The big signing of the Mariners’ offeseason, left-hander Robbie Ray, is set to take the hill for the first time this spring when the M’s host the Cubs on Tuesday afternoon in Peoria.

Mariners’ Tom Murphy showing a lighter side on the diamond

The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, Ray has made his presence seen, felt and heard in Mariners camp, his bullpens and live BPs becoming must-watch sessions for players, staff, media and fans alike. The intensity, the grunts and the number of pitches thrown have stood out from Day 1.

Tom Murphy, who has caught a number of these sessions, appreciates what he has seen from the new Mariner.

“You just know he’s an ultimate competitor,” he said. “And that’s somebody I always appreciate taking the field with, the catching/pitching side of things, is that I could care less what his stuff looks like. I could care less what anybody’s stuff looks like. But when I know that I’m getting 110% of what you have every single day and that fierceness and intensity, that really fires me up and he has that all day.”

And then some.

Interestingly enough, for as intense and loud as Ray is on the the mound, away from it he is more soft spoken and quite approachable.

“He’s very, very approachable,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “It’s almost like two different people at times, which is not abnormal.”

Servais noted that Ray has spoken up in meetings and been extremely open to making himself available to younger pitchers.

“It’s something that he talked about when we were going through the recruitment process with him,” he said. “He was very open about it. ‘I want to give back. I’ve gone through a few things in my career, I’ve had some people who have really helped me and I think I could be a good resource for the young guys we have here.'”

Lineup!

Abraham Toro, 2B
Julio Rodríguez, CF
Eugenio Suárez, 3B
Cal Raleigh, C
Tom Murphy, DH
Taylor Trammell, LF
Evan White, 1B
Steven Souza Jr., RF
Dylan Moore, SS

Robbie Ray, SP

Game: Mariners vs. Cubs, 1:10 p.m. (radio broadcast live on Mariners.com, tape delayed 7 p.m. on Seattle Sports 710 AM)

M’s spring training radio schedule on Seattle Sports 710 AM

Mariners notes

• Jarred Kelenic, who was in the original lineup batting fifth and playing center, was scratched due to being under the weather Tuesday morning.

• Second-year starting pitcher Logan Gilbert will make his spring debut either Thursday or Friday.

• The Mariners have made another signing, adding reliever Sal Romano on a minor league contract with an invite to spring training.

• Today is the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to submit numbers. The Mariners have 10 arbitration eligible players:

Diego Castillo
J.P. Crawford
Adam Frazier
Mitch Haniger
Dylan Moore
Tom Murphy
Paul Sewald
Drew Steckenrider
Luis Torrens
Jesse Winker

All 19 of the Mariners pre-arbitration players have agreed to contracts while nine players are already under contract for the 2022 season. The Mariners’ 40-man roster is currently at 38.

• Wednesday is the first and only off day for the Mariners during spring training. There have been no additional live BPs or sim games for the pitchers scheduled for that day.

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