All signs point to Julio Rodriguez returning from the injured list on Monday, just in time to play in the final few games of the regular season for the Mariners’ first possible playoff series since 2001.
Even when Rodriguez returns to his usual midfield spot, Jarred Kelenic won’t get very far.
Kelenic, 23, has been playing well as the substitute center fielder for the past week — so much so that the Mariners are fully committed to keeping their former top contender on the playoff roster.
Kelenic has hit three home runs in seven games since being recalled from Class AAA Tacoma last week — including two on Thursday night — and his solid play defensively gives manager Scott Servais a viable option in left field.
“He plays free, easy and confident, and we need that,” Servais said late Thursday, after the Mariners’ 10-9 extra-innings win over Texas. “He will be a big part of our team as we get through this postseason push.”
The Mariners (85-70) would clinch a playoff spot Friday night with a win over Oakland at T-Mobile Park (or with a Baltimore loss to the Yankees in New York, a game starting at 4 p.m. PT).
It is likely that Kelenic would be used in the playoffs as the left-handed side of a leftfield pack, paired with Sam Haggerty or Dylan Moore. The Mariners don’t plan to use Jesse Winker in left field for the rest of the season, and it’s unclear where he might fit — if at all — in the post-season lineup.
If the Mariners open the playoffs against, say, Toronto’s Alek Manoah or Cleveland’s Shane Bieber — two of the right-handed starters in the American League — Kelenic would almost certainly get the start in left field for the Mariners’ first playoff game in 21 years. .
Kelenic’s sudden upswing is one of the most unexpected developments of the year for the Mariners.
“He has some kind of talent,” Servais said.
And it finally comes to life on the biggest stage.
“I try not to think so much. Just play baseball,” Kelenic told The Times this week. “I’m in a great place. My bat feels fast and the ball just jumps off the bat as soon as I touch it. That’s always a good thing. So I’m just trying to stay balanced and play the game.”
After his much-hyped debut as a 21-year-old in May 2021, Kelenic struggled to pitch in the Major League and has been bouncing back and forth between Seattle and Tacoma ever since. Relegated again on Aug. 11, he went back to Tacoma and over the past six weeks made some mechanical adjustments to his lineup at the plate, adopting a more athletic stance and limiting lift on his high leg kick.
“He really got a lot of extra moves out of his swing,” Servais said. “We’ve talked a lot about the best hitters in our game, the consistent ones over time, their moves are very small, they’re very consistent. The guys with the big kicks and all that other stuff — sometimes those are the streakiest guys because they have so much movement, so much timing, and they get a little out of control.
“But I like where Jarred is now. He did exactly what we hoped to do with Julio going down. I don’t think he’s trying too much. I think that’s the key.”
In his first few stints with the Mariners, Kelenic was furious. It often looked like he was trying to hit home runs, trying to prove he was the unmissable star everyone had been billing him for.
Teammates and coaches now describe him as calmer and more relaxed. It’s a small sample, sure, but Kelenic’s production over the past week is an important confirmation of his improved approach.
In seven games since September 22, he has eight hits in 27 at bats, with three homeruns, three doubles, three walks and six strikeouts, with a .296 batting average and an OPS of 1.107.
Kelenic’s first homerun on Thursday was a shot from the opposite field in the Rangers-bulps into left field. The second came a high fastball from a left-handed reliever that pulled Kelenic over the wall in right field.
“You don’t see left-handed batters going the other way very often. I mean, he smoked that ball,” Servais said. “And I was probably more excited with the lefty’s home run. He got a high fastball there and turned it around.”
Now, Kelenic says, he’s trying to help the team win, and he’s happy to be back and part of the pennant chase.
“It means a lot,” he said. “Everyone here is just trying to contribute in any way they can, whether that’s on the basics, on the plate, on defense. That’s our game. If we can all throw one percent per game, we’ll be fine.”
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