Andino Gets the Axe, Triunfel on the Way?

From bizarrely anointed starter to the waiver wire, Robert Andino has been cut loose by the Mariners to make room for Jesus Sucre, according to Dave Cameron. Andino was a borderline disaster for the Mariners, compiling only a .184/.253/.237 line in 85 PA despite being paid $1.6 million to do so.

This doesn't mean Nick Franklin is coming up. Jack Zduriencik's comments yesterday about Franklin indicate that he's not getting promoted yet.

When asked specifically about Franklin, Zduriencik said he's happy with the way he's been playing in Tacoma but noted that he's young and not on the 40-man roster.

"Timing is everything with these young kids, there's no question," he said.

Source

The addition of Sucre, who isn't on the 40-man roster, means that there's no spot remaining to add Franklin without another corresponding move. The Mariners are now short a player who can play all over the infield, and is already on the 40-man.

Carlos Triunfel.

Barring a trade for somebody new or Z to backtrack on his comments from last night , Triunfel looks like he'll get the call. Triunfel is enjoying a break-out season of sorts in AAA (.300/.351/.476), and is finally putting some things together at the age of 23, which is hard to believe. Triunfel's been in the system for what feels like a decade, and was a former top prospect who has always been all tools and little performance. He's played mostly SS in Tacoma, although he's gotten a bit of work at 2B. He may be asked to back up 3B if he does indeed get the call, despite only playing 2 career games there, or the team could shift Brendan Ryan around there, who played some 3B his rookie season in 2007. Either way, Seager isn't likely to get many days off going forward if this is the case. Maybe we can watch Ackley T-Rex some throws from across the diamond in a super duper emergency, now that would be entertaining.

Triunfel is a questionable defensive player who's always been error prone (especially on throws) and isn't much for plate patience (3.8% BB) and will strike out at a decent clip (18.8%), and shouldn't really be expected to perform much better, or differently for that matter, than Robert Andino. Triunfel is hitting for more power than he has in the past (.176 ISO), and while his batting average is fueled by a career high .356 BABIP, Triunfel has ran higher BABIP over his minor league career.

Triunfel isn't that exciting of a prospect anymore after he failed to progress much from 2008-2012, but the old tease of his former top prospect status (#62 in 2008) represents a glimmer of upside combined with his decent performance in Tacoma.

It's the right corresponding move for the Mariners to make. With Nick Franklin not far behind and Brad Miller on his heels if everything goes according to plan, there may not be many chances for Triunfel to get a crack before he's a forgotten man. At the very least, they can evaluate him to see if he could be the team's utility infielder of the future, and there's always the hope that his leap in performance will translate into something positive at a higher level - even if it's not much. There's still actual upside to Carlos Triunfel - even if the likelihood of it is slim, it's something.

This is all just speculation at this point since there's been no announcement of Triunfel - it just makes too much sense not to happen. If Triunfel doesn't get the call, then I've just wasted your time and you can stash this post away for when he does get called up. Until then, please revel in somebody terrible being subtracted from the Seattle Mariners.

Update: It's official, and Robert Andino has been DFA'd. Triunfel and Sucre are up.