During an otherwise lost 2013 season, the Seattle Mariners got a jolt of midseason excitement when a pair of Class AAA call-ups gave a glimpse of the future.
Shortstop Brad Miller and second baseman Nick Franklin made the most of their opportunity last season and seemed to solidify their places in the Mariners’ future plans.
But Miller and Franklin showed up this spring with some new competition for a roster spot: each other.
Thanks to the high-priced addition of second baseman Robinson Cano, the Mariners probably only have room for one of their young middle infielders. Franklin is back playing shortstop, where he began his professional career, and he is spending the spring battling Miller for the starting job.
Through the first two weeks of the spring, neither of the challengers had taken hold of the job. Franklin was hitting .333 with a home run and four RBIs, while Miller had two homers and five RBIs to go with a respectable .263 average — including a 2-for-3 performance Sunday. Neither had been charged with an error.
Miller’s role as the incumbent might give him an inside track on the job, especially when considering his success as a leadoff hitter for stretches last season. Franklin does not fit the profile of a typical leadoff man — he is shown more power than speed — but is a switch-hitter, which could be a bonus on a team heavy with left-handed hitters like Miller.
With new manager Lloyd McClendon calling the shots, what has happened in the past might not carry much weight. So the competition is just getting started, and it does not look anywhere close to getting settled.
The Mariners still have not ruled out dealing Franklin, who has reportedly drawn interest from several teams. It is conceivable that his ability to play both of the middle infield positions could also warrant a spot as a backup, but veteran Willie Bloomquist and outfielder Dustin Ackley have plenty of experience as infielders, so it might be better for Miller or Franklin to see spend the early part of the season as full-time starters at Class AAA.
NOTES, QUOTES
–LHP James Paxton is looking more and more like the Mariners’ No. 2 starter to open the season. The 24-year-old southpaw did not allow a run over his first two starts, giving up just two hits over five total innings of work. His stuff has been even more impressive than it was during a late-season call-up last summer, and Seattle is looking for someone to put behind ace Felix Hernandez while RHP Hisashi Iwakuma recovers from an injury to a tendon in the middle finger of his right hand.
–RHP Erasmo Ramirez has put together three consecutive solid starts this spring, and they came at a good time for a team desperate for starting pitching. Ramirez was 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA through his first three starts of the spring. Even more important, he has shown the command (seven strikeouts and just one walk) that eluded him at times last season.
–RHP Fernando Rodney made his Mariners debut on Thursday when he gave up two hits and a run in an inning of work. Seattle’s likely closer, Rodney got touched up for two hits and two runs in 2/3 of an inning in his next outing — leaving a bit of a question as to how much the soon-to-be-37-year-old has left in his tank. Seattle has two other relievers with closing experience in Danny Farquhar and Tom Wilhelmsen, but it is Rodney’s job for as long as the veteran closer can run with it.
–OF Dustin Ackley came into spring training with an inside track on the Mariners’ starting job in left field, and he has done nothing to disprove that notion. Over his first eight games of the spring, Ackley hit .468 with a home run and a team-high nine RBIs. The only question with Ackley seems to be whether he will challenge Michael Saunders for the starting job in center field.
–RHP Felix Hernandez did not seem to concerned about a four-hit, four-run performance in his Sunday start. “I was (mad) because I want to throw zeroes out there,” he told MLB.com after the outing, “but it’s Spring Training so I don’t care too much.”
–RHP Taijuan Walker is back throwing after being shut down for a week to rest soreness in his throwing shoulder. But the Tacoma News Tribune reported that Walker, the team’s top prospect and a leading candidate for the starting rotation, probably will not be ready to make his season debut until mid-April.
–3B D.J. Peterson, who is coming off a nasty injury after having his jaw broken as a rookie late last summer, got off to a hot start by hitting safely in four of his first seven at-bats of the spring. The Mariners’ first-round pick in last June’s draft, Peterson appears to be back on track after the injury.
–1B Jesus Montero took his first step toward getting out of the organization’s doghouse this weekend, when he turned in a two-homer performance while raising his spring batting average to .350. Montero showed up for the spring out of shape but seems to be making strides. “He was better the last few days. We’ll see how it goes,” manager Lloyd McClendon told MLB.com. “He’s doing better. He knows what he’s got to do. The ball’s in his court and he’s starting to play a little better.”
–John Stearns, a third-base coach who joined the staff under new manager Lloyd McClendon, announced that he will not be able to fulfill his duties as a coach and has been reassigned within the organization. Stearns underwent hernia surgery at the beginning of spring training and said last week that he is “not able to perform the role of third base coach yet.” He will serve as a scout this season while Rich Donnelly, who had been hired to manage the Class AAA team, will serve as the Mariners’ third-base coach.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “It can’t be any worse than it was last year. We had a horrible defensive outfield.” — Manager Lloyd McClendon, telling the Seattle Times about his team’s defensive woes in 2013.