Seattle Mariners Rumors: Opening Day Lineup Projected, Starting Rotation A Mess
Seattle Mariners rumors address the projected Opening Day lineup for the team. While the Mariners’ starting rotation still has a lot of questions, new manager Scott Servais may have fewer questions about the starting lineup. A report from CBS Sports on Friday, March 18, gives Mariners fans a brief rundown on how the Opening Day lineup should look.
Slated to bat leadoff is newly signed left fielder Nori Aoki. The projections have shortstop Ketel Marte batting second, second baseman Robinson Cano batting third, and then designated hitter Nelson Cruz as the cleanup hitter. The rest of the Seattle Mariners Opening Day lineup was full of questions coming into Spring Training. Currently, CBS Sports has third baseman Kyle Seager batting fifth, first baseman Adam Lind batting sixth, right fielder Seth Smith batting seventh, catcher Chris Iannetta batting eighth, and center fielder Leonys Martin batting ninth.
There have been many Seattle Mariners rumors about how the outfield would look this season and several players were invited to Spring Training to possibly make the Opening Day roster. Among those players is Franklin Gutierrez, who has been putting together a good March down in Arizona. Gutierrez has gone 6-for-15 at the plate for a 0.400 batting average. He also has three home runs and six RBIs to his credit already. This makes it very likely that he will be part of the 25-man roster when the Mariners break camp.
Outfielder Stephen Romero is also doing well in Spring Training, possibly making it very difficult for the coaches to decide who to send down to Triple-A Tacoma. Appearing in 11 games this spring, Romero is 12-for-25 (.480 batting average) with seven RBIs on his stat line. He is showing that the team may have to either give him a spot on the final roster or explore trading him before the regular season begins.
Boog Powell has also seen a lot of time in the outfield, appearing in 14 games already. Powell is just 4-for-27 at the plate, though, good enough for a 0.148 batting average and 0.233 on-base percentage so far. This will likely lead to a ticket right back to the minor leagues when Spring Training comes to an end. He isn’t the only other outfielder getting mentioned in Seattle Mariners rumors right now.
Outfielder Daniel Robertson was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels in November and has been forcing fans to notice him during Spring Training. In 14 games, he has gone 10-for-21 at the plate, leading to a batting average of 0.476 and an on-base percentage of 0.577. Robertson has five extra base hits, seven RBIs, and five walks through the first half of spring. If he continues to hit the ball this well, the Mariners would be hard-pressed not to place him on the 25-man roster.
As for the Mariners outfielders who look to already have jobs, Seth Smith is hitting 0.526 this spring, Nori Aoki has a 0.269 batting average and 0.321 OBP, and Leonys Martin is just 6-for-27 for a 0.222 batting average thus far. The other projected hitters in the Seattle Mariners Opening Day lineup are Robinson Cano (.333 AVG), Adam Lind (.292 AVG), Kyle Seager (.292 AVG), Chris Iannetta (.250 AVG), and Nelson Cruz (.056 AVG). Cruz has struggled a lot, going just 1-for-18 to start out the spring.
Mariners manager Scott Servais hasn’t made any final roster announcements, so it’s still possible that the CBS Sports projections turn out to be incorrect. What is known for sure is that new Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto made massive changes to the roster during the 2016 MLB offseason. Now it is up to the team to perform and move back up the standings in the American League West. Failing to do so could lead to Seattle Mariners trade rumors about the team unloading veterans before the deadline in July.
[Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]
