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Seattle Mariners Notebook: Ryne Stanek's take on jumping sides

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Seattle Mariners Notebook: Ryne Stanek's take on jumping sides


Ryne Stanek wasted no time getting to work throwing his first bullpen as a Seattle Mariners pitcher shortly after his signing was formally announced Sunday morning.

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The first bullpen session went smoothly, as did his first walk into what was previously a rival’s clubhouse.

“It’s weird coming into a clubhouse in-division where you feel like you know everybody, even though you’ve not met them,” said the former Houston Astro. “So I came in the clubhouse and everybody said hi and they’re like, ‘Hey, glad to have you. Glad you’re on our side now.’ It’s cool. But then you’re like, I feel like I know you, but, like, I don’t.

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“So it’s kind of a weird dynamic, knowing everybody’s face and knowing everybody’s name, and then not knowing them personally.”

The day got a little stranger when Stanek’s first morning team meeting featured a spelling bee. Mariners manager Scott Servais had warned him the meeting might be a different.

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“He said that there’s a lot of kind of quirky things that they like to do. And I was like, ‘OK, whatever.’ And he’s like, ‘We’ve got a spelling bee now.’ Awesome. Cool. We’ll see where this goes,” Stanek said with a laugh.

Stanek got the feel immediately that the Mariners have a loose clubhouse, something he is onboard with.

“I like that the clubhouse is loose and I think that comes with a young team,” he said. “When the team is young, you don’t want people getting too tight. You play better when you’re loose, especially young guys so they don’t overthink everything.”

As for those Mariners who have been there the last few years, when asked about what he saw from the other side of the field, Stanek laughed and said the relationship between the two teams was what we saw: contentious. There have been some “knock down, drag outs” in the three years he spent with the Astros, but for his part, there are no hard feelings with the Mariners.

“I don’t think I ever had any problems with anybody,” Stanek said. “So it was cool. Everybody’s been super welcoming. It’s been fun so far. I told Ty (France) I think he’s barreled every ball I’ve thrown to him, so I’m glad I don’t have to face him again.”

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Stanek has yet to get his full buildup plan from the pitching coaches, but he is looking forward to getting to work with a staff whose reputation precedes them.

Mariners Breakdown: Who is new reliever Ryne Stanek?

“Obviously they’ve taken a very strong interest in figuring out how to get the most out of guys, how to develop stuff, how to add really viable weapons to people’s repertoires,” he said. “Obviously bringing in a guy like (Luis) Castillo a couple of years ago was such a big add and a big emphasis on that is really good, and it’s a team that obviously from afar you see the stuff and then what the stuff is turned into, as well.

“As the seasons have gone on and they’ve added pitches and stuff to people’s mixes, and they’ve all been effective and worked well. As a pitcher and somebody that wants to get better, it’s a really cool thing to watch and now to be a part of.”

Seattle Mariners notes

• Stanek will take the place on the 40-man roster vacated by Jackson Kowar, who was placed on the 60-day injured list and will undergo Tommy John surgery later this week. General manager Justin Hollander announced the move.

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Mariners officially sign Stanek, but Jackson Kowar out for year

“It’s a really tough blow for Jackson,” Hollander said. “I thought he was really starting to rise up in this camp and really fulfill a lot of the potential that teams have seen for a long time. I’m crushed for him.”

Hollander said that Kowar wasn’t terribly concerned first when he first felt pain, with the reliever thinking it was just a mild setback and he would be good in a few days. An MRI revealed an ulnar collateral ligament tear, however, and while a more conservative path of rest, rehab and PRP injections could have been taken, that could run the risk of further damage. In having surgery now, the hope is the recovery and rehab will be faster, and Kowar could be throwing in camp next year.

“Frustrated and disappointed for Jackson,” Hollander said. “He looked, as you guys saw him, awesome to start this camp and really felt like he made a leap, and hopefully this time next year we’re talking about in the same way.”

• The Mariners’ offense came out to play in their 8-3 win Sunday over the Giants in Peoria.

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Seattle Mariners 8, San Francisco Giants 3: Box score

Jorge Polanco hit not one but two home runs, with the second going to the opposite field and coming with the bases loaded.

“I made pretty good swings today, which tells me the work that I am doing is working and I just have to keep doing it,” Polanco said after the game.

Cal Raleigh also had a good day at the plate, tripling in his first at bat and later adding an RBI double, and Ty France went 2 for 3 with a double.

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Perhaps the most memorable hit of the day came off the bat of the Mariners’ second pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Jonny Farmelo.

Way to go, kid!

• Starting pitcher Reid VanScoter has been reassigned to minor league camp and reliever Ty Adcock optioned to Tacoma. The Mariners camp roster is now at 54.

More on the M’s

• Drayer’s Mariners Notebook: Reliever updates, why Pollock is back
• Former Mariners prospect Noelvi Marte suspended for PEDs
• Mariners Odds & Ends: MLB The Show ratings, uniform notes and more
• Morosi on Mariners: Why Ryan Bliss is potential rookie to watch
• Former Seattle Mariners catcher Mike Zunino retires after 11 MLB seasons

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Seattle, WA

M.A. Vignola's goal keeps Angel City in playoff contention with win over Seattle

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M.A. Vignola's goal keeps Angel City in playoff contention with win over Seattle


M.A. Vignola‘s first-half goal was all Angel City FC needed to earn a 1-0 road win over the Seattle Reign at Lumen Field.

Alyssa Thompson did a give-and-go with Vignola, who finished into the right corner in the 34th minute.

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Thompson has five goals and two assists in the last seven games.

On Thursday, Angel City (7-12-4) was fined $200,000 and docked three points for violating the NWSL salary cap. The win keeps them in playoff contention.

The Reign (5-13-5) fell to 12th place.



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Seattle, WA

Seattle Mariners send prospect to Rays to complete Arozarena deal

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Seattle Mariners send prospect to Rays to complete Arozarena deal


The Seattle Mariners’ trade for left fielder Randy Arozarena is now complete.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan: The 3 positions Seattle Mariners need to address

The team announced Friday that minor league starting pitcher Ty Cummings is headed to the Tampa Bay Rays as the player to be named later from the July 26 deal that also sent outfielder Aidan Smith and right-handed starting pitcher Brody Hopkins to the Rays in exchange for Arozarena.

Cummings, 22, was a seventh-round pick out of Campbell University in 2023. He’s outside of Seattle’s top 30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.

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In 25 starts with High-A Everett this season, Cummings went 4-5 with a 4.17 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 124 strikeouts over 116 2/3 inning pitched. Opponents batted .263 off the right-hander.

Smith, 20, is now the No. 9 prospect and Hopkins, 22, the No. 12 prospect in the Rays’ organization.

The Mariners made the deal for Arozarena, a 2023 All-Star selection, with hopes he’d help spark a struggling offense that played a major factor in the team squandering a 10-game lead in the American League West. However, Seattle still fell short of the playoffs at 85-77 and finished one game behind the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers for the second and third wild card berths.

In 54 games after the trade to Seattle, Arozarena slashed .231/.356/.377 with 14 doubles, five home runs, 23 RBIs, four stolen bases, 28 walks and 68 strikeouts.

Arozarena is under club control through the 2026 season.

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More on the Seattle Mariners

• Mariners name Kevin Martinez as president of business operations
• Morosi: What the Mariners’ priority should be this offseason
• Mariners Stats: Where players, team finished on leaderboards
• Morosi: How Mariners can approach contracts of struggling vets
• Mariners manager Dan Wilson reflects on stretch run, looks ahead
• The key things Dipoto said about Seattle Mariners’ offseason plans





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5 Giants-Seahawks questions: How good is Seattle, and more

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5 Giants-Seahawks questions: How good is Seattle, and more


The New York Giants face the Seattle Seahawks for the third straight season on Sunday. Out ‘five questions’ segment this week is with John Gilbert of SB Nation’s Field Gulls fills us in on things we should know about the Seahawks.

Ed: What are the Seahawks four games into the season? Three victories over teams that, honestly, are probably not very good. A loss against an excellent Detroit team in which Seattle gave up 42 points. What is your assessment?

John: You pretty much nailed my assessment. They’ve beaten the three bad teams they’ve played and they gave up 42 and lost by double digits to the serious contender they faced off against.

Most Seattle fans will argue that the defense is better than they played on Monday against the Lions because of injuries to several key players, including Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy, Boye Mafe, Uchenna Nwosu and Jerome Baker. However, even before injuries knocked Mafe, Williams and Murphy out the Hawks struggled at times to stop the run game of the Patriots. With that said, in terms of overall metrics, while the defense has been good, they’ve done it against one of the easiest schedules in the NFL, and obviously the rest of the schedule won’t be nearly as friendly, but hopefully it won’t be as rough as it was against the Lions.

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Ed: Leonard Williams was a very good player for the Giants. How has he done for Seattle? How important is he to the Seahawks’ defense?

John: Williams has been phenomenal for the Seahawks, and easily one of the best players on the defense both in the back half of the 2023 season and before getting injured in Week 3.

He was second on the defense in total pressures before getting hurt, and is still tied for the team lead in quarterback hits even though he’s only played five snaps in the last two games. He was limited in practice on Thursday, but that’s a lot better than not practicing like last week when he was inactive for the matchup against Detroit, so hopefully he’ll be back in action this weekend.

Ed: If you could take one player off the Giants’ roster and put him in the Seattle lineup who would it be? Why?

John: Last season when you asked me this my answer was Leonard Williams and then a month later the Seahawks traded for Williams and the rest is history.

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Thus, with the knowledge that Seahawks general manager John Schneider is going to trade for whoever I answer, I’d like to go ahead and advise Giants fans to enjoy Malik Nabers for the last few weeks he’ll be wearing a Giants uniform before Joe Schoen ships him off to Seattle.

The reason to grab Nabers is not just that he’s a phenomenal young talent, but also he brings a factor to the Seattle offense that is currently lacking outside of DK Metcalf. Metcalf’s speed is no secret, but the Seahawks have a lack of other receivers who can take the top off a defense. Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are good, but they aren’t burners who scare defenses deep. The only speedy receiver on the roster outside of Metcalf is Dareke Young, a key member of the special teams who has played just 11 offensive snaps through the first four games.

Long story short, offenses need receivers whose skill sets complement one another, and the Seahawks have Metcalf and a bunch of possession receivers. It’s a great group of receivers, but there is a decided lack of a receiver who can challenge a defense deep and pull the safeties back when they want to target Metcalf in the underneath and intermediate areas.

Ed: Tell us about a couple of under-the-radar Seattle players we should be aware of on Sunday.

John: On the offensive side of the ball, it’s got to be the guards. Laken Tomlinson is the starting left guard and he’s been bad. Anthony Bradford is the starting right guard and he’s been bad and heavily penalized. Christian Haynes is the backup who has struggled when he’s played, but he’s the rookie third round draft pick, so he’s the lifeblood and savior for many fans who have been calling for him to see increased snaps. He saw his most extensive playing time in Week 4 against the Lions rotating with Bradford at right guard, and the porousness of the line at both guard positions to this point in the season means watching the interior of the offensive line is crucial every game.

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On the defensive side of the ball, the outside linebackers are an exciting group. Uchenna Nwosu is the veteran of the bunch, but he has yet to play this season after suffering a knee injury in the preseason. There is hope he could see his first action against the Giants, but even if he doesn’t go Boye Mafe and Derick Hall are a couple of exciting young players who have shown flashes at times of having the ability to develop into players who can make a serious impact on a game.

Ed: The Seahawks are significant favorites on Sunday. Is there anything about this game that concerns you? Is there a path to victory for the Giants?

John: It’s the NFL so it’s always any given Sunday, so there’s always concern that a team can pull an upset.

In this instance the biggest concern is Seattle either coming out flat after the Monday night letdown to the Lions, or looking ahead to the Week 6 Thursday Night Football game against the San Francisco 49ers.



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