The Spring Training Battle That Should Be

To the surprise of many, Willie Bloomquist has been relatively unhindered to begin the spring. Thought to be a question mark for opening day, Wee Willie Boom Boom has been going about his business just like any other player in Seattle Mariners camp. Bloomquist, it appears, is at or near 100%. Which means he’s probably ticketed for the opening day roster.

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A big story in camp this year has been the relative stability of the club’s eventual 25 man roster. This year isn’t like past years, when there’d essentially be open competitions for multiple bullpen and rotation spots, prominent roles like leadoff hitter, or starting outfield gigs. This year there are two guys battling for the shortstop role, three potential fifth starters, and a bunch of LOOGY candidates. Not a lot left to settle.

Yet there’s Willie Bloomquist and his all-but-guaranteed roster spot. One can’t help but look around Mariners camp and see Shawn O’Malley looking good at the plate and in the field. Then there’s Carlos Rivero, another interesting utility type who seems like a potential big leaguer. Patrick Kivlehan‘s looked good. Even D.J. Peterson seems about ready to take some MLB reps. Yet Willie’s got his spot on lock?

It doesn’t make sense. The 25th spot on the roster never goes to a star, but Willie’s not even a productive player. He’s got defensive versatility, but he’s also not even good at a single position in the field. His bat is weak. He’s on the roster for morale purposes. He profiles best as a coach at this point, especially coming off a serious injury at age 37.

The Mariners have a good mix of young players and defensively gifted utility types in camp right now. Why not let a legit prospect win a bench job to get his feet wet? Peterson we’ve talked about, and Kivlehan is a similarly situated player. Tell me Jesus Montero doesn’t seem like a nice piece to have on the bench right now.

Of course, none of this is possible without Rickie Weeks. Weeks has every advantage over Bloomquist, although they’re both apparently going to make the roster and fill similar roles. Weeks is going to play all across the infield and in the outfield corners. He’s a better athlete, better hitter, and plenty younger. It makes no sense to keep both, and the team definitely shouldn’t dump Weeks.

So Willie’s got to go. Right? Well, the thing about the alternatives is that they’ve all got options. Montero, Peterson, Kivlehan, O’Malley, and Rivero are all going to be Rainiers if they’re not Mariners, whereas Bloomquist can’t just be sent to Tacoma if the team decides they like another guy better. It’s the same reason David Rollins has an advantage over the other lefty relievers simply because of his rule 5 status: make the team or leave the organization. In terms of simply preserving depth, Willie’s the right choice.

But he’s no good. Any of those other guys could be good. This team gave a roster spot to Stefen Romero last season, and it sure seems like all five of the guys mentioned above are better now than Romero was then. The odds of finding a useful big leaguer from the Montero/Peterson/Kivlehan/O’Malley/Rivero group seems significant. The odds of Willie Bloomquist being a useful big leaguer seem… not significant.

The Seattle Mariners have a good utility guy: Rickie Weeks. If they want a second utility guy, they could do better than Willie Bloomquist by giving the job to Carlos Rivero or Shawn O’Malley. If they want a real prospect who can play multiple positions, they should give the job to Patrick Kivlehan. Or they could just roster D.J. Peterson or Jesus Montero, either of whom would provide depth for first base – the team’s weakest position. Willie Ballgame’s time might be up in Seattle. Or, at least, it probably should be.

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