The Mariners have made it no secret during the tenures of general manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais that they desire a utility player who can provide strong offensive production and move around the field on a daily basis.

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Abraham Toro is the latest candidate for that Ben Zobrist-inspired role, and what the 25 year old has shown this spring has Dipoto excited about what his role could be for Seattle in 2022.

“I have to say he’s one of the most, I guess, encouraging developments this spring,” he said of Toro during Seattle Sports’ weekly Jerry Dipoto Show on Thursday morning.

A lot of that has to do with Toro’s bat. Mariners fans are already familiar with Toro’s offensive potential as he had several memorable moments at the plate after coming over in a midseason trade from Houston last year. His production trailed off later in the season, but his stats this spring are hard to ignore. Entering Thursday, the switch-hitting Toro has a .500 average (10 for 20) with a triple, including 3 for 6 from the right side and 7 for 10 from the left side.

“We’re seeing offense that looks – it’s legit,” Dipoto said. “He swings at the right pitches, he uses the whole field, he’s doing it as both a left- and right-hander. He’s never going to be a 35-homer guy but he’s going to be a guy who has high on-base skill, sprays the ball around the field.”

Toro time. #SeaUsRise pic.twitter.com/smWY5HIUzA

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 25, 2022

While Toro has mainly played third base and second base as a pro, with a little first sprinkled in, he’s now also trying his hand at the outfield. Dipoto said that makes his bat even more valuable because of the ways Seattle can get him into the lineup.

“He is gonna be a really valuable piece to our lineup, and I know Scott has really developed a ton of confidence in what he’s capable of,” Dipoto said, referring to Servais. “And the fact that we’ve moved him around the diamond defensively this spring is indicative of how we intend to find his plate appearances. He’ll play some third, he’ll play some second, some left. He’ll get in there and do the things that we want to see from a versatile player who can really get us offense.”

The Jerry Dipoto Show airs at 8:30 a.m. each Thursday on Seattle Sports 710 AM during The Mike Salk Show. You can hear this week’s edition in the podcast at this link or in the player below.

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