Major League Baseball

Mariners remain crowded at shortstop, even in Triple-A

Published Feb. 24, 2015 8:45 p.m. ET

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Repeatedly and reflexively, the names of Brad Miller and Chris Taylor appeared in reports about the Seattle Mariners’ offseason trade activity.

The reason: Miller and Taylor both play shortstop, and there’s a good chance the Mariners will carry only one of them on the Opening Day roster.

Provided the Mariners remain healthy throughout spring training — hazardous words in late February — the four bench spots likely will belong to Rickie Weeks, Willie Bloomquist, half of the Seth Smith/Justin Ruggiano platoon, and a backup catcher (Jesus Sucre or John Baker).

So, the loser of the Miller-Taylor competition may well become an overqualified Triple-A shortstop . . . and even that assignment could be complicated by 21-year-old shortstop prospect Ketel Marte.

After Marte’s promotion to Triple-A last August, he was more than 6-1/2 years below the average age in the Pacific Coast League, according to Baseball-Reference.com. He posted a .746 OPS in 128 games between Double-A and Triple-A, particularly impressive because of his youth.

One Mariners official compared Marte, a switch hitter, to a younger version of Jose Reyes. (Marte has played some second base in the minors, but of course he’s blocked at that position by Robinson Cano.) 

If Marte plays well enough to reach the big leagues this year, the Mariners’ willingness to move Miller or Taylor will increase in the coming months — if not sooner. 

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