Mariners send a clear message to Julio Rodriguez with drastic lineup change
The Seattle Mariners are a team built through its starting pitching. Their rotation is one of, if not the best in the majors, and it should be good for a long time with four of the five starters being 27 years old or younger.
While the pitching is top-notch, their lineup is one full of questions. Their lineup is the biggest reason why they narrowly missed out on a postseason berth last season, and it is what has held them back thus far this season. They might be leading the AL West, but they're just 24th in the majors in runs scored.
The one player they could seemingly rely on to produce offensively was Julio Rodriguez, a 23-year-old who looked like one of the best players in baseball in each of his first two seasons. The 2024 campaign has not been kind to Rodriguez who has struggled from the start, and now Seattle's manager Scott Servais is hoping to spark him by making a major lineup change.
Mariners make drastic lineup change with hopes of turning Julio Rodriguez's season around
cancel all your meetings, we’ve got morning baseball! pic.twitter.com/Cj2Y4l0Qpl
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 23, 2024
The Mariners are hoping to take three of four at Yankee Stadium against the New York Yankees but have a tough task ahead of them as they have to face off against Luis Gil, a right-hander who has been extraordinary for New York. Rather than stick Rodriguez at the top of the lineup as Seattle had done all season, Servais dropped him to sixth in the order.
The hope with a move like this is to take the pressure off of J-Rod. Putting him away from the top of the lineup takes the pressure of table setting and driving in runs off of his shoulders. Perhaps less pressure for now is what he needs to get his bat going.
The timing of this change is a bit strange as Rodriguez is hitting .325 in his last ten games, but he has one hit in 12 at-bats in the first three games of this series to drop his slash line to .263/.311/.318 with two home runs and 14 RBI. He does have nine stolen bases but his power has disappeared. He has a total of seven extra-base hits this season. This is a guy who hit 32 home runs and 37 doubles just last season.
Rodriguez starting slowly is nothing new, as he did this last season as well. Once Servais moved him out of the leadoff spot his season took off. The hope is that this change will have the same impact on Rodriguez who, when right, is one of the best players in the game. Seattle needs him to play like the MVP candidate he has been in the past for them to stand a chance.
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