TEREN'S TAKE: Seattle Mariners Fans Should Prepare For Platoon of Raley, Locklear
This past week has not been an enjoyable one to watch for Seattle Mariners fans.
The Mariners entered the offseason with clear needs at first base, second base and third base. The team's President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto has confirmed those needs throughout the offseason.
There's been various reports regarding how Seattle planned to go about the offseason. Some reports said that the team preferred handling second base in-house while looking toward free agency for first and third base.
Other reports have said the club is malleable on how they prefer to improve.
But several transactions around the league on Dec. 20-21 limited the options the Mariners have at first.
Over those two days, possible Seattle targets like Paul Goldschmidt, Christian Walker, Carlos Santana and Josh Naylor all found new homes.
The Santana transaction was particularly shocking.
It had been rumored for months that the Mariners were in contact with Santana for a potential reunion. Santana was on the team during the second half of their playoff drought-breaking season in 2022.
Santana signed a one-year, $12 million deal with the Cleveland Guardains, which would have taken up most of Seattle's $15-20 million in available payroll.
Santana was considered one of the most likely options for the Mariners to sign in the offseason. But the fact that he cost so much was shocking and potentially damaging for Seattle's plans.
The Mariners can still reunite with free agent Justin Turner and there's still the pitch the team has prepared for Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki. There's also Korean Baseball Organization free agent Hye-seong Kim, who Seattle has scouted.
But if Santana cost $12 million, then one has to wonder how much Turner will command on the open market.
And that could lead to a very real possibility Seattle fans need to prepare for: the team's first base platoon for next season could be Luke Raley and prospect Tyler Locklear.
Now, is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. Raley is coming off a career-best season where he hit .243 with 22 home runs and 58 RBIs. If he's the starting first baseman for Opening Day, then it's not the worst thing.
115.4 MPH, 459 feet
— MLB (@MLB) August 3, 2024
Luke Raley demolished this pitch! 😳 pic.twitter.com/p1YkZAFpXb
The question marks arise with Locklear being his partner at the position.
Locklear is the Mariners' No. 10 prospect according to Baseball America and is coming off a great season in the minors. He hit .272 with 16 home runs and 67 RBIs with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers and Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.
It was his brief stint in the majors that could give pause.
In 16 games in the major leagues, Locklear batted .156 (7-for-45) with two home runs and three RBIs. He had a strikeout rate of 44.4%.
This got out in a HURRY! Tyler Locklear crushes this solo home run 112 mph off the bat pic.twitter.com/TA9FoAqyqi
— Tacoma Rainiers (@RainiersLand) July 2, 2024
Locklear's most recent call-up in 2024 came on July 23 after the club traded 2022 All-Star Ty France to the Cincinnati Reds. The assumption was that Locklear would be handed the keys to first base. But his struggles led to him being optioned back to Tacoma just a week later. Turner and Raley handled the position for the rest of the year once Turner was acquired.
Locklear's difficulties in his first major league stint aren't enough to sound the alarm on him. It's not a rarity for minor leaguers to struggle after getting their first taste of the big leagues.
There are worse platoons than Raley and Locklear. But it would still be disappointing given the expectations at the outset.
There's still roughly two months until Spring Training starts. And there's still time for Seattle to find solutions to their roster holes.
But there's a very good chance that the Mariners don't find the pair for Raley like they initially hoped. And that would likely mean yet another disappointing offseason for Seattle fans.
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