Why Abraham Toro’s strong start with the Mariners is so impressive
Aug 6, 2021, 2:57 PM
Abraham Toro has a 1.313 OPS in his first nine games with the Mariners. (Getty)
(Getty)
It didn’t take long for 24-year-old infielder Abraham Toro to establish himself as an important part of the Mariners’ lineup.
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Acquired from the Houston Astros on July 27, Toro comes into Friday with a .438/.500/.813 slash line for a 1.313 OPS in nine games with Seattle, going 14 for 32 with three home runs, three doubles, three walks, a hit by pitch and a stolen bases.
What makes Toro’s great start jump out even more is that in 93 MLB games with Houston since 2019, he posted a .193/.276/.350 slash (.626 OPS) with 11 homers, six doubles and two triples.
But there’s something else about Toro taking off right away with Seattle that’s even more impressive, and that’s the fact that he walked into a clubhouse that reportedly was unhappy about losing closer Kendall Graveman to the Astros in the same trade that brought Toro to the M’s.
“I want to give him credit,” MLB Network insider Jon Morosi said Wednesday on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Wyman and Bob. “He obviously was aware of the reaction to the trade, and it says something about a person to walk into the room when all that aftermath is there and you just play and perform. I think that is the mark of a really, really impressive young man, and Toro is that.”
Morosi is understanding of the reasons why losing Graveman had the impact on Mariners players that it has been said to have had, but he does wonder how general manager Jerry Dipoto’s trade will ultimately be viewed after more time has passed.
“(Toro) is a good player and this is where I think that we have to acknowledge the wisdom in the move, that maybe it was a long-term gain on Toro and if he’s a central figure in this team making the playoffs in 2022, we have to give Jerry his due credit at that point in time,” Morosi said. “He has always been a very athletic player, switch-hitter, he can move around the diamond, and to what Jerry and others have said with the organization, he was someone who had been on the list of a lot of different teams to acquire as a guy who is getting ready to pop and really hop up on those screens being a legitimate player. I think that he is a good acquisition in that vacuum of bringing in value, and clearly he can play.”
The experience Toro has gained from being around the Astros, who made the World Series in his rookie season of 2019 and have weathered the fallout from a sign-stealing scandal, is something Morosi thinks could also pay dividends for Seattle.
“I think he also has benefited from the experience of being in Houston. You know, he has seen a lot. … He can explain at a very young age what that was like to live and go through.”
Morosi had much more to say about the Mariners during his weekly visit with Wyman and Bob, which you can hear in the podcast at this link or in the player below.
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