Mariners Wanting To Add Excessive-Contact Hitters

Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto was amongst fairly just a few executives to speak with reporters on the GM Conferences on Tuesday. He addressed only a few of the membership’s offseason targets — most notably, a necessity to reinforce the offense’s bat-to-ball experience.

“Together with some contact to our lineup,” Dipoto replied when requested by Jon Morosi of MLB.com regarding the membership’s largest need. He added that an additional right-handed bat may be preferable, saying the doorway office was smitten by its group of youthful lefty hitters.

That want to reinforce the contact cost tied into Seattle’s significantly beautiful selection to not situation a qualifying present to Teoscar Hernández. “We wished to confirm we’ll deal with just a few of the failings that exist in our group,” Dipoto knowledgeable reporters (hyperlink through Ryan Divish of the Seattle Occasions). “Whatever the precise truth he didn’t have an superior start to his season, he put up his numbers and he contributed down the stretch as so much as any participant we had. Nevertheless we felt like this was a risk to type of take a model new check out one of the best ways our group is constructed. If there was a motive why we’ve got been sitting home throughout the postseason, we felt choose it was more than likely the dearth to continually make contact.”

Seattle hitters actually struggled with swing-and-miss. Solely the Twins struck out additional normally, whereas the M’s accomplished twenty second with a .242 batting widespread. They’ve been fifteenth in on-base proportion and sixteenth in slugging. Hernández accomplished second on the group with 211 strikeouts, although that shouldn’t be notably beautiful. He has on a regular basis been a power-first participant who compensates for a middling plate self-discipline profile with extra-base affect.

It seems the Mariners are planning a conscious shift away from that mannequin. The departure of Hernández leaves a niche throughout the nook outfield. Speculatively speaking, Hernández’s former Toronto teammate Lourdes Gurriel Jr. might match the mold that Seattle is concentrating on. Whereas Gurriel moreover has an aggressive offensive technique, he’s a right-handed bat who has sturdy pure contact experience and 20+ homer pop.

Gurriel is a left fielder solely, so a hypothetical pursuit would most likely push Jarred Kelenic to correct space. KBO star Jung Hoo Lee hits from the left aspect nonetheless brings a hit-first technique and can profile in correct space. Alex Verdugo and Max Kepler are among the many many outfielders who may be on the market in commerce. Second base, which stands out as one different area the M’s might try to enhance, has only a few hit-over-power prospects. Whit Merrifield, Amed Rosario and Tim Anderson are all free brokers who hit from the becoming aspect, although none is coming off an superior finish to the 2023 season.

Seattle’s group chief in strikeouts was third baseman Eugenio Suárez, who fanned at a 30.8% clip. Suárez has led the American League in full strikeouts in consecutive seasons. He hit .232/.323/.391 in 2023 whole, roughly league widespread offense when accounting for Seattle’s pitcher-friendly home park.

Whereas Dipoto didn’t level out Suárez, it doesn’t seem out of the question the Mariners retailer him sooner than the final word assured season of his contract. To that end, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reported this night time that the Blue Jays are eyeing Suárez as a doable third base risk within the occasion that they lose Matt Chapman in free firm. Have been Seattle to maneuver Suárez, they’d most likely need to backfill via commerce or free firm. Jeimer Candelario is the very best varied to Chapman on the open market.

In several info, Dipoto confirmed the group continues to have curiosity in re-signing Tom Murphy (via Divish). The longtime #2 catcher hit free firm, leaving Seattle with merely minor league commerce pickup Blake Hunt on the 40-man roster behind Cal Raleigh. The M’s are very most likely to herald a veteran catcher this winter. Murphy, who hit .290/.335/.538 in 47 video video games sooner than a season-ending thumb fracture, has a shot at a two-year pact.