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Jose Caballero

Mariners Notes: Caballero, Wong, Moore, Bullpen

By Steve Adams | May 23, 2023 at 11:18am CDT

Rookie infielder Jose Caballero’s initial call-up to the Mariners’ roster was expected to be a short-term stint to provide some depth while utilityman Sam Haggerty dealt with a concussion, but he’s parlaying that opportunity into a larger role. As Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times writes, he’s already made a strong impression on manager Scott Servais.

“From the day he showed up here, he was not in awe of anything,” Servais said of Caballero, going on to praise the 26-year-old’s baserunning, on-base ability and defense. “…He understands how to play and he doesn’t back off.” President of baseball ops Jerry Dipoto had similar praise, telling Corey Brock of The Athletic that Caballero “has been terrific in every way.”

Caballero has indeed impressed, surging out to a .276/.371/.431 batting line with a pair of homers, three doubles and a 6-for-6 showing on the basepaths through his first 24 games (70 plate appearances). He’s had a bit of good fortune on balls in play (.333), but even if his average took a slight step back, an 11.4% walk rate would keep his on-base percentage plenty strong.

The plate discipline hasn’t been a small-sample fluke, either; Caballero has a career 13% walk rate in the minors and has chased pitches off the plate at a lower rate than the average big leaguer thus far in his young career. Statcast also credits him with 92nd percentile sprint speed, so there’s good reason to believe he can keep swiping bags at a high rate of success.

Caballero’s immediate strong play further shines a light on the mounting struggles of veteran second baseman Kolten Wong, whose .177/.259/.208 batting line (108 plate appearances, 40 wRC+) ranks among the worst in baseball. Wong’s 20.4% strikeout rate is the worst of his career, and he’s making hard contact at career-worst levels as well (85 mph average exit velo, 24% hard-hit). Statcast ranks Wong in the fifth percentile of MLB players or lower in each of hard-hit rate, average exit velocity, barrel rate, expected batting average, expected slugging percentage and expected wOBA. His once plus sprint speed is down to the 37th percentile as well.

In the wake of such a miserable start to the season, Wong has already begun to cede time at second base to Caballero. The rookie has made five starts at second base since Wong’s name was last penciled into the starting lineup. Wong has been on the bench, but the Mariners will have to figure out how to align their infield and bench mix before long. Mariners GM Justin Hollander told reporters yesterday that utilityman Dylan Moore could be reinstated from the injured list during the team’s current homestand (Twitter link via Divish).

Moore, who over the winter signed a three-year, $8.875MM contract that bought his final arbitration seasons and one free-agent year, has yet to play in 2023 due to oblique and core injuries. He’s played in four minor league rehab games, however, and the team apparently believes he could be back on the big league roster with only a few more. The current homestand runs through May 31.

The 30-year-old Moore has had  an up-and-down run with the Mariners since debuting in 2019, alternating between poor and strong showings at the plate on an every-other-year basis. He’s a career .208/.317/.384 hitter, though as evidenced by a .255/.358/.496 showing in 159 plate appearances in 2020 and a .224/.368/.385 line in 255 plate appearances last year, he has plenty of on-base ability and some pop in his bat. Moore has 35 home runs and 65 steals in 381 career games, and he’s drawn outstanding defensive ratings at second base, third base and in both outfield corners.

Seattle’s bench currently consists of backup catcher Tom Murphy, the aforementioned Haggerty (who has had minimal playing time so far) and struggling veterans Wong and AJ Pollock. Barring an injury elsewhere in the lineup, it’s likely someone from that bench group will be displaced by Moore’s return. Haggerty has minor league options remaining, and that route would preserve more depth, but he batted .256/.335/.403 last season in 201 plate appearances, showing plenty of defensive versatility himself. The Mariners will have to weigh that against the poor starts of both Wong and Pollock in determining their preferred course of action.

The Mariners are also anticipating a return to health for some important bullpen arms (Twitter links via Divish). Closer Andres Munoz and righty Penn Murfee are both expected to join the Mariners on their upcoming road trip, which runs from June 1-11. Munoz has been throwing bullpen sessions, and Murfee has responded well to a platelet-rich plasma injection. Both will need quick tune-ups on minor league rehab stints, but they’re only a matter of weeks away.

Munoz, 24, broke out as one of the best relievers in baseball in 2022 when he pitched to a 2.49 ERA with a stellar 38.7% strikeout rate against a 6% walk rate. He averaged a whopping 100.3 mph on his heater, and his 21.6% swinging-strike rate trailed only Edwin Diaz among all big league pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched.

Murfee, meanwhile, has pitched 82 1/3 innings of 2.73 ERA ball dating back to last year’s MLB debut. He’s fanned 27.9% of his opponents against an 8.3% walk rate without displaying the type of platoon splits that many fellow sidearmers tend to carry. Lefties have batted just .210/.297/.305 against Murfee, while right-handers have posted an even more dreadful .165/.232/.303 slash.

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Notes Seattle Mariners Andres Munoz Dylan Moore Jose Caballero Kolten Wong Penn Murfee Sam Haggerty

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Mariners Designate Tommy Milone, Select Jose Caballero

By Mark Polishuk | April 15, 2023 at 5:01pm CDT

The Mariners announced that left-hander Tommy Milone has been designated for assignment.  In a corresponding move, Seattle selected the contract of infielder Jose Caballero from Triple-A.

After originally signing a minor league deal with the Mariners prior to the 2022 season, Milone rejoined the club on a new minors deal this past winter, and was then selected to the MLB roster just yesterday.  Milone got the spot start and was solid (one ER on three hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings) in Seattle’s 5-3 win over the Rockies, and that game officially put Milone on the books for 13 Major League seasons.

Depending on what happens on DFA waivers, however, this cup of coffee could potentially be the end of Milone’s tenure with the Mariners, if another team in need of starting depth made a claim or worked out a trade with the M’s.  It perhaps seems more likely that Milone will clear waivers and then remain in the organization as a swingman or depth option, ready to be called back up to Seattle if another need arises in the rotation or bullpen.

Milone’s long career has seen him suit up with nine different teams at the big league level, and he has posted a 4.59 ERA over 949 career innings.  Between injuries and time in the minors, Milone has seen limited action over the last three seasons, with only 35 1/3 total innings pitched in the majors since the start of the 2021 season.

As Milone’s career takes its latest turn, Caballero may be on the verge of his MLB debut.  A seventh-round pick for the Diamondbacks in the 2017 draft, the M’s acquired Caballero in exchange for Mike Leake at the 2019 trade deadline.  Caballero has some solid numbers over his minor league career but he had trouble staying healthy, with only 53 total games played over the 2021-22 seasons.  He is off to a very nice start in his first taste of Triple-A ball this season, as Caballero has hit .333/.550/.593 with two homers over his first 40 plate appearances of the 2023 campaign.

It might be a short-lived stint in the bigs for Caballero, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times notes that the Mariners made the call-up since Sam Haggerty was shaken up after a dive in yesterday’s game.  If Haggerty ends up being okay, Caballero might end up back at Triple-A when Marco Gonzales returns from the paternity list later in the week.  In the meantime, Caballero’s ability to play shortstop, second base, and third base will help fill Haggerty’s utility role.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Jose Caballero Tommy Milone

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