Mariners option struggling OF Mallex Smith, recall RHP Art Warren

After struggling to get going in the first three weeks of the 2020 season, the Mariners have optioned outfielder Mallex Smith to the team’s alternate training site as a member of the five-man taxi squad and have recalled reliever Art Warren to take his place.

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Smith has hit just .133 in 14 games and has stuck out 13 times while stealing two bases.

Smith, 27, was a key part of the trade that sent catcher Mike Zunino to the Tampa Bay Rays ahead of the 2019 season. Smith, before joining the Mariners, was coming off a strong 2018 season where he hit .296 with 40 stolen bases in 141 games.

In 2019, Smith injured his throwing arm in spring training but returned for the start of the year, where he was unable to make much of an impact. He was sent to Triple-A Tacoma for 10 games before being called back up to Seattle. For the year, Smith hit .227 and stolen an MLB-high 46 bases in 134 games.

Smith spent most of 2019 in center field, but has played mostly right field in 2020 as AL Rookie of the Year frontrunner Kyle Lewis has manned the middle of Seattle’s outfield.

Smith, who hits left handed, has lost playing time to right-handed hitting utility players like Tim Lopes and Dylan Moore, who have provided much more than Smith at the plate so far. Additionally, the Mariners have Dee Gordon, who is also a left-handed hitting player with speed. Gordon has more versatility defensively than Smith, as Gordon has played in the outfield as well as at shortstop and second base this season.

Warren, 27, was a 23rd-round draft pick by the Mariners in 2015 and made his MLB debut in 2019. He made six appearances, going 1-0 with five strikeouts and two walks in 5 1/3 innings and did not give up a run last year with the big-league club. He has not made an MLB appearance this season.

Warren is the Mariners’ No. 27 prospect per MLB Pipeline. He joins fellow top reliever prospects Joey Gerber (No. 20) and Taylor Guillbeau (No. 24) in Seattle’s bullpen.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound right-handed reliever made three appearances in intrasquad games during the Mariners’ summer camp, going 1-0 with three strikeouts and one walk. He pitched in two spring training games, going just one full inning and giving up four runs while walking and striking out two players each.

Warren spent most of the 2019 season with Double-A Arkansas, making the Texas League Post-Season All Star Team. He went 2-1 with 15 saves and a 1.71 ERA in 31 2/3 innings. He struck out 41 and walked 13 in his 29 appearances with Arkansas.

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