Alex Rodriguez details the type of hitters Mariners should target

Jul 16, 2024, 12:05 PM | Updated: 2:06 pm

Seattle Sports

With the MLB trade deadline just two weeks away, the first-place Seattle Mariners have a glaring need to improve their struggling lineup.

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The Mariners rank 28th in runs per game (3.87), dead-last in batting average (.219), 25th in on-base percentage (.300), 28th in slugging percentage (.367) and 28th in OPS (.667). They have far and away the highest strikeout rate in the league at 28.1%, which is two full percentage points higher than the next-closest team.

Given their offensive woes, what types of hitters should the Mariners target in the trade market?

Former Mariners superstar and current FOX analyst Alex Rodriguez shared some insight Tuesday during his first-ever appearance on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. The former three-time MVP knows a thing or two about hitting, sporting a career .296 batting average and sitting fifth on the all-time leaderboard with 696 home runs.

“You need Julio (Rodríguez) to be Julio, and I believe he will,” ARod said. “And then you need to complement him with players that, you need more hitters hitting .270 and above. A team hitting sub-.240 is probably not going to do it. You need more pressure. You need more contact. You need more speed. And you need to put runs on the board.

“They have the first and most important element of a championship team – strong pitching with a heck of a closer. You have a superstar in center field. Now you’ve gotta just build around him a little bit. And the good news is I think guys that make contact and hit for a high average – not necessarily home runs – are not only gettable, but also affordable.”

Among the 11 Mariners hitters with at least 100 plate appearances, just two of them have a batting average above the league-average mark of .243: Rodriguez (.267) and Josh Rojas (.244).

Also, 10 of those 11 Seattle hitters have a strikeout rate above the league average of 22.3%, including eight Mariners who are striking out more than 27% of the time. The only Seattle hitter with a lower strikeout rate than the league average is Rojas at 21.1%.

Rodriguez said that putting the ball in play and minimizing strikeouts is even more important in the playoffs, when hitters are facing some of the league’s best pitchers.

“If you have guys that swing and miss during the season, that doesn’t forecast well for October,” Rodriguez said. “That means you’re gonna swing and miss probably two (times more) than you did during the regular season.”

Listen to the full conversation with Alex Rodriguez at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.