OAKLAND, Calif. — Seattle Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon isn’t always a patient man, but he said he is willing to accept center fielder Abraham Almonte’s occasional rookie miscues in exchange for Almonte’s flashes of five-tool skill.
“You got to live with the mistakes yet encourage him, and you got to make him better,” McClendon said. “But he has a chance to be a pretty good player. He’s got the total package. He’s a switch hitter, he’s got power from both sides, he can run like a deer, he’s got an arm like a cannon.”
Almonte, 24, showed his impressive power Saturday during the Mariners’ 3-1 victory over Oakland, launching a monster home run to right field off A’s right-hander Dan Straily in the fifth inning.
On Sunday in a 6-3 loss to Oakland, he went 1-for-4 with a walk and RBI. He also was thrown out by A’s right fielder Sam Fuld at third base in the second inning, trying to go from first to third with two out after shortstop Brad Miller’s RBI single. Instead of having first and second with second baseman Robinson Cano coming to bat, the Mariners’ inning was over.
“I will try to do better the next time,” Almonte said. “The ball was hit pretty hard, and I was being aggressive. When I got to third I thought, ‘Oh no.’”
In the Mariners’ 3-2, 12-inning loss to Oakland on Thursday night, Almonte made a baserunning mistake and botched a play in the field, but he also made a great defensive play and went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.
“He showed us how great he’s going to be, and he also showed us how young he is,” McClendon said. “You live with it. We understand that he’s going to make some mistakes but also understand that he’s going to be great. One day we’re going to be talking about how special of a career that this young man had, so we just have to continue to make him better.”
The Mariners acquired Almonte from the Yankees on Feb. 13, 2013, in a trade for right-hander Shawn Kelley. Last season, Almonte batted a combined .300 with 23 doubles, six triples, 15 home runs, 68 RBIs and 26 stolen bases for Double-A Jackson and Triple-A Tacoma.
Almonte made his major league debut on Aug. 30 at Houston and reached base safely in 18 consecutive games, the second-longest streak to start a season in club history.
This season, Almonte is batting .280 with two doubles, one home run, five RBIs and a stolen base.
“He’s a guy that has a nice skill set,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “He can run. Obviously has some pop, that ball he hit out. He’s a switch hitter. I know they’re pretty excited about him. Very good athlete with probably a nice up-side.”