6/16/22: LAA at SEA Open Game Thread

Buckle up, folks, it’s going to be a long series.

Lineups:

Over/under on the amount of times I mess up Taylor Ward and Tyler Wade’s names this series? Rendon remains out for the Halos, who are running out a pretty lefty-heavy lineup anyway. I hope you’re all ready for some serious Ryan Borucki Time.

For the Mariners, J.P. returns from a brief bout with food poisoning, but Dylan Moore will have to switch out his shortstop glove for a first baseman’s glove, as Ty France gets a day off; apparently Ty didn’t feel great after making that awkward diving play at first last night (although, what a play). France has been in need of a day off anyway and mired in a pretty rough stretch of road where he’s been un-France-ily striking out quite a bit, so while we’ll miss Ty, it’s probably for the best. He should be available to pinch-hit, should the game be close (lol).

News:

The Mariners claimed INF Drew Ellis off waivers from the D-Backs. Ellis was Arizona’s second-rounder in 2017, out of the University of Louisville. He’s primarily played third base but can play first and second as well, and played in the outfield in college. In the minors Ellis didn’t hit for a high average but took his walks and didn’t strike out a ton, and was able to provide around 15 homers per season (albeit in some favorable offensive environments in Arizona’s system), although neither the plate discipline nor the power have showed up yet in limited big-league action. Think of him as Dylan Moore Lite (maybe extra-Lite). He does have minor-league options and will report to Triple-A Tacoma.

To make room for Ellis, Mitch Haniger was transferred to the 60-day IL, but don’t fret, it’s a retroactive move. There’s still no timeline for him to return, per Dipoto on 710 this morning, but he is starting to do “light baseball work.” I wonder if Mitch, too, has a light bat. Less encouraging is the news on Kyle Lewis which is...no news. Still no timeline. Also, Dipoto said we’ll likely see Justin Upton soon as he’s getting his timing back in Tacoma, which honestly just feels like a threat more than anything else.

Also, today the Mariners announced they have agreed with Jesse Winker for the 2022-2023 seasons, avoiding arbitration with him for both this year and next year, his final year before free agency.

The signing of Winker ends all pending arbitration cases for the team; all players on the Mariners-40 man roster have been signed through 2022. Only Adam Frazier’s case went to arbitration; the Mariners lost that one, paying Frazier the $8M he filed for instead of the $6.7M offered by the team. That’s the first time the team has gone to arbitration with a player over Dipoto’s tenure, as the team generally attempts to avoid arbitration with players by striking a deal ahead of the deadline. This year, Winker, Frazier, and Haniger all had cases extend past the deadline, although the team later settled with Haniger on terms.

Game info:

Tonight’s game is at 7:10 PT and located on all your local faves: 710 Seattle Sports on the radio and ROOT Sports NW on TV (or fuboTV or MLB TV for you streamers).

Also, if you’re at the park tonight, staff writer Jake Parr is up visiting from Texas for his birthday and will be at tonight’s game and Saturday’s double-header (along with many other members of the LL staff). If you see a guy in a UT fencing jacket and the neon pink Mariners cap, stop in and wave hi, Jake loves talking to people, which is how he became a Mariners fan and wound up here in the first place.