Did World Baseball Classic lead to slow starts for Mariners stars?

SEATTLE – The consensus among those in the Mariners clubhouse who spent part of their March playing in the World Baseball Classic is that participating in the tournament was a worthwhile experience for the chance to represent their respective countries.

But did it at all help them get ready for the regular season? The short answer is, maybe not.

To be fair, it’s been seven games, which equates to 4.3% of a 162-game season. And it’s been cold – very cold. And the Mariners have played two pretty good teams, including a Yankees pitching staff that has started this season on a historic pace and is considered one of the betting favorites to win the American League pennant.

But the WBC did alter and, in some ways, throw off normal spring training routines and progressions. While playing in those high-intensity games had some benefit, the fact routines were thrown off may have countered some of that.

“It’s still early. I’m not worried about it,” said reliever Gabe Speier, whose arm has been a little slower to bounce back after an outing. “Two weeks from now, I’ll be in a good spot.”

The slow starts from some of the M’s WBC participants are not isolated to Seattle. Plenty of others across baseball who took part in the tournament have yet to get going, especially at the plate.

Here’s a quick rundown of the eight WBC players on the M’s current roster and what their starts have looked like.

Cal Raleigh – .160 batting average, 4 RBIs, 3 walks, 15 strikeouts, .450 OPS: There was going to be extra attention – and pressure – on Raleigh because of what he did last season. But it’s clear his swing is off from both sides of the plate. Raleigh has struck out 53.6% of his 28 plate appearances. He has one extra-base hit. When he has put the ball in play, it’s not being hit well. His max exit velocity through seven games is 92.2 mph. He has yet to record an official barrel according to MLB Statcast.

Raleigh does have a couple of clutch hits between the game-winning walk off single to beat the Yankees on Monday and a two-run single in the eighth inning on Wednesday.

Raleigh started slow last season as well with just three hits in 28 plate appearances over the first seven games. The concerning number at this point in comparison is the strikeouts. Last season, he had seven in his first seven games. This season, it’s more than double.“I don’t feel terrible in the box,” Raleigh said. “I feel like I’ve had some tough pitches, but at the same time, just need to execute a little bit.”

Julio Rodríguez – .077, 1 RBI, 4 walks, 10 strikeouts, .277 OPS: A well-documented slow starter, this start is a new low for Rodríguez to open a season. He’s just 2-for-26 at the plate with both hits being singles. Last season, Rodríguez was hitting .182 after seven games but had a .788 OPS. His best start came in 2023, when he hit .267 with four doubles, one homer and an .833 OPS.

Josh Naylor – .037, 0 RBIs, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts, .170 OPS: If there’s anyone colder than Rodríguez, it’s Naylor. Experiencing his first early spring in Seattle, the M’s first baseman has just one hit in 27 at-bats. Naylor has hit the ball hard a few times and his xBA (expected batting average) of .212 indicates a little bit of bad luck thus far.

For his career, Naylor’s been a fast starter. He’s posted an OPS of .784 or higher over his first seven games in each of the previous four seasons.

Randy Arozarena – .250, 3 doubles, 2 RBIs, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts, .775 OPS: Arozarena traditionally starts fast and this season seems to fall in line with his history. In five of the past six seasons, Arozarena has posted an OPS of .833 or higher over the first seven games, so while his numbers from the first homestand are slightly down by that standard, he’s been one of the more consistent batters in the lineup thus far.

Dominic Canzone – .333, 3 RBIs, 2 HR, 1.212 OPS: Canzone couldn’t have started much hotter with two home runs on opening night against Cleveland. His at-bats became a little more scattered with some lefties on the mound in the days that followed, but his .333 average looks lofty compared to some of the M’s other hitters.

Canzone said that physically, the WBC left his progression in the same spot as a normal spring training, but the competition from the tournament had him mentally ahead opening day .

Eduard Bazardo – 3 games, 0-0, 1 earned run, 2 strikeouts, 3 walks: Bazardo pitched in five games in the WBC, but still feels like he’s trying to find the feel for his location in the three games he’s pitched with the M’s. While it’s not going to last and is such a small sample size for a reliever, a 27.3% walk rate is a little eye-popping.“I need to try to get my adjustments because right now I’m missing some pitches. … But the WBC was really fun. That’s what I liked it for,” Bazardo said. “But I know right now, my body, my arm, and it’s cold too – sometimes you don’t feel the ball. WBC helped me get the experience for what playoffs [are] like.”

Gabe Speier – 3 games, 0-1, 7.70 ERA, 2 earned runs, 3 strikeouts, 0 walks: While Bazardo is trying to find a feel for location with his pitches, Speier is trying to shake off some of the early-season soreness that he says in the past is mostly gone by the time spring training ends. He pitched in three games of the WBC but with three- and four-day gaps between appearances. The intensity of the WBC games accelerated his prep for the season, but the inconsistency of regular turns on the mound has slowed a little bit of his availability.

“I would say that it was good in the sense of the intent, like getting in some intense situations early on. But as far as scheduling, I feel slightly behind,” Speier said. “Because in spring you build up. You pitch and then maybe you have four days off. And then you pitch and then you have three days off. And then you pitch and you have two days off, and you’re kind of building up with less and less rest in between. And I didn’t really get that with the WBC.”

Andrés Muñoz – 2 games, 0-1, 9.00 ERA, 2 earned runs, 3 strikeouts, 0 walks: The M’s closer has pitched in only two games so far, but was up throwing in the bullpen on Wednesday in the series finale against the Yankees. Muñoz pitched only two games for Mexico during the WBC and was one of the first players that took part in the tournament to rejoin the team at spring training and jump right back into his routine.

Of course, the M’s would like to see Muñoz pitching in more than just two of every seven games.