Mariners Moose Tracks, 3/29/23: Lazaro Montes, Andrés Giménez, and Yariel Rodríguez

Happy last day of the offseason! (preseason?)

By Anders Jorstad@AndersJorstad Mar 29, 2023, 7:00am PDT

ALDS Game 4 - New York Yankees v Cleveland Guardians

Good morning everyone! It’s the final day before Opening Day! Let’s gear up for the season with some news from around the league.

In Mariners news...

Lazaro Montes has grown by 4 inches and gained 30 pounds since last season ended. Now it’s time to see if he can cut down on that strikeout rate.

This is Lazaro Montes. He is roughly 6-7, 240 pounds at age 18. Some people call him Baby Yordan pic.twitter.com/LRNJ9O8AnN
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) March 28, 2023

This year’s top international signing got some work on the backfields too.

Checking out Felnin Celesten — the Mariners top international signing pic.twitter.com/c3VkpOkcCO
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) March 28, 2023

Shannon Drayer wrote about how the Mariners took the final step into contention.

Around the league...

The Guardians and second baseman Andrés Giménez are closing in on a seven-year contract extension.
This might just be the Yankees’ (or another team desperate for pitching) saving grace.

Breaking: Cuban pitcher Yariel Rodriguez (26) left his contract with the Chunichi Dragons and the Cuban Baseball Federation and will seek to sign with an MLB team in the near future.

Rodríguez arrived in the Dominican Republic a few hours ago, per sources. pic.twitter.com/HGSZ7BezSv
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) March 28, 2023

Sergio Romo is the best.

Every time a kid asked Sergio Romo for an autograph in spring training he asked them to sign his hat first. He wore this to the mound tonight: pic.twitter.com/O3CXB5BLyr
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) March 28, 2023

When you account for endorsement deals, Shohei Ohtani’s $70 million this year makes him the richest single-year earner in MLB history. And that’s before he signs his massive contract this winter!
Luis Torrens was officially selected by the Chicago Cubs for their Opening Day roster. Good luck, Luis!
Unfortunately, it looks like the Angels might have a breakout starter this year.

Reid Detmers just threw five fastballs that topped his previous career high (tracked pitches) of 96.1 mph.

To say his velocity is up this spring would be an understatement. pic.twitter.com/bUuM2QY7fh
— Brent Maguire (@bmags94) March 29, 2023