Seattle, WA

José Caballero keeps playing like he’s Seattle Mariners’ 2B answer

Published

2 years ago

May 22, 2023

José Caballero keeps playing like he’s Seattle Mariners’ 2B answer

The door has been opened for José Caballero to become the Seattle Mariners’ starting second baseman, and so far, the guy no one saw coming is running right through it.

Caballero has impressed since joining the M’s as a call-up from Triple-A Tacoma in mid-April, though that statement doesn’t mean much on its face. The 26-year-old infielder was somewhat of a forgotten prospect in that he didn’t rank even semi-highly on any M’s prospect lists and his name was hardly known when he joined Seattle’s roster, so any kind of positive contribution could have been seen as a surprise.

It seemed like every time Caballero received an opportunity to play, though, he did something positive. He may not have hit right away, but he made solid contact, showed patience at the plate, was solid on defense, and displayed more than a little bit of moxie. And with offseason acquisition Kolten Wong struggling at second base, the calls for Caballero to receive more playing time only got louder and louder, and he’s made steady improvements at the plate to justify it.

With Wong still slumping, the Mariners cleared the way in the short-term for Caballero to be their primary second baseman starting this weekend. Though he he went hitless Friday and Saturday, he turned in his finest performance yet Sunday that likely guarantees at least another start when they return home Monday.

Seattle Mariners’ Dipoto: Caballero may play more over Wong ‘in the short-term’

In Sunday’s 3-2 loss, Caballero went 1 for 1 with a walk and a hit by pitch.

His first time on base, he stole second, then stole third.

His second time on, he stole second again, doubling his season total for steals from three to six in the span of a few innings.

Then in his third plate appearance, Caballero drilled his first home run in the big leagues, cutting Atlanta’s lead to one run in the eighth inning.

GIDDY UP.
Jose Caballero comes through with his first big-league dinger. #SeaUsRise pic.twitter.com/PpVtCYDxJ1
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 21, 2023

After his homer, Caballero owns a .278/.379/.389 slash line for a .768 OPS in 23 games. Things look even better when you focus on just his last 15 games, where he’s posted a .353/.465/.500 slash line for a .965 OPS.

“We’re enjoying what we’re seeing right now,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said about Caballero after Sunday’s game. “He’s been great, no matter where we put him. Obviously he’s done really a nice job at second, fills in at short, third base, no matter where you put him in the lineup. … He’s got sneaky pop, works the count – he just does all the things a good baseball player does.”

Servais added that Caballero has acted like he belongs in the bigs since Day 1 even though when he was called up he was best known as the player the Mariners received when they traded Mike Leake to Arizona in 2019, if he was known at all.

“I think what’s stood out for me is from the day he showed up here, he was not in awe of anything,” Servais said. “He even made comments, ‘All the little things that I do get noticed here’ at the big league level – you know, stealing bases, turning a double play, just getting on base. Doing the little things that oftentimes get overlooked as you’re trying to climb your way through the minor league ladder and maybe you don’t put up gaudy numbers, you don’t hit a ton of home runs but you’re a good baseball player, and that’s what’s really stood out for me. He understands how to play and he doesn’t back off. He puts it in play on the biggest stage daily.”

The Seattle Mariners have been looking for an answer at second base for some time now. Before Wong, the hope was that Adam Frazier could return to the form that made him an All-Star in Pittsburgh, though that never materialized in 2022. In 2021, the M’s hoped to see Dylan Moore continue to hit like he did during the shortened 2020 season, and when he didn’t, they traded for Abraham Toro to try his hand at the position.

All of those players (Wong excluded) have had their moments for the M’s, and in that respect, Caballero may be no different and could easily fall back down to earth. But for now, he’s earned his chance to see regular playing time and could potentially become the solution to one of the few holes that has persisted ever since Seattle graduated from a team in rebuild mode to a contender with their back-to-back 90-win seasons.

Now who saw that coming?

Pitching Ninja: Seattle Mariners’ George Kirby is ‘Maddux plus 10 mph’

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Seattle, WA

Former Seattle Mariners Star Alex Rodriguez to Stay on Hall of Fame Ballot For Another Year

Published

4 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Former Seattle Mariners Star Alex Rodriguez to Stay on Hall of Fame Ballot For Another Year

Former Seattle Mariners star Alex Rodriguez is set to stay on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for at least another year.

While it’s unlikely that A-Rod gets into the Hall of Fame this year, he has enough votes to take another run in 2026.

Thus far, according to the Baseball Hall of Fame tracker, Rodriguez has gotten 47 votes out of 104 ballots. He would need to appear on 244 more ballots to get in this year, which seems like a tall task.

It’s unknown if Rodriguez will ever get in, given his admission of performance-enhancing drug use, but he continues to hang around the conversation.

Drafted No. 1 overall in the 1993 MLB Draft, Rodriguez made his debut with the Mariners in 1994, staying through the 2000 season. He made the All-Star team four times with the Mariners and won a batting title in 1996. He also hit 42 homers and stole 46 bases in an incredible 1999 season. He helped the Mariners to the playoffs in the 1995, 1997 and 2000 seasons. The M’s got to the ALCS in that 2000 season, taking the New York Yankees to six games. He also played for the Yankees and Texas Rangers.

In addition to Rodriguez, former Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki is essentially a lock for the Hall of Fame. He’s currently on 100 percent of the ballots. Felix Hernandez is currently on 26 percent and Omar Vizquel is on 14.4 percent.

The Mariners have two true representatives in the Hall of Fame: Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez. Other players like Adrian Beltre and Randy Johnson spent significant time in Seattle but are representing other teams in Cooperstown.

You can follow the tracking here.

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE.

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Seattle, WA

NFC Playoff Picture: Seahawks impact Wild Card schedule with win over Rams

Published

12 hours ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

NFC Playoff Picture: Seahawks impact Wild Card schedule with win over Rams

While the Los Angeles Rams might have rested several of their key starters and limited the snap counts of those who did play against the Seattle Seahawks, you certainly can’t accuse them of not making a concerted effort to still win the game.

The Seahawks had to make a late red zone stand to win 30-25 in their season finale. Even if the Rams didn’t treat this game with the utmost importance in terms of playoff seeding, it did impact who they’ll play and potentially their road to the Super Bowl.

With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning the NFC South earlier in the day, the Rams needed to win to remain the No. 3 seed or else they’d drop to No. 4. That’s the difference between playing the Washington Commanders and the NFC North runner-up Minnesota Vikings, whom the Rams did defeat on a Thursday night back in October.

Seattle’s win has set up a Rams vs. Vikings rematch for next Monday night, while the Buccaneers will rematch the Commanders on Sunday night.

The Rams dropping to No. 4 means that unless the No. 2 seed Philadelphia Eagles and No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers both lose next weekend, the Rams would have to go on the road for the NFC Divisional Round. As a No. 3 seed, the Rams would’ve only needed a Green Bay Packers win over the Eagles to snag a second home game, much in the way the Detroit Lions did last season when the Packers thrashed the No. 2 seed Dallas Cowboys.

Maybe, just maybe, the Seahawks sent the Rams to a more difficult path for a Super Bowl run… or even to get out of the opening weekend. If Minnesota sends the Rams packing, I think we’d be all happy with giving LA a tougher matchup.

While you’re here, check out the full Wild Card schedule for next week.

Saturday, Jan. 11

No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 4 Houston Texans, 1:30 PM PT on CBS, Paramount+

No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens, 5 PM PT on Prime Video

Sunday, Jan. 12

No. 7 Denver Broncos at No. 2 Buffalo Bills, 10 am PT on CBS, Paramount+

No. 7 Green Bay Packers at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles, 1:30 PM PT on FOX

No. 6 Washington Commanders at No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 5 PM PT on NBC, Peacock

Monday, Jan. 13

No.5 Minnesota Vikings at No. 4 Los Angeles Rams, 5 PM PT on ESPN/ABC

Byes: Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions

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Seattle, WA

Who the Seattle Seahawks will be playing in the 2025 regular season

Published

19 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Who the Seattle Seahawks will be playing in the 2025 regular season

The Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football to wrap up the NFC North and the No. 1 overall seed. It also means that the Vikings will not only be on the road as a 14-3 team playing in the Wild Card against the Los Angeles Rams next Monday night, but they’ll be returning to Lumen Field to play the Seattle Seahawks in the 2025 regular season.

Game 272 was the final piece of the puzzle for the Seahawks’ 2025 opponents list. Whichever of the Vikings or Lions finished second in the NFC North would be headed to Seattle next season. While it would’ve been cool to see the Lions finally play at Lumen Field again after three straight Seahawks-Lions meetings in Detroit, it’s not happening.

The schedule is formulaic, which means the NFC West will play the whole of the AFC and NFC South, as well as the same-placed opposition from the NFC North (home), NFC East (away), and AFC North (away). Next season will be the AFC’s turn to get an extra home game, so the Seahawks will have nine away trips.

Home

Los Angeles Rams (10-7)

Arizona Cardinals (8-9)

San Francisco 49ers (6-11)

New Orleans Saints (5-12)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)

Indianapolis Colts (8-9)

Houston Texans (10-7)

Minnesota Vikings (14-3)

Away

Los Angeles Rams (10-7)

Arizona Cardinals (8-9)

San Francisco 49ers (6-11)

Tennessee Titans (3-14)

Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13)

Washington Commanders (12-5)

Atlanta Falcons (8-9)

Carolina Panthers (5-12)

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)

The early returns on Michael Penix Jr and the late surge by Bryce Young could make the NFC South portion of the schedule much tougher than it looks right now. Never assume the league is so static that the teams that were good/bad now will remain the same the following season.

The NFL regular season schedule will be released at some point in May.

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