By Patrick
Hey! We're back! After quite a long and eventful weekend, Way Out is right back in the swing of things with a good old fashioned MMR. In the second installment of this (hopefully) recurring series, Mariner shortstop Brendan Ryan takes center stage. Let the frustration boil over and the tomatoes fly!
Last May, the Mariners thought they had grabbed a bonafide steal by nabbing Ryan for so far useless Maikel Cleto over the winter. One year later, the deal seems more curse than gift. Ryan had .248/.313/.326 splits in 2011 while playing pretty solid shortstop until a late season injury slowed him down. So far in 2012, Ryan's splits pale in comparison. No baseball player should hit .165, and the splits of .165/.288/.248 definitely leave something to be desired.
But honestly, what can the Mariners do about Ryan?
They can let him play through his slump, which they for the most part so far have, and hope he escapes his terrible stretch at the plate. Only problem is that those dead at bats he's been dishing out can really demoralize a young club building confidence. Unfortunately, the option to replace him look slim.
Option one is Munenori Kawasaki. However, in the limited time he's seen the field, Kawasaki has only six hits, all of them singles. This from the Cactus League batting champ (screw Spring Training). He's also 0-for-2 so far stealing bases, where Ryan is a perfect 2-for-2. Small sample size, but Moony is supposed to be better than Ryan in that respect.
So that option sucks so far. The only other legitimate possibility within the major league roster lies in a move that Eric Wedge employed at the end of last year with Ryan on the DL. Kyle Seager, the clubs third baseman, could move to shortstop, and Alex Liddi could start taking everyday reps at third. This option sucks too, since Liddi isn't quite ready for that big of role and having Seager adjust to a position change could affect his incredible hitting so far in 2012. Don't fix it, 'cause it ain't broke with Kyle Seager.
The Mariners could try and make a move for a free agent or veteran shortstop, but that would only really be a stop gap, whereas an improvement from Ryan could help for years to come.
Fortunately, a patient Mariners organization has a solid option for 2013 and maybe even the end of 2012. Nick Franklin, a 21-year old from Sanford, FL currently plays shortstop for the deepest minor league team in baseball, the Jackson Generals, the Mariners' AA affiliate.
So far in 2012, Franklin is hitting .339/.394/.522 with 2 homers and 16 RBIs. Fifteen of his 39 hits have gone for extra bases. He has done almost all of this damage from his natural spot in the batting order, the two-hole. All of this sounds like heaven to an M's offense lacking in all of these areas.
But Franklin still sits in Jackson. Even if the Rainiers called him up tomorrow, he probably wouldn't come up until July, and that would be too fast. Realistically, Franklin's ETA is September. Which means, the Mariners have to make do with their major league talent for the next four months.
Brendan Ryan has sucked in 2012. Unfortunately, the Mariners are helpless against his poor play, because they don't have any sort of quality immediate depth in the middle infield. The Mariners will have to either go out and commit more money to a veteran free agent or stick with Ryan as their primary 6-man for basically the rest of the year.
Those choices suck. But really, there's not much they can do. Ryan should still keep his job since there are no valid alternatives. Plus, he plays fantastic, run-saving defense and has an irrationally high OBP, which shows he's at least being patient at the plate and walking a ton.
While I hate Brendan Ryan as much as the next Mariner fan, nobody in the organization can do what he does as well as he does it. Yeah, he hasn't done it well in 2012. But Wedge has to keep giving him chances, because if Ryan somehow does snap his slump, he could play a big role in a resurgent Mariner team in 2013 and give the potential stud Franklin ample time to mature. Go M's
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