Mariners Moose Tracks, 7/22/20: Julio Rodríguez, Gavin Lux, and José Altuve

Good morning everybody! Believe it or not, MLB Opening Day is just one sleep away, with the Yankees and Nationals opening up the slate tomorrow evening. Let’s see what’s going on as teams get set to (finally) break camp.

In Mariners news...

• Corey Brock at The Athletic talked to people around the game about whether they’d rather have Julio Rodríguez or Jarred Kelenic if they could only have one. ($) Luckily, we don’t have to make that choice.
• Speaking of Julio, it’s good to see him finding ways to continue his work while he recovers.

• Good news for sneakerheads: Nike’s Air Griffey will make its triumphant return in 2021.
• Tom Murphy should be good to go on Friday.

Around the league...

• Jeff Wiser at Baseball Prospectus notes that the shortened season allows for teams to take greater advantage of their Rule 5 picks. ($)
• In a perplexing move, the Dodgers optioned top prospect Gavin Lux to the minors ahead of Opening Day. Lux is a top 10 prospect nationally by basically every ranking, and even started in playoff games for the Dodgers last fall.
• The Dodgers also inked right-hander Jake McGee to a last-second contract.
• I’m really not sure how I feel about these cutout fans.

• José Altuve was pulled from yesterday’s game with the Royals after a home-plate collision.
• The Braves have agreed to a contract with right-hander Jhoulys Chacin.
• It appears this movement is picking up steam.

• Jesse Sanchez tells the story of Starling Marte, his struggle with the impacts of coronavirus, and his resolve to play baseball this season.
• Dan Szymborski at Fangraphs tackles a question that many have been asking: Could we seen someone break the .400 batting average mark now that the season will be just 60 games?