With lefty Carlos Rodon on the mound and in the middle of a rough patch at the plate, manager Lloyd McClendon gave third baseman Kyle Seager a rare day off. Brad Miller will start at third base.
How rare?
When Seager didn’t play on June 18 because of food poisoning – he thinks caused by a Starbucks breakfast sandwich – it snappend a streak of 192 consecutive games played and 191 starts – spanning from May 11, 2014 to June 17, 2015. Seager has planed in 597 games since 2012 – the most in Major League Baseball. Teammate Robinson Cano is second with 596.
Seager has just two hits in his last 28 at-bats. His solo homer on Wednesday was his first RBI since August 17.
Most Read Sports Stories
His numbers in August are pretty bad:
Seager arrived at U.S. Cellular Field and noticed that he wasn’t in the starting lineup, something that did not please him.
“I walked in and just saw the lineup,” he said.
Usually  McClendon tells his regular starters about planned days off. He didn’t this time.
“Seager is getting a well-deserved day off,” McClendon said. “He didn’t know about it. And I didn’t tell him about it because I didn’t feel like with fighting him.”
That reasoning drew a chuckle from Seager.
“I didn’t even get a chance to talk him into it,” he said.
He loathes being on the bench, even if he knows it can be beneficial.
“You work out and train to play every day and you want to be in there helping every day,” he said. “That’s our job ultimately is to be in there and be able to play every day and be in position to help the team win. That’s where you want to be.”
And yet, he begrudgingly understands the reasoning for McClendon’s decision.
“I prepare to play every day,” he said. “But getting off days over the course of a season is a way to recuperate a little bit, do some rehab stuff and be ready to go when he calls my name.”
Seager’s struggles with runners in scoring position this season (below) have been well documented. But he also has been scuffling in non-leverage situations as welll.
He won’t blame it on fatigue.
“Physically, everything is fine,” he said. “I feel pretty good. I’ve gotten in a good routine of doing the training room stuff and the weight room stuff and doing all the stuff you need to do stay strong through the course of the season. Physically, I’m fine.”
But from a swing standpoint, everything has not been fine. Seager has felt out of sorts at the plate and with his swing, picking up a few bad habits.
There’s always that you can improve on. I was drifting a little bit. My load was a little messed up and it was causing my hands to get away from my body and feel disconnected. It’s nothing earth shattering. This stuff happens all the time. These are little things that you get throughout the course of a season and you just try to get it fixed.”
McClendon believes Seager is starting to come out of it, even before the solo homer on Wednesday.
“He’s no different than any other player,” McClendon said. “Over the course of the year, you go through funks. And he’s going through his funk at this particular time. I think he’s finally coming out of it. Really, if you look at his at-bats yesterday, I thought he had real good at bats, but he just didn’t get the results. I was pleased. I thought he be battled.”
Rodney traded to the Cubs
The Mariners have traded closer Fernando Rodney, who was designated for assignment to the Chicago Cubs for cash considerations.
The Cubs bullpen has not been good this season so they are taking a chance on the one-time all-star reliever. Cubs’ manager Joe Maddon has plenty of experience with Rodney from their days in Tampa (2012-2013).
Rodney, 38, went 5-5 with a 5.68 ERA in 54 relief appearances this season, including 16-for-22 in save opportunities. Rodney was an All-Star with Seattle in 2014 setting a single-season club record with 48 saves.
Minor notes
Congrats to Ji-Man Choi, who hit a grand slam and drove in seven runs in Tacoma’s 13-7 win over Memphis. Choi rejoined the Rainiers after rehabbing his surgically repaired broken leg. The injury he suffered in spring training while jumping for a wayward throw from infielder Tyler Smith was really gruesome.
Choi is no longer on the 40-man roster, so he’s not a potential call-up.
Reliever Jose Ramirez, who is on the 40-man, will be a September call-up. He tossed two scoreless innings, allowing one hit. Danny Farquhar pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.
Two other likely call-ups – Chris Taylor and Stefen Romero – are playing well.
- Since being optioned from Seattle on July 30, INF Chris Taylor has hit safely in 19 of 26 games, batting .330 (32×97) with 18 runs scored, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 14 RBI, 23 walks and 2 stolen base.
- Â In his last 69 games, since June 8, OF Stefen Romero has recorded 29 multi-hit contests, batting .308 (89×289) with 45 runs scored, 27 doubles, 2 triples, 7 home runs, 48 RBI, 8 stolen bases and 11 walks. Romero hit .308 (33×107) with 15 runs scored, 9 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs, 19 RBI, 4 walks and 4 stolen bases in 25 game in July.
Here’s the full report:
08.27.15 Mariners Minor League Report
Probables
Game notes