Seattle Mariners Star Julio Rodriguez Spotted Hanging Out at Ballparks in Japan
Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodriguez is never too far from a baseball field, even when he's on the other side of the world.
The M's 23-year-old franchise cornerstone is currently traveling in Japan before he ramps back up his training, and he's made sure to stop into some ballparks.
Per the Yakyu Cosmopolitan, Rodriguez visited the farm stadium for the DeNA BayStars.
Seattle Mariners OF Julio Rodriguez visited the DeNA BayStars farm stadium in Yokosuka
— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) November 17, 2024
pic.twitter.com/Cfo8vXZNzM
The Mariners obviously have a great connection to Japan, having gotten several great players from the country. Ichiro Suzuki, who is set to earn election into the Hall of Fame in January, is the most notable example, but the team has also helped developed Hisashi Iwakuma, Kenji Johjima, Kaz Sasaki and Shigetoshi Hasegawa.
As for Rodriguez, he's coming off a down year by his own lofty standards. A two-time All-Star already, he hit .273 with 20 homers. He battled injury and a slow start to post some respectable numbers, but he'll work on being more consistent in 2025. Just last week, Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto said the team was looking at maybe giving Rodriguez more repetitions in spring training so that he could get off to a better start.
The Mariners are coming off an 85-77 season that saw them miss the playoffs for the second straight year. If they are going to make the playoffs again in 2025, they'll need a big year for Rodriguez. Hopefully he uses this time in Japan to help relax and then is able to get back to work in the States. He spends most of his offseason in the Tampa area.
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