Mariners Moose Tracks, 1/4/21: Sandy Leon, Phil Hughes, and Haruki Nishikawa

A slow links day to start of the week.

By Becca Weinberg@becca_weinberg Jan 4, 2021, 7:00am PST

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In Mariners News...

A very early 2021 MLB Power Rankings has the Mariners sitting at number 21 on the list. Would you expect them to be higher, lower, or is this the right ranking for the team?

Haruki Nishikawa’s 30-day window to reach an agreement with an MLB team has closed, so the center fielder will return to Japan and play for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters for his tenth season.
The Marlins have reached a minor league deal with veteran catcher Sandy Leon that includes an invitation to spring training, and additionally announced six other players on minor league contracts that have received spring training invites.
Evan Drellich at The Athletic predicts a 2021 spring training and season that will start at its usual time rather than being delayed. ($)
Former Yankees and Twins veteran RHP Phil Hughes has announced his retirement after a 12-year career.