A personal favorite moment of last season of The Mariners came after an interview with Julio Rodriguez in late September.
Dipoto Show Takeaways: M’s priorities after lockout, Rodriguez, pitch plans
According to daily reports and scores, since returning from the Olympics, he has played quite a bit in center field for Double A Arkansas. While we were chatting after the interview, I asked him about it.
“First you hear it from me,” Rodriguez said, looking me straight in the eyes, with a big smile on his face and slowing down his words for emphasis. “It will be amazing.”
I tried my best to suppress my laughter, fully appreciating the confidence of the then 20-year-old. I suspect Jerry Dipoto had a similar reaction to a message from his top prospect minutes after the end of the MLB lockout on Thursday.
“When we were finishing up the phone with MLB to let us know this deal had been ratified, the first thing I got was a short film of Julio playing center field to let me know how things were going,” Dipoto said. , general manager of the Mariners and president of baseball operations, laughing during a media conference call Friday.
Related: Don’t rule out Julio Rodriguez as CF Mariners of the future
To longtime observers of Rodriguez, it may have had the tinge of an outfielder’s first spring practice with the Mariners, when he did his minor league job in the morning and then headed to the main stadium to watch a major league game. Standing behind the home court, it was impossible not to notice him, but that might have been the intention. Hey guys, I’m here.
The opportunity to prove himself on a real major league field may come to Rodriguez sooner rather than later. Both at Dipoto’s press conference with the media and in his morning interview with Mike Salk on Seattle Sports 710 AM, he pointed out that despite the 21-year-old’s youth, he has a better chance of making it to the club than perhaps thought. initially. What does Rodriguez need to do in a shortened spring workout to be in Minnesota for Opening Day?
“Light us up,” Dipoto told Salk. “And I suspect he will come ready to do it. I know one of his priorities was focusing on his body, improving his running tool, what he was doing defensively. He has been working hard on his defense over the last few months, especially on his defense in midfield.”
Rodriguez could be part of a trio of young players that Seattle could turn to in the center.
“If we have Julio Rodriguez, Kyle Lewis and Jarred Kelenick who are capable of being dynamic offensive players and playing in midfield, that gives us incredible flexibility and high performance,” Dipoto said. “This is the most interesting thing about Julio – we give him tasks, and he solves them. And I’m guessing that within the next few weeks he’s going to bring us down again. Always so.
As it turns out, the limited number of games to show off — and perhaps a new draft pick opportunity for the top rookie award-winners that come with the just-negotiated collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the players’ association — could be a plus.
“In fact, it probably makes it a little better because we have less time to hesitate,” Dipoto said with a laugh.
All in all, this should make for a good story. If you’re looking for something to watch as spring training unfolds in Peoria, take a look at the field.
Mitch Haniger is signed in right field, but what’s next? How about the guy who ended the season at center? Jarred Kelenich looked less than comfortable in that position last season, but 2021 has been a year of adjustments for him. It is doubtful that his performance was truly representative of who he might be at the center. He enters spring training this year with an opportunity to attack in the off-season with almost a year of experience and training in the big leagues behind him.
What about the guy who won Rookie of the Year while playing center? While teams weren’t allowed to communicate with players on the 40-man roster during the lockout, Dipoto revealed that the Mariners were able to get reports from personal rehab coach Kyle Lewis and were very encouraged to hear about his rehab progress. after knee surgery at the end of the season. As of Friday afternoon, they had yet to see Lewis and, of course, had yet to find out how much he could play on the field, but Dipoto didn’t let that dampen his enthusiasm for what they could have.
“He makes us a completely different team and a lot of what we’re looking for to really spice up our offense can come from Kyle Lewis,” he said.
Then there is the question of outside help. Dipoto has stated that he would ideally like to add two percussive bats to the lineup, at least one for lefties. If he can do it?
“I know right now we look like a team that (might) be struggling to score points, that could change in a week and that’s the goal,” he said.
Dipoto sees the opportunity for the Mariners to have a huge outfield. There are many steps to be taken and players to be added to make that vision quickly materialize, but after 99 days of not being allowed to talk about his club due to the lockout, you can let Dipoto be a little extravagant and optimistic. However, what he currently has for offense is another level of talent. Much of this is unproven, yes, but the possibility cannot be denied.
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