The Seattle Mariners will play their first night game of the spring against the San Diego Padres at 5:40 p.m. PT on Friday at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Ariz.
The first night game of big league camp will also be the first start for of the Mariners key signings of the offseason.
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Donovan Solano will get his first game action in a Seattle uniform and will start at third base for the squad against the Padres, who he played for last year.
Solano, who’s entering his 14th season in the majors, signed with the Mariners in January on a one-year, $3.5 million deal. He was signed to be a platoon-mate for Luke Raley at first base, which makes his start at third interesting.
Seattle brought back last season’s starting second baseman, Jorge Polanco, on a one-year, $7 million deal to play third base. Polanco underwent offseason surgery to repair a damaged left patellar tendon.
Solano is a versatile infielder who’s played the majority of his career at second. But he also has 715.2 career innings registered at third.
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Polanco is yet to suit up in spring training. And the Mariners added another wrinkle to their infield picture when they signed slugging first baseman Rowdy Tellez to a minor league deal. Tellez will start at first against San Diego.
Polanco’s absence of game is likely precautionary for Seattle. On top of his knee issue, he dealt with hamstring problems in 2024. Seattle manager Dan Wilson said earlier in the week that Polanco hasn’t experienced any setbacks and simply needs more practice reps. He’s been taking live batting practice this week.
Tellez getting reps at first also makes sense considering it’s the only position he plays on defense. Raley left spring training several days ago due to the birth of his child. Raley’s temporary departure left the team with few options outside of prospects to play first.
The Mariners could simply be going with a lineup that makes sense that would give Solano playing time and Tellez meaningful reps.
Solano starting at third could be nothing. Or it could be an indication on how Seattle views the depth at the position.
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