6 Mariners to Watch Closely in Spring Training
Right-handed pitcher Adonis Medina appears in a game for the New York Mets in 2022.
Spring Training has its purpose, but that purpose is often misinterpreted. What may be a meaningful takeaway or development to a coaching staff and an organization is regularly missed by the untrained eye, while less valuable information is propped up and misused by fans to create false narratives borne out of irrational excitement or concern. As is the case every February, it is important to remind ourselves that Spring Training statistics often lie, or at the very least, they are rarely contextualized properly.
Nevertheless, we can still learn plenty about a player in spring based on how they look, the level of competition they face, the process of their hitting or pitching approaches, and the impression those factors, in combination with supporting stats, ultimately leave. For the first time ever, games played at the Peoria Sports Complex, along with several other Spring Training facilities, are expected to have Statcast data available for public consumption. It cannot be overstated how much of a gamechanger this will be for baseball sickos like yours truly to better read between the lines of a player’s spring from afar.
On our most recent “Mailbag Monday” episode, my Locked On Mariners co-host, Colby Patnode, and I received several questions from listeners inquiring about Mariners players we’re most keen to watch this spring. Let’s go over a few of mine.
Jorge Polanco
The Mariners hit several dead ends in their search for infield upgrades this offseason and wound up bringing Polanco back on an incentive-laden, one-year, $7 million contract after declining his $12 million club option near the start of the winter. Not only are the Mariners hoping Polanco can bounce back from a disappointing first year in Seattle, but that he’ll do so while simultaneously recovering from offseason patellar tendon surgery and transitioning to third base, a position he’s played just 180 innings at in his career. Safe to say there is a lot being put on the 11-year veteran’s plate; his health and ability to handle the hot corner is one of the bigger storylines for the Mariners this season and will certainly be put under the microscope this spring.
J.P. Crawford
Crawford exploded for a career year in 2023 that coincided with legitimate mechanical changes made during the preceding offseason at Driveline Baseball. Due to the numbers he posted that year being leaps and bounds above anything else he had done in previous seasons, offensive regression in 2024 was expected, but Crawford’s output took a jaw-dropping 47% dive from the 136 wRC+ he posted in 2023 to an 89 wRC+ in an injury-plagued 2024 campaign. The Mariners hope the veteran shortstop can at least find some middle ground and work his way back to being a slightly above-league-average hitter and I’m curious to see this spring if he’s made any identifiable tweaks to his set-up or swing in an effort to do so.
Cole Young
Back in November, Mariners general manager Justin Hollander was quick to temper any expectations that Young could make a run for the Opening Day roster this spring, noting that the 2022 first-round draft pick will begin the season with Triple-A Tacoma. That said, it seems likely that at the time of that statement Seattle’s front office had bigger plans for its infield than what it ultimately put together over the course of an uncharacteristically inactive offseason. The odds that Young, who only has 552 good, but not great plate appearances above A-ball, can break camp with the big-league club are still incredibly low and perhaps there’s nothing he can realistically do to change the organization’s mind on where he starts the year. But just how comfortable are the Mariners handing the second base keys to Dylan Moore and taking him out of the utility role he has long flourished in, or giving ample playing time to Ryan Bliss following his inconsistent first taste of the majors in 2024? Could six weeks worth of capable at-bats by Young against major-league pitching force their hand?
Harry Ford
Ford has zero chance of making a push for the Mariners’ roster, but he’s still going to be one of the more interesting watches this spring after struggling to hit for power down in Double-A in 2024. Finding that power stroke will be the biggest key for the 2021 first-rounder over the course of this upcoming season and taking a step in the right direction during camp could do wonders for his confidence heading into a year with potentially massive implications for his career trajectory. Where he plays this spring will also be fascinating; will the Mariners keep him behind the dish or experiment with his athleticism in the outfield or somewhere on the diamond?
Brandyn Garcia
Garcia appears to be yet another win for the Mariners’ vaunted pitching development system, going from 11th-round draft pick to one of the best pitching prospects in Seattle’s farm in about a year-and-a-half’s time. After a strong first full season of pro ball between High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas, Garcia looks more than capable of being a legitimate back-end-of-the-rotation arm in a major-league pitching staff as soon as this year, but while the path to being that in Seattle is effectively blocked so long as the Mariners maintain one of the most talent-rich rotations in the game, they could make use of the Texas A&M alum out of the bullpen. There is thought that Garcia’s sinker-slider-cutter mix could play up well in a relief role and give the Mariners a left-handed look they may not confidently feel they have in their bullpen at the moment following injury-marred, step-back years for both Tayler Saucedo and Gabe Speier. Ideally, I would like to see Garcia receive a handful of opportunities relatively early in games so he can face real MLB talent and specifically see how that cutter might play against right-handed hitters like the Brent Rookers and Marcus Semiens of the world.
Adonis Medina
As I mentioned in my pre-pitchers and catchers 26-man roster projection, the Mariners have built a reputation for themselves of pulling quality relievers out of seemingly thin air. Of the many arms Seattle has brought in this offseason via minor-league signings, waiver claims, and small trades, Medina is one of my favorites to potentially become the next great reliever discovery by president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and company. Formerly a well-regarded prospect in the Phillies system, Medina has turned some heads with a changeup that, scientifically speaking, shmoves. In all of their bullpen success stories, the Mariners have identified each pitcher’s best tool and essentially tripled-down on it, so it stands to reason they will attempt to do the same with Medina and his changeup. I wouldn’t go as far as to say Medina’s appearances this spring are appointment viewing, but the changeup has the ability to make him a very fun watch and put him in real consideration to make Seattle’s Opening Day roster, especially if Troy Taylor’s lat strain keeps him out for an extended period of time. Plus, while Eduard Bazardo does throw a splitter and Trent Thornton and Gregory Santos both feature changeups in their arsenal as well, none of them utilize the offerings with any sort of regularity, so Medina could give manager Dan Wilson another unique lever to pull.
