As for the future, some see it as murky, but I am not one of them. Trades, FA signings, and up and coming talent in the minors are going to bring a big change to the look of this team in the next couple of years.
At 2b, Lopez, although underachieving this year offensively, which makes his defense miscues more glaring, is an above average MLB player. Put a solid defensive SS next to him (AKA not Yuni) and you won't even notice Lopez's mistakes.
3B, well Tuiasosopo is an option after what he showed in ST. Yes he's hurt right now, but still an option moving forward.
1B, could be Branyan again, could be the drafting of Dustin Ackley, could be Clement or Carp. Who knows? But there are options.
SS, Triunfel. He's the future and what the FO is waiting for. There might have to be a temp SS to fill his place (i.e. Cedeno) until he's ready which should be 1-2 years.
LF, Balentien, Saunders, Halman, LaHair, Ackley again, or an FA pickup.
Again, options.
C-Moore/Johnson. Johnson's bat isn't good, at all, but it could improve into something serviceable and Moore is the better long term answer anyhow.
SP-Felix, Vargas, Olson possibly, RRS, Feierabend maybe, so there are some in-house options. I think the trades again will play a big factor in this one.
RP-Fields, Morrow, Aumont. Those 3 plus Sean White, Lowe, Corcoran possibly, Kelley, Johnson, Cordero, etc. could combine to be a lights out BP.
There are options and I for one am not worried. Again, faith in Z and Wakamatsu is the key here for this year and beyond.
Keywords: Don Wakamastu, Felix Hernandez, Jack Zduriencik., Jose Lopez, MLB Baseball, Seattle Mariners
Comments
LF, Balentien, Saunders, Halman, LaHair, Ackley again, or an FA pickup.
Again, options. C-Moore/Johnson. Johnson's bat isn't good, at all, but it could improve into something serviceable and Moore is the better long term answer anyhow.
I was fortunate to attend a Rainiers game a few nights ago and saw Michael Saunders in action. I would agree wholeheartedly with him as a viable option for LF. I wasn't as impressed with Adam Moore as you seem to be though. There was something about how he held himself when the game was definitely going badly that I didn't like seeing. I had seats right near the scouts so I was almost as directly behind him as you can get without being an umpire. Nobody was having a good night with their bats but I have to say that I think how you hold yourself up in between actions is as important to me as the offense/defense any day.