Julio Rodríguez is starting to look like the bat Seattle has been waiting on.
That matters now more than ever. The Mariners are still searching for offense from Cal Raleigh, and several other power hitters haven’t delivered with any consistency. So if the lineup is going to get a lift from the middle, Rodríguez is the obvious place to look.
This kind of slow burn is hardly new for him. Rodríguez has long been the type of hitter who needs time to settle in before he really starts rolling, and this season followed that familiar script until a concussion on July 2 against the Los Angeles Angels forced him onto the seven-day IL.
When he came back, he didn’t waste much time making an impact. On July 18, he came through with a walk-off sac fly in the 10th inning against the San Fransisco Giants, pushing Seattle to a 4-3 win at T-Mobile Park.
There was a brief dip after that, but August has brought a sharper version of Rodríguez back into view. He’s posted a .938 OPS this month with three home runs, and Baseball Savant’s expected numbers point in the same direction, suggesting this isn’t just a short-lived spike. He’s also riding a five-game hit streak that dates back to last week in New York.
Before the concussion, Rodríguez was hitting .259 with 14 home runs, 40 RBIs and 12 stolen bases across 87 games. Solid numbers, but not the full-force version Seattle knows. Over his last 14 games played, he’s batting .308 with three home runs, six RBIs and two stolen bases, with much of that damage coming in August.
The encouraging part for Seattle is that this late push fits the pattern. Rodríguez has done this before.
In August 2023, he caught fire with a 1.198 OPS, seven home runs and 30 RBIs. Last season, he turned it on again after July 11, hitting .944 OPS with seven homers and 22 RBIs.
Late summer has a way of bringing out his best.
It’s still too soon to say whether he’ll keep this up, but the timing is right for Seattle to hope. If Raleigh and the rest of the lineup keep coming up short, the Mariners may need Rodríguez to carry some of the load. And if his past is any guide, he could be ready to do exactly that.
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For the Mariners, the more pressing issue is what came after. They have not found a clean way to replace the production Polanco provided, and that hole has been part of the drag on a team that has slipped into a losing record. The front office can feel vindicated about the risk it avoided, but the lineup still has to answer the bigger question of who fills that spot and whether the offense can keep pace without it. [Read more 🡒]
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For Seattle, the issue is bigger than one players numbers, of course, but Raleighs collapse has helped define a lineup that has not produced enough to keep pace in the American League. The Mariners sit below .500 and outside the playoff picture, which makes every quiet night at the plate feel heavier. What happens next for Raleigh and the rest of the offense may determine whether this season is remembered as a temporary stumble or something far more frustrating. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners May Have Found A Needed Answer Against Lefties
The Mariners are taking a low-risk look at Andy Ibez, a veteran utility option they added on a minor-league contract after his release by the Mets. Ibez has spent six seasons in the majors with multiple clubs, and Seattle is sending him straight into the system with Triple-A Tacoma, where he wasted little time making an impression by going 4 for 8 with two doubles in his first two games.
For a Seattle roster that has been searching for more reliable production against left-handed pitching, Ibez is the sort of depth move that can quietly matter if it keeps carrying over. His versatility gives the club another option to evaluate, and Tacoma will now serve as the proving ground for whether the bat shows enough to push him back into the conversation at the big-league level. [Read more 🡒]