in line in Triple-A Tacoma.

• Speaking of Tacoma, they may have a starting outfield of Taylor, Cade Marlowe, and Jonatan Clase on Opening Day. To be honest, I’m not seeing yet what Seattle appears to regarding Clase’s bat. He slashed .220.329/.387 in 108 games with Arkansas a year ago, and that includes an alarming 28& strikeout rate. He also whiffed in 10 of his 29 appearances in camp. If the early buzz he’s starting the year in Tacoma is true, it’s an aggressive assignment, in my opinion, one Spencer Packard is more ready for than the 21-year-old Clase.

  

• I’d been wondering, and still am, which version of Ty France we will see in 2024. Not just from a performance standpoint, but also from an approach one. Is he simply going back to 2021-22, or will we see a hybrid? His spring suggests while his swing has been revampled some, it’s about getting back to his prior attack plan.

• Dylan Moore has quieted his hand load, so I guess you can say I despise his swing a little less than before. What that means in terms of performance, we’ll see, but generall speaking it suggests positive things.

• I’m not sure Sam Haggerty holds ontohis 40-man spot long. The club may need it to cover for arms, other injuries, and Taylor, Moore, Rojas, and Urias all do what Haggerty does, and better in most cases.

• Logan Evans, in Saturday’s prospects matchup with San Diego, had a terrible line, but the fastball was an easy 94-95 mph, touching 96 (one 97 from a scout in attendance), and flashed three projectable secondaries, including a changeup. It’s a lot easier to see Evans, even with his lack of pro experience, competing in the majors, than Emerson Hancock right now.

• Jeter Martinez carries more reliever risk than is ideal, but it’s mostly about his fastball and delivery, not his so-far lack of a good breaking ball. In fact, I actually like the slider enough as-is to project it to the majors in a relief role, and Martinez has plenty of time to develop. His arm action and fastball shape, however, are going to take some work. I don’t expect him to move quickly beyond Modesto without fixes.

• Lazaro Montes may end up a bat-only player, but he’s continued to progress on swing length, that may allow him to do the same with contact rates.

• Colt Emerson is far and way the best prospect in the system. Don’t kid yourself folks. It aint close, despite how good Cole Young is.

• I said it once, I’ll say it again: Tai Peete, while raw and needing of time to develop, has star-level upside. Be patient with him.

• I can’t believe I’m saying this, but with all the attention the four young arms garber, it seems necessary. Do not sleep on Luis Castillo in 2024.

• I’m not entirely sold on Voth’s role on the big club long-term…

• Ty Adcock, Bazardo, Peyton Alford, Travis Kuhn, and Marcelo Perez all could be part of the up-down taxi squad of relievers that also may include Miller, Cory Abbott, Blas Castano, Joey Krehbiel, de Geus, and others. And I fully expect Carlos Vargas to be on speed dial, but he has control issues to address.

• I’m very intrigued to see what role Levi Stoudt is deployed to start the season. It appears the club have him a few short stints as an outside shot to earn a bullpen spot, which is where I believe he belongs, but nothing is preventing Stoudt from cleaning up his mechanics and finding back-end vaue as a starter, an area Seattle lacks depth.

• Keep Jhonathan Diaz on your radar. He looks to me like the No. 6 starter right now.

• Platoons or not, this might be the deepest lineup the Mariners have deployed in more than a decade, particularly if the third-base combo of Luis Urias and Josh Rojas put forth fringe-average or better offensive value.

• Remember, as fun as it was watching almost every regular put up good numbers, spring training statistics are not harbingers to the regular season.

• Having said that, we just witnessed what it could look like if Mitch Haniger and Jorge Polanco stay healthy.

  

• Seattle still lacks the kind of star-level production top teams have, but despite ownership doing their damndest to hold back the on-field product, the club’s upside remains 95 wins. Just like Houston and Texas. Their floor, at least offensively and therefor in the win-loss department, is probably a win or three off the pace of their Texas foes.

• Join me this week for a three-episode season preview on Baseball Things: Subscribe here, including a 16% discount on annuals.
  
  Included: Player and team predictions, including statistical leaders, awards, and key players that can change the outcome of the entire campaign. I’ll also discuss how to correct the issue I mentioned in the note right above this, an opportunity I believe will be available to the front office this summer.

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