Salk: Who can unlock Julio? Why Edgar Martinez has a shot

It’s been a week since the Seattle Mariners made the difficult decision to move on from Scott Servais and replace him at manager with Dan Wilson. A week in baseball terms isn’t exactly enough time to draw too many conclusions, but that won’t stop us from watching these games and projecting our previously-held beliefs onto what we see.

Standout day shows glimpse of Mariners’ outfield potential

Love Scott and mad that the organization fired him? You might argue that the 17 strikeouts last Saturday are indicative of problems that went well beyond the manager and see a team that still scores mostly when they hit home runs. You’ll tell your friends that he had brought the team back from the dead so many times before and he could have done it again.

Wanted Scott gone for a while now? You might point to a couple of bunts and few balls the other way and say confidently that it’s a new approach that has sunk in and will help them score. You’ll see every successful move as the product of a new philosophy.

The truth is, we won’t know if the approach is different or successful for some time. But we can watch the process, see the energy on the field, and look for improvements and results.

And much of that focus, for me anyway, will be on the most talented player on the field: Julio Rodríguez.

This year has been, in so many ways, a lost season for Julio. It’s likely too late for him to salvage his stats, and whatever changes and improvements he made in the offseason clearly backfired. This offseason will have to be a chance for him to reflect, retool, and refocus on the things he believes will make him more successful in 2025 and beyond. But while the stats may not recover, it isn’t too late for him to make a meaningful contribution in the final month of the season. A red-hot Julio – heck, even a tepidly warm Julio – would make a world of difference in the stretch run as the Mariners try to chase down the Astros.

On Wednesday, we saw a version of Julio that more closely resembled the player with whom we had all fallen in love. He saw 20 pitches in four at-bats. He hit three of them hard. He had two hits, including a home run. He seemed more balanced in the box. He battled through his at bats. And, of course, there was a sliding catch and glance at the J-Rod Squad just for good measure. All it was missing was a couple of stolen bags.

“Unlocking Julio” has been among the most predominant themes of this season. Say what you want about their overall effectiveness, but the combination of Servais, former offensive coordinator Brant Brown, former hitting coach Jarret DeHart and Julio’s private hitting instructor Osvaldo Diaz have been unable to get this critical task done.

So when Julio spoke after his breakout performance on Wednesday and evoked the name of his new (Hall of Fame) hitting coach, it felt important.

“(Edgar Martinez has been) really helpful,” he said. “I feel like he has so much experience as a hitter, obviously like one of the best to ever do it, Hall of Famer and everything, and somebody that I respect a lot. He just had a lot of good pointers. Obviously, I listen. I’m happy that he’s around. He has good pointers for everybody and that’s something that I’m trying to take – I’m trying to take a little bit from him.”

Could those be generic platitudes that every player utters about a new coach, especially one as well respected as Edgar Martinez? Sure. But I am inclined to believe this one is real on account of one thing: Edgar has the credibility.

We talk often about how difficult it is to manage in the big leagues. Managers are asked to guide players who make more guaranteed money and sit securely in their spot, knowing they aren’t going anywhere and that they likely have more power than the manager (if they want to wield it). But coaches have their own challenges.

It’s one thing to help a young player who is trying anything to stick on the roster. But how do you help someone as talented as Julio? You might be so good at your job or have such great insight that you win him over. But, more likely, he knows that you simply can’t see the game at the level he sees it.

But Edgar doesn’t have that problem. The moment he walks into a room, you know what he accomplished. You know he hit his way into the Hall of Fame and did it with a career OPS of .933 (a number that would place him ninth in the league this year!). That level of achievement and consistency is staggering, and it compares pretty favorably to Julio’s .789 career OPS (and .670 this season!).

When Edgar talks, Julio should – and probably does – listen.

I don’t know what it’s like to be a young superstar, but I’d imagine one of the great challenges is learning who to let into your confidence. Who can you trust? Who has your best interest at heart? Who isn’t trying to take advantage of you? I’d guess you constantly have to be on alert and it can’t be easy. I wouldn’t blame any young star if it was hard to reach them.

I also don’t know what has been holding Julio back (though I have a theory that he needs to simply swing at fewer pitches). But if someone like Edgar can detect the problem, he should have the juice to get through, and enough credibility to get Julio to not only listen but try to implement the changes.

If that is the only thing that improves through this managerial and coaching change, it might be enough.

For years, we have heard about the glories of the 1995 Mariners. To someone who didn’t move here until 2009, it often felt like living in the past rather than creating the best future. Talking about the past doesn’t make you better. Reliving your historical victories doesn’t help you win today. Glorifying a season from nearly 30 years ago doesn’t improve your team.

But what if actually tapping into the players, personalities and lessons from that season can help with those things? Wilson was there, did experience it and does have lessons to teach from what he learned himself. His role in a successful moment does add credibility in a job that demands it as much as any other. Edgar was a key part of that season – and the key part of its biggest moment. The Mariners appear to finally using that to their advantage on the field rather than in our memories.

Baseball isn’t judged in one at-bat, one game, one week, or even a few months. But the Mariners have one month to get themselves sorted out and into the postseason. We don’t know today if Edgar or Dan are the right people for this job. But if they can reach and help Julio, it would go a long way.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Why Seattle Mariners’ offseason is an ‘easy fix’ according to ex-MLB GM
• Mariners Breakdown: Analyzing playoff picture after series win
• Seattle Mariners activate shortstop J.P. Crawford off IL
• Passan: The one thing that makes Mariners’ rotation phenomenal
• Did Brant Brown’s interview hint at problem for Seattle Mariners?

Follow @themikesalk