Shortstop

The Mariners have been looking for a solid everyday shortstop to remain apart of the Franchise for a while now. It was another crazy position for the Mariners last year- the year of the “Wilsons”. The two shortstops, Josh and Jack Wilson, put up disappointing offensive numbers.

Jack Wilson

Jack Wilson was supposed to be the everyday shortstop last year until injuries changed that. Wilson hit the disabled list twice in 2010; once for a hamstring injury and then for a fractured bone in his right hand which ended his season. While healthy Wilson hit .249/.282/.316. He had only 14 RBI and failed to record a homeruns in his 193 at bats. Wilson made $5 million dollars last year and will make an additional 5 million this year.

While Jack was sidelined with injuries, 29 year old Josh Wilson took over the shortstop duties. He hit .227/.278/.294 with 2 homeruns and 25 RBI in 361 at bats. He is simply a reserve type player and shouldn’t factor in to the 2011 shortstop plans for Seattle.

The Mariners need to find a shortstop that can provide some offense for 2011. Having only 2 homeruns out of the shortstop position last year is very sad. The future Mariner shortstop, Nick Franklin is not quite ready yet therefore the Mariners should find someone to fill in for the next few years.

There is the option for the Mariners to stick with Jack Wilson and hope that he can get back to his old self where he hit around .275. He is typically a very good defensive shortstop which always appeals to the Mariners. He is under contract for 2011 but after that I couldn’t see him being resigned by them. He did kick around the idea of retirement after and injury plagued 2010 season which would totally eliminate the option of him being the everyday shortstop for 2011.

The Mariners could also look to the Rule 5 draft or spring training invitees to go along with Jack for the shortstop position. They recently signed 2 players’ to minor league contracts; 30 year old Luis Rodriguez and 26 year old Sean Kazmar.

Rodriguez has appeared in 363 Major League games, appearing last in 2009 with the Padres. His career line in the big leagues is .243/.316/.323 in 855 at bats. Scouts say that he has a good eye and still predict that we could still find some life in his bat similar to what happened with Andres Torres year. That is good news for Mariners fans. He would be a much better option than Josh Wilson when it comes to splitting time with Jack Wilson.

The younger shortstop signed by the Mariners, Sean Kazmar has very limited experience at the big league level. He has only had 46 plate appearances in which he has hit .205 (only 8 hits) Last year in AAA his numbers were better. He hit .275 in 499 at bats while knocking in 53 runs. There is a chance that he makes the Mariners 40 man roster with very solid spring training but what I think will happen is that he is not on the 40 man roster and he will be playing for AAA Tacoma.



Jed Lowrie



There is the chance the Mariners could go out and trade for someone. Some possible guys are JJ Hardy of the twins, Jason Bartlett of the Rays, and either Marco Scutaro or Jed Lowrie of the Red Sox. Hardy, Scutaro, and Bartlett would be paid similarly (5 million) to Jack Wilson but with possibly a little bit more offensive output. Out of these guys I think Jed Lowrie would be the best bet. He hasn’t really been able to put much together over his career in Boston and he seems to be out of the Sox plans for the future with talented Jose Iglesias making his way through the system. I am sure the Sox would love to get a solid reliever for Lowrie.



With all these options the Mariners have, I think they will go the route of having Jack Wilson the starting shortstop and having him split time with Luis Rodriguez. This would be a cheap option and could work out great if Wilson posts his typical offensive numbers.

Hopefully 19 year old Nick Franklin will be ready by 2012 but until then… Stay healthy Jack Wilson!