Mariners feel impact of losing both Leonys Martin and Ketel Marte
May 28, 2016, 4:25 PM
Without Leonys Martin, the Mariners will shift more in the outfield, manager Scott Servais said. (AP)
(AP)
Leonys Martin joined Ketel Marte on the Mariners’ 15-day disabled list Friday, and their combined absences had a pretty immediate impact.
The Mariners’ replacements for the duo – Luis Sardinas at shortstop, and Stefen Romero in left field (as Norichika Aoki shifted to center) – were a combined 0 for 6 with five strikeouts in Seattle’s 7-2 loss Friday to the Twins, and the effect seemed to be felt up and down the order with two of the team’s more exciting players out.
Related: Mariners place red-hot Leonys Martin on DL
Though Marte is expected back the day he’s eligible to come off the DL on June 6 and Martin is likely to be ready when his 15 days up as well, that still leaves the M’s with over a week until one of them returns and two weeks until they could both be in the lineup.
With Seattle lacking the rally-starting ability Marte and Martin possess for the time being, Mariners manager Scott Servais said the team needs the rest of the roster to step up.
“We’ve just gotta swing the bats well. We didn’t do it last night,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said before Saturday’s game with Minnesota. “I really don’t want guys to change their game. Do what you do, and hopefully that will be enough.
“We gotta score runs, we gotta pitch, gotta pick it up a little bit because of the loss of those two players.”
On defense, Servais said the Mariners will be more proactive in the outfield to make up the ground Martin usually covers in center.
“We probably will be more aggressive in our outfield shifting. Our corner guys have been kinda stationary because they let Leonys cover so much ground, but you’ll see us moving the center fielder a little bit more and trying to play the odds … because we just don’t have anybody out there with that kind of range out there.”
