Inside The Mariners

Seattle Mariners Make Major Shakeup to Lineup on Heels of Major Trade Acquisition

The Mariners made major changes to their lineup for the first of a four-game series against the Texas Rangers.
Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Eugenio Suarez gets ready to hit against the Houston Astros on July 22 at Chase Field.
Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Eugenio Suarez gets ready to hit against the Houston Astros on July 22 at Chase Field. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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SEATTLE — The trade deadline is officially over, and the Seattle Mariners are ready to tackle the last 53 games of the season head-on after key additions.

The Mariners' last deal was for All-Star third baseman Eugenio Suarez on Wednesday.

Suarez will suit up for Seattle, the team he played for from 2022-23, in the first of a four-game series against the Texas Rangers at 6:40 p.m. PT on Thursday at T-Mobile Park. The Mariners entered Thursday tied with the Rangers for the final American League Wild Card spot and for second-place in the AL West.

Left fielder Randy Arozarena will lead-off, catcher Cal Raleigh will bat second, center fielder Julio Rodriguez will hit third, first baseman Josh Naylor will bat cleanup, Suarez will bat fifth, designated hitter Jorge Polanco was penciled in the six-hole, right fielder Dominic Canzone will bat seventh, shortstop J.P. Crawford will hit eighth and second baseman Cole Young will bat ninth.

"This is the best lineup we've had since I've been here," Seattle president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said in a pregame news scrum. "Without question. When you look up on a given night, you have (Polanco) hitting seventh, who's rocking something near an .800 OPS. ... Dom Canzone, who I think has been legitimately good since the day we brought him back from Tacoma, hitting down at the bottom of the order (and) Cole Young, who I think has been among the top 10 of hitters at his position since the end of his first week in the big leagues.

"That's a good bottom of your lineup. And we can left-right in the middle, you got switch-hitters. ... I think right now — and this is without adding (Suarez) into the mix until today — we were really the only team in the American League to be top in the three in the league in wRC+, home runs and stolen bases. We have a lot of offensive talent."

The Mariners also shuffled the lineup around Suarez. Crawford has been the team's lead-off hitter for most of the season. Arozarena has spent most of the year batting cleanup.

"When I saw it before I got here, and I see the lineup, it's one of the best in the league right now," Suarez said in a pregame news conference Thursday. "It's a tough lineup right now. But this game is hard and we're gonna try to make it easy. Like I always say, it's not about names. It's about going outside, competing, 27 outs and try and win games. And that's got to be our mentality every day."

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