It’s On: Mariners announce 2022 opening day roster vs Twins
Apr 7, 2022, 10:19 AM | Updated: 10:22 am
Mitch Haniger and J.P. Crawford react after Haniger's home run against Arizona on Sept. 11. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
It’s go time for the 2022 Seattle Mariners.
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A year after winning 90 games and falling just short of a playoff birth, the Mariners are looking to end the longest active playoff drought in North American professional sports.
The team that will look to end that drought has officially been announced ahead of Seattle’s opening day game in Minnesota against the Twins. That game will air live at 1:10 p.m. on Seattle Sports 710 AM.
Locked in and ready for tomorrow. #SeaUsRise | #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/J0PwpJMTvD
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 7, 2022
So, let’s dive in to the 2022 Mariners opening day roster, which has 28 members instead of the usual 26. That will be the case for at least a few weeks due to the shortened spring training as a result of the offseason lockout.
Pitchers (15)
Starting Rotation (5): Matt Brash, Chris Flexen, Logan Gilbert, Marco Gonzales, Robbie Ray
Bullpen (10): Diego Castillo, Matt Festa, Anthony Misiewicz, Andrés Muñoz, Yohan Ramirez, Sergio Romo, Paul Sewald, Justus Sheffield, Drew Steckenrider, Erik Swanson
Injured List (2): Ken Giles, Casey Sadler
The biggest changes to the Mariners’ pitching staff for 2022 is the addition of 2021 American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray and rookie starter Matt Brash, a top-100 prospect who carried over a massive 2021 season between High-A and Double-A to a stellar 2022 spring training, which earned him the final spot in Seattle’s starting rotation.
The bullpen, which was a key part in the Mariners winning 90 games last season, returns many of the key pitchers from a year ago such as Paul Sewald and Drew Steckenrider, but they will be without Casey Sadler as he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. The Mariners will have Andrés Muñoz for the entire year as well as Ken Giles for most of the season, though the latter will start 2022 on the injured list with a finger injury. Both have spent the last year-plus recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The Mariners also added veteran Sergio Romo to the mix, and Matt Festa, a non-roster invitee to MLB spring training, made the roster as well.
Bats (13)
Catchers (3): Tom Murphy, Cal Raleigh, Luis Torrens
Infielders (4): J.P. Crawford, Ty France, Eugenio Suárez, Abraham Toro
Outfielders (4): Mitch Haniger, Jarred Kelenic, Julio Rodríguez, Jesse Winker
Infielder/Outfielders (2): Adam Frazier, Dylan Moore
Injured List (2): Kyle Lewis, Evan White
Key 2021 contributors Mitch Haniger, Ty France and J.P. Crawford are back for 2022, and there’s a mix of young players and new faces on the roster as well.
As far as young players go, the headliners are both in the outfield with top prospect Julio Rodríguez, a top-three prospect in all of baseball who will start in center field for the Mariners, and Jarred Kelenic, a 2021 rookie who had a monster final month of 2021 after struggling to start his career. Those two will join Haniger and 2021 All-Star slugger Jesse Winker in the outfield. Winker was traded to Seattle from the Cincinnati Reds.
Speaking of that trade with the Reds, the Mariners also added third baseman Eugenio Suárez, who has the most home runs in baseball since 2018.
The Mariners added another 2021 All-Star bat in Adam Frazier, who is expected to start at second base and hit leadoff for Seattle.
The Mariners will be without 2016 and 2017 first-round picks Kyle Lewis and Evan White. Lewis, the 2020 Rookie of the Year, is recovering from a meniscus tear suffered last summer while White recently had surgery for a sports hernia.
