Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Jarred Kelenic Needs Tacoma

Episode Date: May 12, 2022

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The Mariners have made two trades with the Giants and more roster moves are expected before they head out on a 10-game East Coast road trip tomorrow. We're going to be talking about it all on today's episode of Locked-on Mariners. Colby, hit it. You are Locked-on Mariners, your daily Seattle Mariners podcast. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. How's it going on, everyone? It is Thursday, May 12, 20-22, and this is the Locked-on Mariners podcast. Thank you so much for making us your first listen of the day.

we are free and available on all platforms. I am your host, Taddy Gonzalez, reporter and editor over at all C-Hawks.com. Joined as always by my co-host, Colby Patneau. Be sure to follow the show on Twitter at L-O-U-U-U-U-N-Score-Mariners. You can follow me at Dame Gonzalez, the C-A-N-E, G-N-ZL-ZE and Colby and C-Pat-E-N-E-N-E-T-E-L-E-RU-N-E-RU-N-W. Be sure also check out our Patreon. We'll also get into some non-baseball talk twice a week. Visit patreon.com.

Ford-S-C-R-L-E-O-L-E-R-E-ROM for more of us. And if this is your first time joining us here on Lockdown, Mariners, welcome to the show. If you like what you hear, give us a follower, subscribe. Wherever you listen to this, and if you're watching us on YouTube, hit the subscribe button, turn on the notification bell and give this video a thumbs up. We greatly appreciate it. Is it time to demote Jared Kellnick, Jerry DePoto's recent comments have us thinking that may be the case?

We're going to be talking about that a little later on. We also have a personal announcement to make a good one, that is, in the final segment of this episode. But first, we have two trades to talk about. about. Yes, chills. DePoto did it again. Let's go over the first. The Mariners yesterday sent infielder Donovan Walton to the San Francisco Giants for right-handed pitching prospect. Prelander Barrowa, who's currently pitching in high A. He's been working as a starter, but more so projects as a reliever. Colby, what can you tell us about the newest mariner? Yeah, he's a pretty interesting guy. Like he said, he's been a starter primarily,

but very small frame, six foot one, about 170 pounds. Has a lot of effort in the delivery. He doesn't have great control or command right now. So he definitely screams reliever. But there is some legitimate upside here. I've seen 70 grades on his fastball. It sits in the mid to upper 90s. There's a thought that if you put them in the bullpen,

you might be able to push them to triple digits. And apparently the pitch has very high spin rates. And we know how much the Mariners like. fastball spin rate out of the bullpen. The slider is hit or miss. I've seen some 60 grades on it. I've seen some 45 grades on it. It definitely appears to be his second best pitch. I think we should probably go ahead and call it at least a 50. And again, there's always a possibility that it turns into a 55 or a 60, especially with the Mariners. They're very good at pitch shaping. And so, you know, if you have something that's a 45 grade, the Mariners can probably turn it into a 50.

The changeup has a long way to go. It's occasionally a useful pitch, but it's just it's not consistent enough right now. He's 22. He's going to be Rule 5 eligible this winter. So I wouldn't be too surprised if the Mariners go ahead and just transition him to the bullpen. He is at the high level. So he probably is going to report to Everett. But if they're going to transition him to the bullpen right away,

it's not out of the realm of possibility that he goes to Arkansas. saw and just pitches well there. He gets a lot of strikeouts. He does walk guys. And like I said, right now, it's pretty much a two-pitch guy, but there's a chance that both of those pitches are plus pitches. And the fastball could be double plus because of the high spin and velocity that he generates on it. So it's a really interesting arm.

He said, ultimately, this reliver screams, or this profile screams reliever. But, you know, the Mariners aren't one to pull the trigger on. that too quick, especially for a guy like Barrow, who's really not going to help you this year, in theory. So they may just stick him as a starter, but he is Rule 5 eligible. So if he is in their long-term plans, they probably want to see what he has as a reliever. So that would be my guess, is that he kind of shifts to the bullpen now and the Mariners see if he is a guy worth investing in beyond this year. And by dealing Donovan Walton, the Mariners up and up a 40-man roster spot.

They made another trade with the Giants about an hour before we hopped on here, reacquiring Mike Ford, who they picked up as a minor league signing earlier this offseason and then traded to the Giants after DFA and him. What do you think about this deal? Do you think it's a precursor to maybe, you know, one of the names that might have to go on the temporary restricted list due to the trip up to Toronto with the vaccine mandates? or do you think this is just depth? I think this is more about Jerry has a 40-man spot.

He obviously likes Mike Ford. I believe he's acquired him now three times. So there's obviously something there that they like. It's also possible that if you're planning on sending down Kelnik and it sounds like there's a possibility that Kyle Lewis could be with the team, by Toronto or Boston. It sounds like maybe Mike Ford is just going to platoon and hit against Ritey's as your DH,

because right now you're rolling out Abraham Toro, either at third base or DH, and your, you know, your DH in Swara as well. I mean, that's all fine and dandy, but Toro's not hitting right now. You know, and you just need some more thump in this lineup because you look at the Mariners 1 through 4, the part that's actually hitting right now.

Not a lot of power in that group. Some, but not a lot. Julio's not hitting for power right now, at least not home run power. France, that's never going to be a huge part of his game, he can do it, but he's not going to pop 35 home runs. Ford has power, and it's pole power. They're facing three righties this weekend, three pretty good righties this weekend. And, you know, you have the DH available to you.

You really don't have anybody that you would use over Ford in three. theory. So it's possible that Mike Ford is just deaching for a couple days. And it is worth noting that he does have an option left. So technically you can bring him up for New York and in Toronto and send him down without subjecting him to waivers. And, you know, I know Jerry was talking about, oh, well, we're really tied on the 40 man. They're not. They're absolutely not. They can clear it, they can clear five, six spaces without even touching anybody who is remotely important. let's say, to the long-term plans of the Seattle Mariners. So don't buy it when Jerry says, oh, well, just we're really trying to maneuver the 40-man.

It's kind of tough right now. It's not that tough. So I think it's just about getting another lefty bat when they send down Kelnick. I think it's about having some lefty power to either pull off the bench or to DH. It also kind of allows you to not have to start Cal Raleigh at DH or Adam Frazier. or whoever. So I think it's just about kind of improving the bench. And honestly, we don't even know if he's,

if he's headed to New York or if he's headed to Tacoma. So we still don't know what their plan is. But this is just, hey, we like this guy. We think there's a chance he could help us at the big league level at some point. And we can get him for 50 grand. Like, let's just do it. Yeah. Yeah.

So that's the part that I forgot to mention. The Mariners, just sending cast considerations, don't know how much it is to the Giants. Can't imagine that it's too, too much. Might just be the same exact amount of money that they, they received back in the deal when they, when they sent Ford over to San Francisco in the first place. So we'll see.

But you mentioned it there. Jared Kalnick might be on his way to Tacoma. We're going to be talking about that in a moment, but real quick, a reminder of this episode of Lockdown Mariners. It's brought to you by Athletic Greens. I started taking Athletic Greens because I just don't have the time to research every single amazing thing that's going to

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There are recaps of MLV games with analysis from our local experts, including myself, taking fans through the season like no other network. It is free and available wherever you get your podcast just like us. So Jared Kellnick has, of course, been struggling mightily at the Major League level. this season. And 30 games, 96 plate appearances. He is slashing 140, 219, 291 with a 57 WRC plus, 37 and a half percent strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate. And of course, you know, he came into spring with a new stance, some new mechanics, changed that after a few weeks and just hasn't really resulted in anything positive for him. For the most part, he did have, you know, he's had some

nice moments here and there. The pitch hit home run against the raise. You know, there's been a couple of other things here and there. But overall and obviously he's been fantastic defensively in right field, but that will only take you so far. Colby, you know, we kind of talked about this a little bit yesterday that

it's probably time to send him down. It seems like he's pressing a little too much again. And at a certain point, you are probably just hurting his development. This is still a very young kid. He's only 22 years old. Not a lot of people, you know, realize that or really take that into account when talking about Kellnick. Still very young.

Still a lot of time for him to grow. The guy, of course, still, you know, only has 473 plate appearances at the Major League level. Yeah, it's been bad, but it's not necessarily time to give up on him. And, you know, before further damage is done to his psyche, to his potential as a major leaguer, it's probably time to send him down. and Jerry Depoto today on 710 Seattle Sports was talking about extending a life raft to some guys that look overwhelmed

at the major league level. I think he's probably talking about Kellnick in the situation, probably also Cal Raleigh. But I don't think that we're going to be seeing Jared Kellnick make his return. Well, I guess it's not really a return because he never played for the major league team, but his return to New York,

which with that crowd, probably wouldn't have been the best idea given his struggles. But what do you think about this? is it time? Yeah, it's, it's probably time. Jerry's comments this morning were interesting. You know, it's not something they typically announce on an off day,

but it seems like a good day to do it. But it is worth noting that Susa Jr. played in the Rainier's game last night in Tacoma and was ejected. But he's played very well down there in Tacoma. Toma. He's hitting 267, 417, 533. It's been a while, but, you know, Susa Jr. does have some track record of success at the major league level. You know, he's a career 230, 320, 414 hitter, which is an amazing, but considering what you're getting from Jared Kellnick right now, it's a massive upgrade. Now, again, he hasn't played in the big leagues as a regular since 2017. But there's power here.

There's actually some pretty decent athleticism. He's a pretty good base runner. You know, he's got some stolen bases on his track record. But he's more of just a good, solid base runner. Pretty, pretty okay in the corner. Can give you an inning or two in center. If you really desperate or, you know, Julio, you know, jams his wrist or something. And you need somebody to play center, God forbid.

He can do that for you. So there's some value here to having Susa Jr. on the roster. And again, it's really not even so much about, hey, let's get better at the Major League roster, which they should be worried about. But also, let's not sacrifice the long-term gains of Jared Kalnick by just keeping him up here. He's just not equipped to handle Major League pitching right now. So, yeah, you're doing this because it makes your Major League team better, right now, but you're also doing this because it makes you better in 2023 and 24. And you're not giving up on Cal Nick.

Like he said, he's 22 years old. And he really hasn't played that much baseball, all things considered at the pro level, at least. So it's just a move that you need to make. It's best for, it's best for Jared. It's a little trickier with Cal because there's not a ton of catcher options. personally I would you're gonna have to add

Susa Jr. to the 40 man anyways if it were me I would bring up Brian O'Keefe which means I have to add him to the 40 man and there are guys on the 40 man that you could DFA the team's not clearly not willing to use fair child at all right now

so I don't know why they're why he's on the roster even but yeah we'll see what they decided to do they're going to have to make multiple 40 man decisions and And Jerry already alluded to that also at the same time. He talked about some of the difficulties. Those don't really exist.

I mean, I'm not going to give Depoto an out on that. I mean, not when you have Juan Tane taking up a roster spot, not when you have Joey Gerber, not when you have Danny Young or Riley or Bryant. Like I just, I'm not going to give Jerry a pass on that. So, yeah, it's you can make, you can make 40-man moves without absolutely losing somebody you just can't afford to lose. Like there are plenty of guys that you can. Sure.

Ax off your 40, man. So we should note on Susa, and this is not necessarily a commentary on the COVID situation or the vaccine situation, but they may wait until after the Toronto series to call him up if they do call him up, because he has said publicly that he does not, he got his first and second doses, but does not want the booster. and to be considered fully vaccinated in Canada, you have to have the booster. So I would assume that he will be ineligible to play in Toronto. And that's kind of the big elephant in the room is that after this weekend they're going to Toronto.

There's going to be guys placed on the restricted list who are on the trip with them right now. Yeah, Jerry DePoto said that they expect a few guys to be on that list. Right, which to me says. three or four, but we'll see. And so there's going to be a lot of roster churn over the next few days. You know, the Mariners don't really have great 40-man depth, which is something Ty and I hammered home all winter. It's going to come into play here pretty quick. And so I guess it's possible that Kelnick is just by default on this roster until after they leave Toronto. But I wouldn't weight.

You know, if Susa Jr., that's really going to prevent him from playing in Toronto, then maybe it's, maybe you consider somebody like Billy Hamilton or, you know, I mean, that's pretty much it. Like, that's your option. Yeah. Yeah. We'll see what they decided to do. But I would sit down Calnick, and even if it means, you know, Susa Jr. can't go to

Toronto with me and I just have to, you know, call up a pitcher, an extra pitcher or something. and I just have to roll with Stuart Fairchild in Wrightfield in Toronto for three days. I'm still doing that because I just, I don't want to continue to expose Kelnick without kind of resetting his, his mental state down in AAA. Right. Absolutely. All right.

So we have an announcement to make some personal news to go over in just a moment. But real quick, a reminder, this episode of Lockdown Mariners is brought to you by Bet Online. Our partners at Bet Online continue to be the number one source for all your betting needs and sports info. Find all the latest odds, news, and sports developments, including this year's basketball playoffs, major league baseball scores, fights, and even next season's NFL futures. Bet Online is your continued source for all your sporting wagering information from live betting to playoffs, e-sports, and more. Head to the website today or use your mobile device to learn more about the trends and action.

Bet Online is where the game starts. So as some of you know, I have been writing at all seahawks.com, which is a fan nation site, part of the Sports Illustrated Network since January of 2021. And it's been great. It's been a great experience. It's given me a lot of opportunities to do some cool stuff. And the latest opportunity that has provided me is the chance to start a Mariners website for Fan Nation. So that's what I'm going to be doing. The name of the website is called Inside the Mariners.

And we don't have a launch date yet, but it's going to be launching soon. And we're really looking forward to it for those that are maybe watching or listening that don't know. Colby and I used to write over at Sotomojo.com, which is still on the fan-sided network. But since then, since we left, we haven't been really writing about the Mariners significantly. we did start up a website called Trusozoetting.com, but with me starting my gig over at all Seahawks that kind of

flamed out. But now we're excited to be back writing about the Mariners full time. It's going to be really exciting. Colby, you ready to get going? Yeah, sure. I mean, we'll see if you can afford me, but yeah,

it's going to be fun, man. It's kind of our first medium when covering the Mariners was the blog format, the website for it, whatever you want to call it, written content. So it would be kind of fun to get back into it. I haven't written a lot about baseball recently, so I kind of have to, you know, dust off that side of my skill set. But yeah, it'll be fun to just kind of have a place to, you know, kind of bring back some old series and just have a different median to, interact with people and, you know, I think it's important to note here that locked on Mariners

isn't going anywhere. No. We'll still be here five times a week, you know, give or take every couple weeks, maybe we miss one, but still be here five times a week every day. Same show, like nothing's going to change on that front. But yeah, just it's going to be another platform for Ty and I to continue to cover the team that we grew up rooting for and still root for to this day and it's going to be a lot of fun as we you know kind of build a brand and build a staff and and kind of try and carve our way into the Mariners fandom's daily routine let's say and see what we can do with it yeah looking forward to add yet another voice and into the to the Mariners sphere and you know looking to give some talented writers a platform to to talk about the Mariners and

talk about baseball in general. I've already had a few people reach out with interests about joining our staff. And if you're interested in joining the staff and writing about the Mariners or you know someone that's talented and might be interested in doing so, please feel free to reach out. I'll be more officially reaching out about interviews and potential writers at a later date. But yeah, if you have interest, feel free to show that. I will make note of it. I already have some names that I've pulled together to, you know,

conduct some interviews and stuff with down the road. So it should be a lot of fun, but we are, yeah, we're really excited to get this thing going. This has been something that's been in the works for the last month, a couple months. And we've finally been able to announce it. I announced it today on Twitter. we announced it for the first time actually yesterday on our Patreon show.

And that was a lot of fun. And the feedback so far has been great. I really love all the support that we've been given. And it's an exciting time. It's a really exciting time. Just really excited to write about the Mariners again. You know, obviously I love talking about the Mariners on here. But just being able to, you know, sit down in front of the laptop, you know, computer, whatever.

and just write, you know, freely about the Mariners and whatever I want to talk about with the Mariners and do research and all this stuff. That's going to be a lot of fun to do again. And we're going to bring back some fun series that we did over at Soto Mojo, like Trade a Day. It's going to be a lot of fun. Yeah, you, yeah, you got to get working on that list. Yeah, you guys think we were struggling with Fan Fiction Friday towards the end. Let me tell you something. And when you have to write about 60 different players the Mariners could trade for in 60 some odd days.

Yeah. There's a lot that, I mean, the prep alone takes hours and days. So, yeah, it's going to be fun. I'm excited for that. I do, that was one of my favorite series to write. I think the most we ever did on that particular series. I think we did like 55 guys in like 60 days one year, which is, I think, pretty impressive. Yeah.

Yeah, no, it was really cool. And a lot of people seem to gravitate towards it as well. And yeah, so we're good. Yeah, we're going to be doing stuff like that. We're going to be doing, you know, I got a series that I would do after every Seahawks game that I'm going to move over to doing after every Mariners game called three up three down. You know, stuff like that. And, you know, where we just go over, you know, some of the, you know, the three best performances, the three worst performances on the night. We'll be doing stuff like that.

We'll be doing, you know, your typical news articles. and long-form analytical breakdowns, all that stuff. We're going to be doing video content over there. We're going to be integrating the Lockdown Mariners podcast with that as well. It's going to be really cool. We're going to be doing a lot of really fun, cool stuff over there, and hopefully going to be able to build out a pretty nice staff as well to introduce you guys to some more voices that really know what they're talking about

when it comes to the Mariners. and this team, this wacky, crazy, frustrating team that we all, we all love still at the end of the day, even when they're, you know, playing like the way that they are right now. And, but yeah, we're going to have a lot of fun. And hope you guys follow along and hope you guys are just excited as we are about it. And I hope you guys check it out. We'll be sure to give you guys more information on when it's going to launch and all that. good stuff as we learn about it as we're pretty much allowed to announce that whenever we are

we will make sure you guys know so with that out of the way that's going to do it for our show just a heads up we are going to be recording tomorrow's episode right now um because colby's heading out of town tomorrow so we're going to try our best to preview the met series even though that we don't know any roster moves that might happen but we do have pitching matchups to go over and who boy they are not very favorable for the Mariners but uh you know we're gonna we're gonna do our best to say uh you know hashtag positive on tomorrow's episode of locked on mariners and uh try to give you uh as much information as we possibly can with working with as little information as we uh we have right now because we expect some uh some pretty significant changes at least noteworthy changes made to the

to the Mariners roster within the next 24 or so hours before they head to the Big Apple. Anyway, thank you so much for joining us here on the Lockdown Mariners podcast. For Colby Pat Note, I'm Taday Gonzalez. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter at LO underscore Mariners. You can follow me at Jane Gonzalez, Z-A-N-Z-L-Z and Colby at C-E-Pat 11, the CPAT-1. You can also find all that stuff in the description of this episode. And thank you again for making us your first listen of the day, just like you do here every day. We greatly appreciate the support.

Now make your second list of the day Locked on MLB. That's where Paul Francis Sullivan and please call him. Sully brings you his unique perspective on the major leagues president pass. It's free wherever you get your podcast just like us. So have yourself a beautiful baseball day and we will see you tomorrow. Peace.