Seattle, WA

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

Published

2 years ago

May 18, 2023

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

One of the Seattle Mariners’ bigger additions over the offseason has not panned out, to say the least.

The Mariners acquired veteran second baseman Kolten Wong to be the team’s go-to starter at that position, but he’s gotten off to a really slow start in 2023.

Passan: Seattle Mariners seeing signs from Hernández, what to do with Wong

Wong is slashing just .177/.259/.208 in 32 games. His defense has also been an issue as he currently has a -0.7 defensive WAR with -8 defensive runs saved, per Baseball Reference.

“A rough start. And it’s not the defense, it’s the body of work right now,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said during his weekly interview with Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports. “It’s just been a struggle for him. And what it is? I don’t know. I wish there was an answer that I could provide or that we could provide.”

Dylan Moore was set to platoon at second base with the left-handed hitting Wong, but he’s yet to play in an MLB game this season due to a core injury. But the Mariners have had some success with rookie infielder José Caballero, who’s slashing .298/.393/.362 in 20 games. Dipoto said the right-handed hitting rookie may get even more playing time at second base going forward.

Video: Why Dipoto believes there has been more good than bad for Mariners

“Obviously, you saw last night that Cabby got a start against the right-handed pitcher, and you might see that more in the short-term as we try to just give Kolten a chance to reset and get his season started in the way he’s accustomed to playing,” Dipoto said. “(Wong has) been a really good player for the better part of a decade in this league, and I don’t think that is done. I don’t think that’s over. Clearly he got off to a rough start and he’s having a tough time reeling it in. And maybe just a breather will give him a chance to do just that. But the whole of his game has been just off, and I think he’s aware of that and hopefully this is a chance to, as I said, just reset and just start over.”

The Mariners tried to get Wong in free agency ahead of the 2021 season, but he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. The M’s then went and traded for the veteran infielder this offseason.

Brock Huard asked Dipoto if seeing a player who they’ve coveted for years come to Seattle and struggle is frustrating or “maddening” to see.

“I really don’t consider it for how it makes me feel. I consider it for how it makes Kolten feel and how his teammates feel,” Dipoto said. “We want to put a good product on the field. But at the end of the day, the productivity at that position, whether it’s Cabby, whether it’s eventually Dylan Moore, guys are going to struggle. And at the end of the day, I can’t take it personally when the guy that I wanted to bring here struggles.”

Dipoto said he and the Mariners look at figuring out “how to solve it” to get a player back on track, or whether this is “a new version” of a player. In Wong’s case, Dipoto doesn’t think what’s going on now is who Wong really is.

“I don’t see that,” he said. “… Sometimes, as is the case with watching baseball as a fan, the emotion of the game, you want to go win 10 games in a day. You don’t understand why you can’t rip off the 14 in a row of last summer. You know what? A lot of 10-6 runs go a long way in our league. And the same thing is true of an individual player. A lot of 1-for-3 (days) with a walk go a long way toward getting you back to where you want to be, but you want to go 10-for-10 that day. And that’s how these things typically build up and they do spill over to other areas of your game, and your head is somewhere else and you’re not quite locked in. And I’m sure that all of those things in some way have contributed to Kolten’s slow start.”

Even though Wong hasn’t picked up his game, the Mariners are scoring more runs in May than they did in April as more bats are coming around.

“Despite the fact that he’s not producing on a level that he’s typically provided, we are continuing to find ways to score runs over the course of these last two to three weeks in a way that if we score five runs a game, we’re going to be a good team when this is all said and done,” Dipoto said.

Listen to the full Jerry Dipoto Show at this link or in the player below.

Why Rowland-Smith says Seattle Mariners need to ‘keep rolling’ with Brash

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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

11 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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