Mariners Log: M’s make series of transactions before Sunday’s game
On Sunday morning, the Seattle Mariners made a series of moves to bolster the roster as they continue to struggle early in the season.
The Mariners addressed the sagging offense, recalling 1B Dan Vogelbach from AAA Tacoma. Vogelbach, 24, was hitting .309 (17 for 55) with six runs, three doubles, two home runs, 14 RBI and an .882 OPS in 16 games with AAA Tacoma. At the time of recall, he had an eight-game hitting streak.
Vogelbach had a rough spring offensively and defensively, and the M’s would have loved to had the luxury of giving him 150 or so at-bats in the minor leagues to really get his groove back and work on his footwork at first base. But with Danny Valencia hitting an anemic .145/.217/.226 in 69 plate appearances, they had to address the issue.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t Valencia, or recent call-up Mike Freeman, who was sent out to accommodate Vogelbach. Rather, the team designated outfielder Leonys Martin for assignment.
Now, Martin has been far from lighting it up himself. The center fielder has hit .111/.172/.130 in 58 plate appearances. That’s putrid. But the 29-year-old has a decent MLB track record and his early season BABiP is .150 so he’s also hit in some bad luck. Regardless, he’s out. The team has seven days to trade, release or outright Martin and the team hopes he’ll accept a minor league assignment if he clears waivers.
Vogelbach will now platoon with Valencia, allowing Vogelbach days off against lefties, where Valencia excels (.318/.372/.496).
It also means that Guillermo Heredia will be an everyday player for the near future, as it leaves the team with just three outfielders, and Nelson Cruz.
We could very well see a corresponding move in the near future to bring up another outfielder to help out, perhaps Ben Gamel or, eventually, Tyler O’Neill – though he’s off to a slow start himself at Tacoma (.190/.246/.349).
The other switch was to send out Chase De Jong, who pitched four solid innings of relief in Saturday’s loss to Oakland, and bring in RHP Chris Heston from Tacoma, presumably to hold down the long-man spot that De Jong filled capably when Ariel Miranda couldn’t get past the third.
Heston, 29, was 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA (6 ER, 17 innings) with 19 strikeouts in three starts, including one complete game with AAA Tacoma. He has tossed at least five innings in each start, including a seven-inning complete game on April 13 against El Paso. At the time of recall, he led Tacoma in strikeouts with 19.
Should Yovani Gallardo continue to struggle, Heston could be a solution in the fifth spot eventually.
All of this shows GM Jerry Dipoto isn’t going to sit on his hands and watch this team continue to flounder. Martin is an MLB veteran, and was a very popular guy in the clubhouse and with manager Scott Servais, so if Dipoto was willing to pull the plug on a guy like that this early in the season, he’s open to just about anything to get this team jumpstarted before it’s too late.