If Randy Arozarena is really on the way out, the Mariners are staring at a familiar kind of problem: how do you replace a premium bat without reaching too far outside the organization?
That’s the question hanging over left field, especially after John Stanton made it clear he doesn’t sound eager to pay big money to “a 30-year-old or 31-year-old star player who had been a star in their 20s.” Arozarena is 31, and Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times is already projecting a nine-figure deal and a return to the East Coast for the 2021 AL Rookie of the Year.
Jerry Dipoto, meanwhile, didn’t exactly hide the assignment. In Divish’s piece, he said, “Obviously, we have free agents coming up. We need to refill those voids, and they’re not small voids to refill, especially Randy in left field, but we are excited about our young players.”
So if the Mariners do stay internal, who actually fits? Here’s the rough order, from worst to least bad.
Bad: Dominic Canzone
Canzone has seen big-league time in left field, but right field has been his main home by a wide margin: 147 starts there, compared with just 36 in left. If Seattle is trying to get the most out of his bat, the numbers point toward designated hitter.
That’s not a knock on the bat. It’s just that the offensive production looks a lot better when he’s not forced into the field every day.
Over the last two seasons, Canzone has an .804 OPS, which is fine. It just doesn’t stack up against the .890 OPS he posted in the same span, and there doesn’t seem to be much to gain by pushing the 29-year-old into a regular defensive role.
Bad: Lazaro Montes
This path assumes Seattle keeps the DH spot available for a rotation that leans heavily on Cal Raleigh, or possibly a new addition. In that setup, Canzone would mostly handle right field, while Montes would get thrown into left.
The issue is simple: Montes has barely played there. The 21-year-old has only three professional starts in left field over five seasons, which doesn’t scream “ready-made solution.”
His game looks built for the other corner anyway. He’s a power-first hitter with a strong arm, which fits right field much better than left.
Somewhat Bad: Michael Arroyo
Arroyo is probably the player Dipoto had in mind when he talked about being excited about the young guys. He began as a shortstop, moved to second base, and this year was mostly about getting him reps in left field.
The appeal is obvious enough. Across 537 professional games at every level, Arroyo has put up a .401 OBP and .476 SLG, so the idea is to replace Arozarena’s right-handed production with another right-handed bat.
But even after he logged more starts in left field this year, 66, than at second base, 41, there’s still a real question about whether he can handle the position. As Divish wrote in September, “In left field, he looks like a career infielder trying to convert to a new position.”
Less Bad: Miles Mastrobuoni
Mastrobuoni may not be the first name Mariners fans would circle, but he looks like the safest one in the group. He spent most of his time at third base this season, though that came in only 39 games, and the defense there was visibly shaky.
His longer track record suggests left field would suit him better. He has 0 Defensive Runs Saved in 1,245.2 innings in left, which at least compares favorably to Arozarena’s -5 DRS in 6,691.0 innings at the position.
If Seattle goes this route, the club still has to solve another problem first: it would need a new regular on the left side of the infield. That’s not exactly a small task, but it also creates an opening. The need to upgrade there is real.
In Other News...
Mariners Must Decide Which Outfielder Is Actually Worth Keeping
Randy Arozarena gave the Mariners exactly the kind of spark they hoped for when they brought him in, turning in a strong season and finishing as the American League leader in runs while also earning the Mariners MVP award from the local Baseball Writers Association of America chapter. For a club that spent much of the year looking for reliable offense, that kind of production matters, and it is why the front office has a clear case to make if it wants to keep him around on a moderate-length deal.
Taylor Ward, meanwhile, did not offer the same kind of return after arriving in Seattle, and his struggles left the Mariners with a much different offseason question. If the goal is to trim dead weight and create room for a better fit, the recommendation is to move on rather than try to force a reunion, especially with Arozarena having already shown he can be a central piece of the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Coaching Shakeup Still Leaves One Big Staff Question
The Mariners have already made a notable reset on the staff, parting with manager Dan Wilson and several coaches, but they are not tearing everything down. Pitching coaches Pete Woodworth and Trent Blank are staying put, a nod to a staff that has remained one of the organizations steadier pieces even as the team has worked through injuries and uneven results on the mound.
Jerry Dipoto said the club is taking an exhaustive approach to finding its next manager, and that process is now shaping the rest of the offseason decisions. For now, no additional coaching moves are expected until that hire is made, which leaves the Mariners with one central question still hanging over the shakeup: who will be leading the dugout when the rest of the staff is finally filled in? [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Manager Search Now Comes Down To One Serious Commitment
With Torey Lovullo set to finish the season with his contract running out in Arizona, his name has quickly surfaced in the Mariners managerial search as Seattle weighs a replacement for Dan Wilson. Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall made clear Lovullo is highly regarded and would not be short on options if he does leave, which only adds to the sense that the Mariners are looking at a candidate with both experience and an established track record.
The bigger question is whether Seattle is prepared to make the kind of commitment that comes with a proven manager, both in approach and in salary. Jeff Passan has noted the Mariners could also lean toward first-time managers who better match the culture they want to build, so this search may end up revealing as much about the organizations priorities as it does about the names on the list. [Read more 🡒]