Mariners Take Massive Step with Julio Rodriguez in Tuesday's Game vs. Baltimore Orioles

In the midst of another set of struggles this season, the Seattle Mariners have surprisingly moved star Julio Rodriguez down to seventh in the order.

Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez (44) looks on against the Miami Marlins during the ninth inning at loanDepot Park on June 21. / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into Tuesday's series opener with the Baltimore Orioles, the Seattle Mariners have taken a drastic step with struggling star Julio Rodriguez.

Manager Scott Servais has dropped Rodriguez to seventh in the order, electing to hit Ty France in the No. 2 spot and Luke Raley in the No. 3 spot. Rodriguez has hit in those spots most often this season.

Back at it with George on the bump. #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/RcIrUkFrQL

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) July 2, 2024

At this point, you can't really blame Servais for trying something to get Rodriguez going. An MVP favorite heading into the season, Rodriguez is hitting just .247 with a .297 on-base percentage. He's got seven homers and 29 RBI and has only posted an 84 OPS+ (100 is average). He's hitting .069 in his last seven games.

Rodriguez has truly been one of the most disappointing players in all of baseball this season, joining the likes of Arizona Diamondbacks' standout Corbin Carroll, who is hitting just .213 with two homers and 23 RBI, and Blue Jays' shortstop Bo Bichette, who is hitting .231 with four homers and 28 RBI.

By moving him down in the order, the hope is that Rodriguez will take some of the self-imposed pressure off himself. Furthermore, perhaps he'll get more fastballs to hit and maybe he'll even provide some thump to the bottom of the order. The M's have gotten some traffic on the basepaths during their recent dry spell but have struggled to bring them home. Perhaps if Rodriguez can come to the plate with men on, he can do some damage.

The Mariners enter play on Tuesday at 47-39 but they've lost eight of their last 11.

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