Notebook: Mariners aren’t looking to change new LHP Yusei Kikuchi

There aren’t many familiar faces for Mariners manager Scott Servais at the team’s spring training in Peoria, Ariz.

Photo gallery: Mariners pitchers and catchers hit the field

“We have a lot of new people here,” Servais said during a session with the media Tuesday, the first day of workouts for Mariners pitchers and catchers. “There’s 34 pitchers in the room today. I looked over the roster and 18 have never had Mariners jerseys on before.”

One of those players is Yusei Kikuchi, a 27-year-old left-hander who is making his first foray into Major League Baseball after eight pro seasons in his native Japan. And Kikuchi just happens to be one of the players Servais is most intrigued with early on in Peoria.

“Got to see YK throw a bullpen the other day,” said the Mariners skipper. “Really impressed with how he goes about it. Very routine-oriented, which most Japanese players are, but very into the numbers, the data, the tech – he wants to get better.”

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Better doesn’t mean different, however. Servais stressed that the Mariners don’t want to see Kikuchi fall into a trap like other Major League hurlers from Japan.

“We love YK, that’s why we signed him. We don’t want him to change, and I think sometimes players come over and they think they have to do things a little bit differently. He doesn’t,” Servais said. “He’s been a very successful pitcher in Japan; I suspect he will have a lot of success here. We just gotta let him be who he is.”

Letting Kikuchi be who he is factors into another aspect that Servais is happy about with his new southpaw.

“I’m excited to have him in our clubhouse. He’s very outgoing. He speaks the language, he wants to learn, he wants to be a good teammate, so I’m really excited to see how it plays out for him.”

And of course there’s that other reason the Mariners signed Kikuchi to a contract.

“He’s got great stuff, there’s no doubt about that,” Servais added.

Poetry in motion. pic.twitter.com/0Gt4I752Vx

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) February 13, 2019

Watching the bullpen closely

The biggest area of unknown for the Mariners this spring is the bullpen, and Servais shone a light on that with his comments Tuesday.

“It will be one of the things we watch closely this spring, is how the makeup of that bullpen comes together,” Servais said.

The Mariners entered 2018 with things a lot more concrete with their relievers. But with Edwin Díaz now a New York Met and several other key bullpen arms elsewhere in the MLB, there will be a lot of moving parts with the bullpen in 2019.

“It’s certainly a lot different. Last year we were set at the back end of our bullpen; not so much this spring,” Servais said. “It’s a great opportunity we have for a lot of guys to step forward. Some of the guys that are in-house candidates – getting Dan Altavilla back and healthy for a full year, seeing what the Matt Festas can do when they’re given a real opportunity. And then we’ve signed some guys – the Hunter Stricklands, the Cory Gearrins, the Zac Rosscups – to come in and help solidify the bullpen.”

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Anthony Swarzak update

Somebody who is expected to take a major role in the bullpen is 33-year-old right-hander Anthony Swarzak, who came to Seattle in the trade that sent Díaz to the Mets. The Mariners weren’t expecting that to be immediate, however, as Swarzak is recovering from a shoulder injury, but Servais had good news on Tuesday that Swarzak is playing catch and ahead of his original schedule.

“He’s gonna be behind a little bit, maybe not as far as we thought,” Servais said. “Really happy where he’s at. He’s not up throwing bullpens yet so he’ll be a little behind everybody else. Will he be ready to go once we head to Tokyo (to play Oakland March 20-21)? I don’t know, I hope so, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”

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