After missing most of the season with a shoulder injury and then serving a seven-game suspension for his bat-throwing incident, Victor Robles is back as an everyday player in the Seattle Mariners’ lineup.
And his return certainly creates some interesting options for Seattle’s batting order.
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Robles served as the Mariners’ leadoff hitter for the final two months of last season, along with the first 10 games of this season before he fractured and dislocated his shoulder.
But since returning from the injured list, Robles has exclusively batted in the bottom third of Seattle’s lineup. He’s spent two games in the seven spot, three games in the eight spot and three games in the nine spot. That’s come after Randy Arozarena took over the leadoff spot on July 31 following the Mariners’ trade-deadline acquisitions of Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor.
Should the M’s eventually move Robles back into the leadoff spot, or should they keep him toward the bottom of the lineup? MLB Network’s Jon Morosi was posed that question Monday during his weekly appearance on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob.
“I’ve always liked the idea of having a real threat in the nine spot – someone that you’re worried about being potentially a home-run threat, or just to do damage and wreak havoc on the bases,” Morosi said. “I wouldn’t change it right now. I think he seems comfortable down there. I’d leave him in the bottom third.”
Hitting Robles in the bottom of the order has sparked a few rallies in recent Mariners games. He hit a leadoff single with two strikes to right field Sunday in Atlanta to start an eight-run third inning in an 18-2 Seattle win, and he led off the Mariners’ three-run third inning in Tuesday’s 5-3 win over St. Louis with another single to right.
Morosi said he’d like to keep Arozarena and Suárez a few spots apart in the order due to their similarities in approach. With Suárez typically batting fourth or fifth, that’d mean keeping Arozarena in the leadoff spot.
“Suárez’s at-bats and Arozarena’s at-bats can sometimes feel a little bit similar in terms of the power and the right-handed approach and they’re probably not going to walk – a dangerous bat, but not always the longest plate appearance,” Morosi said. “And so I think if they’re hitting back-to-back or close to each other, you might run into some five or six-pitch innings, which you do not want.”
Morosi said he might consider moving Robles back to the leadoff spot if the Mariners are facing a left-handed starter. But even in that instance, he still prefers keeping Robles where he’s at for the time being.
“Depending on the circumstances and which teams you might see in the playoffs, maybe you do something different against Framber Valdez and Houston, or something like that,” Morosi said. “But I think for now, you leave him at the bottom and just let him flip that lineup over, because when he’s on base for Arozarena, I think it does create some interesting options there for Dan Wilson.”
Listen to the full conversation with MLB Network’s Jon Morosiat this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune into Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2 to 7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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