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Mariners Shut Down Kyle Lewis For Rest Of Season

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The Mariners are shutting down center fielder Kyle Lewis for the remainder of the season, the club informed reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). Lewis recently suffered a bone bruise in his injured right knee.

It’s not a particularly surprising development, as the team revealed last week that his rehab had been halted because of soreness in his knee. Still, it’s surely a disappointing outcome for player and team alike. Lewis had been hoping to embark on a minor league rehab assignment and make it back this year. And with Seattle three games back of the Red Sox in the race for the American League’s final Wild Card spot, they could’ve used a late-season jolt from the reigning AL Rookie of the Year.

Given Lewis’ long history of trouble with the joint, the club’s caution is understandable though. The young outfielder tore his ACL not long after being drafted in 2016 and continued to be bothered by intermittent knee issues over the next couple seasons. He finally seemed to put them behind him by 2019, when he stayed healthy over a full season at Triple-A and earned his first big league promotion that September. He built off the promise he showed that year during the shortened 2020 campaign, when he hit .262/.364/.437 en route to the aforementioned Rookie of the Year selection.

Lewis’ knee troubles unfortunately cropped up again this year. He missed the first few weeks of the season with a bone bruise in the area. After returning to log a little more than a month’s worth of action, he suffered a meniscus tear in early June. Coupled with his recent setback, those injuries conspired to end his season after just 147 plate appearances.

Center field has been a problem area for the M’s since they lost Lewis. Top prospect Jarred Kelenic has gotten a lot of run there lately, but he’s struggled in his first taste of the majors. The 22-year-old is hitting just .158/.238/.281 over his first 281 MLB plate appearances. Even if Lewis had made it back, Seattle could’ve also bumped Kelenic to left field and displaced the struggling Jake Bauers/Dylan Moore pairing. Instead, they’re left to rely on those underperforming options as they hope to track down Boston or the Yankees over the season’s final four weeks.

Lewis will turn his attention to next Spring Training. The 26-year-old figures to again assume his role as the Mariners’ regular center fielder if healthy. Seattle still controls Lewis for four more seasons; he’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time during the 2022-23 offseason.

AL Notes: Mariners, Lewis, Castillo, Misiewicz, White Sox, Giolito

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The Mariners were hopeful that reigning Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis would begin a rehab assignment on Friday, but those plans were dashed by soreness in his surgically-repaired right knee, per The Athletic’s Corey Brock. Lewis went under the knife in June after just 147 plate appearances. His offense was down a little to a .246/.333/.392 triple slash line, but even ignoring the small sample caveat, that’s still good for a 107 wRC+.

Lewis’ delay is unfortunate, especially given the struggles of Jarred Kelenic in center.  Jake Fraley and Taylor Trammell have helped out in center as well, but Fraley is on the injured list and Trammell is in Triple-A. Somewhat improbably in the playoff hunt, the Mariners could certainly use better than the 50 wRC+ that Kelenic is providing, but given this latest setback for Lewis, any improvement will likely have to come from Kelenic himself. In other news…

  • The Mariners expect bullpen reinforcements soon. Diego Castillo and Anthony Misiewicz are on their way back from the injured list, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). Misiewicz has been one of their more reliable relievers on the season, and Castillo was intended to take over the closer role when he was acquired at the deadline. Paul Sewald has claimed that job for now, so it will be worth watching where manager Scott Servais chooses to work Castillo back into the mix. [UPDATE: the Mariners have officially reinstated Castillo and Misiewicz from the IL.]
  • Lucas Giolito’s hamstring strain may ultimately be a good thing for the White Sox righty. A short stint on the injured list will allow him to reset and adjust some of his mechanics, per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. On finishing his delivery, Giolito said, “When my finish gets violent, I am recoiling on the pitch and my leg stiffens out. It’s almost like I am falling backwards. I don’t want to be there. It’s a bad habit. When I am strong on my front leg, even with a little bend, it allows me to get through the pitch, which leads to more extension going forward. I feel I am more consistent when I am more athletic and stronger through my finish.”

Mariners Are In Position To Be Active In Free Agency This Offseason

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Despite generally modest expectations coming into the year, the Mariners have remained in playoff contention all season. Seattle enters play tonight with a 72-62 record, three and a half games back of the Red Sox for the American League’s final postseason spot (with the A’s also ahead of them). That’s in spite of a fairly youthful roster that many onlookers didn’t believe capable of sticking with the best teams in the AL over a 162-game campaign.

Regardless of whether the Mariners make it to the playoffs, the upcoming offseason will be pivotal. The franchise has reached the end of its recent retool, and expectations will certainly be higher entering 2022 than they were coming into 2021. It seems the time has come for the front office to more aggressively supplement the young core that has already cracked or will crack the majors in the near future.

“We will be more active in free agency than we have been in years past,” president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto confirmed to MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM this afternoon (Twitter link). Seattle’s front office leader pointed to the franchise’s ample long-term payroll space, as well as the club’s ability to target more specific areas of need now that they’ve had certain players emerge as internal building blocks.

The Mariners have almost no guaranteed money on the books for next season. Only Marco Gonzales ($5.75MM), Ken Giles ($5.25MM), Chris Flexen ($3.05MM) and Evan White ($1.4MM) are locked into the ledger at the moment. Seattle will have to decide on options for Yusei Kikuchi (whose complex contract situation MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored in July) and Kyle Seager, and players like Mitch Haniger, J.P. Crawford and Diego Castillo will be due raises via arbitration.

Even in the event they bring back both Kikuchi and Seager and their arbitration class lands solid raises, the Mariners are likely looking at commitments in the $60-65MM range upon turning their considerations to external upgrades. Before their recent rebuild, the M’s ran player payrolls at and above $150MM, in the estimation of Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Assuming ownership is willing to greenlight spending at a similar level moving forward, there should be plenty of room for the front office to make multiple notable additions.

Dipoto unsurprisingly didn’t tip his hand as to where the front office might look to upgrade, but bolstering the lineup figures to be a priority. Despite their team-wide success, Mariners’ hitters rank just 25th out of the league’s 30 clubs in park-adjusted offense (excluding pitchers). Seattle position players have a .222/.299/.380 line, with particularly weak production from each of catcher, second base, left field and center field.

That’s not to say all of those positions will be target areas. Jarred Kelenic and Cal Raleigh have started their big league careers slowly but are both highly-regarded prospects who should continue to get opportunities in left field and at catcher, respectively. Julio Rodríguez is tearing the cover off the ball in Double-A and doesn’t seem far away from getting his first call. When healthy, Kyle Lewis is a good center fielder. And trade deadline acquisition Abraham Toro could be a long-term answer at second base, particularly if Seattle brings back Seager at Toro’s more familiar third base spot.

There are internal options around the diamond, but at least one acquisition on the position player side seems likely. Adding a first baseman could push Ty France back to second. Signing a quality multi-positional player (old friend Chris Taylor is slated to hit free agency, as one example) could give manager Scott Servais added cover all around the diamond. Adding a corner outfielder like Kyle Schwarber could help solidify left while offering the flexibility to move to DH if Kelenic and/or Rodríguez seizes an everyday job in the grass.

The upcoming free agent class features plenty of high-end starting pitchers too, many of whom are young enough to project as solid contributors over the next few seasons. Kevin Gausman, Robbie Ray, Marcus Stroman, Eduardo Rodríguez and Max Scherzer should be near the top of the market, with Anthony DeSclafani, Noah Syndergaard, Justin Verlander and Alex Wood among the other options.

Starting pitching isn’t necessarily a need for Seattle, particularly if they bring back Kikuchi. Gonzales, Flexen, Logan Gilbert, Justus Sheffield and Justin Dunn all remain under team control, and prospects George Kirby and Emerson Hancock are moving closer to the big leagues. There’s always room for extra starting pitching depth, and the M’s could have the resources to add a middle or top of the rotation type in free agency and improve that group’s overall floor.

The Mariners’ combination of payroll space and flexibility to pursue upgrades at various spots on the roster has the potential to make for Seattle’s most exciting offseason in recent memory. Dipoto, who signed a multi-year extension and earned a promotion from GM to president yesterday, is in position to add to the core the organization has assembled in hopes of building the M’s first perennial contender in two decades.

Mariners Outright Jimmy Yacabonis

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The Mariners announced that right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Tacoma. Yacabonis has the right to elect free agency as a player who has previously been outrighted in his career, although the team didn’t indicate he’s planning to do so.

Yacabonis saw brief big league action for Seattle last season but hasn’t yet appeared in the majors in 2021. The Mariners outrighted him off the roster last winter but brought him back on a minor league contract. He has spent almost the entire season with the Rainiers, working 31 1/3 innings of 1.72 ERA ball with fine strikeout and walk rates (23% and 7.1%, respectively). Seattle selected him to the big league roster last weekend but designated him for assignment a couple days later without his making an appearance.

Between 2017-20, Yacabonis pitched in the majors with the Orioles and Mariners. The 29-year-old owns a 5.71 ERA/5.56 SIERA over 104 frames at the highest level. Even if Yacabonis accepts the outright assignment, he’ll reach minor league free agency this offseason if not selected back onto the 40-man roster.

Every Team’s Initial September Callups

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The limit on active roster players expanded from 26 to 28 today, as the calendar flipped to September. Every team announced at least two additions to the big league club (some teams made three or more due to injured list placements). Here’s a recap of today’s spate of transactions:

Mariners Extend Jerry Dipoto, Scott Servais

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The Mariners announced Wednesday that they’ve promoted general manager Jerry Dipoto to president of baseball operations and signed him to a multi-year contract extension. The club has also announced a multi-year extension for manager Scott Servais. The length of the contracts were not specified.

Jerry Dipoto | Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports

“Jerry is a creative, passionate leader with a clear vision for our franchise,” managing partner John Stanton said in today’s press release. “Following the 2018 season, Jerry came to us with a plan for how to compete for and win championships. He was transparent on the difficulty, but also clear on the goals and milestones. In the two-and-a-half years since, he has led the baseball operations group through challenges on and off the field, while executing on the timeline he laid out.”

Stanton points out that the Mariners’ 91-76 record since the midpoint of last season ranks sixth in baseball, praises the “first-class operations and analytics team” built by Dipoto, and expresses pride in a farm system that recently topped Baseball America’s midseason rankings. The Mariners are also just three and a half games back in the American League Wild Card race, outperforming broad expectations in what most expected to be another rebuilding season.

The 2021 campaign is Dipoto’s sixth full season with the Mariners, who hired him as general manager on Sept. 28, 2015. He’d previously served as interim general manager of the Diamondbacks and spent nearly five seasons as general manager of the Angels before leaving the organization after a public rift with manager Mike Scioscia. Dipoto then served as a special assistant in the Red Sox’ front office before being tabbed as Seattle’s new head of baseball operations.

Mariners ownership brought Dipoto aboard in the midst of a win-now push. At the time, Dipoto was stepping into an organization that had a bloated long-term payroll and one of the game’s worst-ranked farm systems. Seattle posted winning records in two of Dipoto’s first three seasons (2016 and 2018) but did not reach the playoffs. With several aging veterans and little help on the immediate horizon, Dipoto set out to “reimagine” the Mariners’ roster and farm system following an 89-win 2018 season.

Over the next two seasons, he traded away the likes of Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz, James Paxton, Jean Segura, Austin Nola and many others as he sought to replenish the minor league system and bring about a youth movement. His efforts continued all the way through the current deadline, when Dipoto somewhat controversially traded closer Kendall Graveman to his chief division rival for five years of control over young infielder Abraham Toro. (Toro hit a grand slam off Graveman last night.)

That youth movement has begun to arrive in Seattle, led by names such as Toro, Ty France, J.P. Crawford, Luis Torrens and others. Some of Dipoto’s early acquisitions, such as Mitch Haniger and Marco Gonzales, have become mainstays on the roster and played key roles in the team’s emergence. Free-agent additions such as Chris Flexen and Yusei Kikuchi have been vital to the team’s 2021 rotation.

A new multi-year extension gives Dipoto the opportunity to see a rebuild he initially pushed for all the way through to its culmination. While the Mariners have begun to see some of the fruits of those rebuilding efforts, the club hopes there’s more on the horizon not just via the young big leaguers who’ve struggled (e.g. Jarred Kelenic) but also the numerous top prospects still on the farm. Outfielder Julio Rodriguez, right-handers Emerson Hancock and George Kirby and infielder Noelvi Marte, among others, could all reach the Majors by 2023 — many of them as soon as next season.

The rebuilding effort has also left Seattle with a squeaky-clean payroll outlook. The Mariners have just $19MM committed to next year’s payroll (before arbitration raises and decisions on options for Kyle Seager and Kikuchi). They’ll take that minimal level of financial commitment to a free-agent market that is deeper in talent than any we’ve seen in recent memory and look to augment the young core with some veterans to take the team to a new level in 2022 and beyond.

The sheer volume of trades made by Dipoto, who has more than earned his “Trader Jerry” nickname since taking the reins in Seattle, opens him up to some criticism and has created his share of detractors. However, it’s tough to argue that the team’s farm system, payroll outlook and current big league roster paint anything other than a bright future that is largely because of its current baseball operations leader’s doing.

Scott Servais | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Servais, like Dipoto, is in his sixth season with the Mariners. He’d worked as an assistant general manager in the Angels front office during Dipoto’s time as GM there, setting up a strong foundation for the two to build upon in Seattle.

“Scott has done a terrific job in defining our team’s culture as one that is driven by process, hard work and heart,” Dipoto said in a press release announcing Servais’ new contract. “That has allowed us to bring young, talented players to the Majors over the past three years and see them adjust and succeed as we build towards a team that competes for championships on an annual basis. The resiliency our club has shown in overcoming challenges on, and off, the field over the past two years have been a direct result of Scott’s leadership of the team and coaching staff.”

The Mariners are the only club Servais has ever managed, and through his six seasons he holds a 419-422 record. That’s skewed largely by a 68-94 record in 2019 — the first season of the club’s rebuild. Servais has a pair of winning seasons on his record and ought to add a third to the ledger in 2021, barring a seismic September collapse.

The larger question isn’t whether the Mariners will finish the current season with a winning record but rather whether they’ll be able to close a 3.5-game Wild Card deficit, thereby snapping a two-decade playoff drought. Even if a return to the postseason doesn’t happen in 2021, it would surely be viewed as a disappointment among fans, the players, the front office and ownership if a return to the playoffs doesn’t come to fruition over the life of these new contracts for Dipoto and Servais. Their ability to push this club from a young, up-and-coming club on the rise to bona fide postseason contenders will determine whether future extensions are in order.

Mariners Designate Jimmy Yacabonis For Assignment

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The Mariners announced Monday that they’ve designated right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis for assignment. His spot on the active roster goes to first baseman/outfielder Jose Marmolejos, who has been selected from Triple-A Tacoma.

Yacabonis, 29, hasn’t pitched in the Majors with Seattle this season and only tossed 2 1/3 innings with them last year after coming over in a cash deal with the Padres. He opted for free agency last winter after the Mariners removed him from the roster but ultimately returned to Seattle on a minor league pact. The Mariners selected him to the Major League roster just this weekend, but he didn’t appear in a game prior to being designated.

It’s been a strong season for Yacabonis down in Triple-A, where he’s logged 31 1/3 innings of 1.72 ERA ball with a 23 percent strikeout rate, a 7.1 percent walk rate and a 45.9 percent ground-ball rate. Opponents have batted just .205/.282/.286 against him through 124 plate appearances so far in 2021.

It’s a continuation of a strong Triple-A track record for Yacabonis, who carries a career 2.94 ERA in 192 2/3 innings at that level. He’s had a much tougher go in the Majors, with a 5.71 ERA through 104 frames — nearly all of which have come with the Orioles. Yacabonis hasn’t gotten much of a look with another club in the Majors to date, but it’s possible that with rosters set to expand, his strong work down in Tacoma will earn him a look with another organization once he’s placed on waivers. He’s out of minor league options, so if he does land elsewhere, his new club will have to carry him on the MLB roster or else again expose him to waivers before sending him down.

Marmolejos, 28, was outrighted off the 40-man roster earlier this season after batting .139/.266/.278 in 94 plate appearances. He’s had an absolutely mammoth season down in Tacoma, however, hitting .260/.452/.700 with 23 long balls, 13 doubles and three triples in 303 plate appearances. He’s played himself back onto the 40-man roster with that huge showing and will now have another opportunity to show whether he can carry some of that production over to the big leagues in the season’s final five weeks.

Mariners Place Jake Fraley, Anthony Misiewicz On 10-Day Injured List

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The Mariners made a handful of roster moves today. They placed Jake Fraley on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Anthony Misiewicz was also placed on the injured list because of a left forearm strain.

Fraley has made headway this season in making himself a big league outfielder, slashing .213/.359/.388 in 220 plate appearances, making his season thus far worth 1.5 rWAR. Misiewicz, meanwhile, has made 54 appearances covering 46 1/3 innings. He has a 4.08 ERA/3.32 FIP, 24.1 percent strikeout rate, 5.6 percent walk rate, and 44.9 percent groundball rate.

To fill their roster spots, Wyatt Mills was recalled from Triple-A, and Jimmy Yacabonis had his contract selected. To make room on the 40-man roster, Shed Long was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Long went on the injured list on July 30, so he’s very likely done for the year. Keynan Middleton was also outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma.

Yacabonis will make his first appearance in the bigs since last year when he made two appearances with the Mariners. For his career, he owns a 5.71 ERA/6.05 FIP across 104 innings, mostly with the Orioles from 2017 to 2019. The 29-year-old right-hander has been sharp in Triple-A this season, tossing 31 1/3 innings with a 1.74 ERA. He will provide the Mariners with some length out of the bullpen should they need it.

Mariners Release Wyatt Mathisen, Vinny Nittoli

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The Mariners have released infielder Wyatt Mathisen and right-hander Vinny Nittoli, per Triple-A director of media relations Paul Braverman (Twitter link). Both had been with the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma, and both were on the 40-man roster earlier this year before eventually being outrighted.

Mathisen, 27, began the 2021 season with the Diamondbacks, for whom he’d made his Major League debut in 2020. He posted just a .159/.298/.290 slash through 84 plate appearances in the Majors between 2020-21, but Mathisen has plenty of defensive versatility, an excellent track record in Triple-A and multiple minor league options remaining. That prompted both the Rays and the Mariners to acquire him in a pair of subsequent trades, each sending cash back the other direction.

Mathisen’s strong Triple-A production continued with the Rays before being designated for assignment and flipped to Seattle. His production at the plate unexpectedly cratered in Triple-A Tacoma, however, as Mathisen has batted just .137/.310/.225 in 129 plate appearances. Even with those struggles, he’s still a career .249/.359/.472 hitter in Triple-A, including a massive .283/.403/.601 showing through 87 games back in 2019. Mathisen has been limited to the infield corners in 2021 but also has experience at second base, at both outfield corners and even 542 innings at catcher (all coming back in 2012-13).

Nittoli, 30, made his big league debut with the Mariners at 30 years old earlier this season but appeared in just one game, allowing a pair of runs. He’d been in his second stint with the organization that originally drafted him in the 25th round back in 2014. In between Mariners stints, he pitched with the Blue Jays and D-backs in addition to stints in the independent American Association and in Mexico. He’d pitched to a 3.50 ERA with a 26-to-5 K/BB ratio through 18 innings at the time of his long-awaited call to the big leagues, but Nittoli has yielded 14 runs in 15 2/3 frames since.

Mariners Claim Sean Doolittle Off Waivers From Reds

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The Mariners have claimed veteran reliever Sean Doolittle off waivers from the Reds, per a team announcement. Fellow reliever Keynan Middleton has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Doolittle had been designated for assignment earlier this week.

For the bulk of his career, Doolittle has been an elite reliever. After breaking into the big leagues in 2012, he posted an ERA of 3.23 or lower every year through 2018 (excluding a 2015 campaign in which he logged just 13 2/3 innings due to injury). That run of consistency earned him the closer’s role in Oakland, a job he held after being traded to the Nationals in 2017.

Doolittle has fallen on harder times over the past few seasons. While he posted strong strikeout and walk rates in 2019, an increase in home runs allowed pushed his ERA up to 4.05. The southpaw then missed most of last year’s shortened campaign due to knee and oblique issues. Upon reaching free agency, he signed a $1.5MM guarantee with the Reds over the winter.

While he has stayed healthy all year, Doolittle didn’t find enough success to stick in the Cincinnati bullpen over the entire season. His strikeout and walk rates (23.7% and 10.4%, respectively) have dipped to about league average for the first time in his career. And while Doolittle hasn’t been quite as home run prone this season as he was two years back, his 18.2% ground-ball rate is the lowest mark among the 207 relievers with 30+ innings pitched. That made for a tough fit in the hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park.

Doolittle’s fly-ball heavy ways are easier to manage in Seattle’s more spacious T-Mobile Park. And while Doolittle’s strikeout and walk rates suggest he’s no longer the elite late-innings option he was at his peak, the 34-year-old still looks to be at least an average middle reliever.

Acquiring Doolittle comes with very little risk, as the M’s will simply have to assume the remainder of that modest $1.5MM deal (approximately $295K). For a Seattle club a mere two and a half games back of the final Wild Card spot in the American League, it’s a worthwhile cost to bolster the bullpen depth for the season’s final five weeks. If the Mariners do make the playoffs, Doolittle will be eligible for the postseason roster because he was acquired before August 31.

To make room for Doolittle, the Mariners do run the risk of losing Middleton. A well-regarded relief prospect during his days in the Angels’ system, Middleton broke into the majors with a very promising rookie season in 2017. By early the following year, he had assumed the closing duties in Anaheim.

Unfortunately, Middleton blew out his elbow in May 2018 and required Tommy John surgery. His stuff didn’t look the same upon his return and the Angels non-tendered last winter after he spent most of the 2020 campaign at the alternate training site. Seattle jumped in to add the righty on a one-year, $800K guarantee in free agency.

Middleton has logged significant action for Seattle this season but hasn’t recaptured his peak form. Across 31 frames, he’s managed just a 4.94 ERA with a career-low 17.1% strikeout rate and a lofty 13.6% walk percentage. Middleton has actually induced plenty of swinging strikes (14.2%) but they’ve yet to translate into consistent results.

Seattle will now place Middleton on waivers over the coming days. Another team could take a speculative flier in the hope that Middleton’s swing-and-miss stuff and still strong velocity could lead to stronger production moving forward. Any claiming team could keep him under club control through 2023 via arbitration if he figures things out down the stretch.

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