Julio taking a page out of Edgar's book, looking for extra spring reps

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- There¡¯s a more pointed strategy for Julio Rodríguez this spring to ensure that he surges out of the chute once the regular season begins:

Keep the at-bats coming.

The Mariners¡¯ star center fielder is seeking more opportunities than in years past to see live pitching, from live batting practice in the back fields to playing deeper into games despite it being so early in the Cactus League slate.

¡°At the end of the day, this is Spring Training and this doesn't really count for the season,¡± Rodr¨ªguez said. ¡°But the only thing that counts for the season is the amount of reps that you get, the preparation that you do. And I feel like this is really the big, big point of emphasis for everybody in this group right now.¡±

Rodr¨ªguez ripped his first hit of 2025 in Tuesday¡¯s 11-5 win over the Dodgers at Camelback Ranch, a 112.4 mph double into the right-center gap that was emblematic of his best.

In 1-0 count against reliever Carson Hobbs -- and after a brief conferral with home-plate umpire Malachi Moore over a disengagement dispute -- the slugger jumped all over a 93.9 mph, low-and-away fastball and sent it screaming to the wall on one hop to plate two runs. He also struck out against Blake Snell in his first plate appearance and pulled a lineout to left before departing in the top of the sixth.

¡°It's not just about the middle of the field -- it is -- but it's finding the right intensity with the swing,¡± Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. ¡°And oftentimes, we get big when we get into bigger situations in the game, so it's finding that happy medium where we can stay, the old saying, 'Stay within yourself,' and find that right tempo and use the whole field, and that's what we saw.¡±

Yesterday, Rodr¨ªguez squared off against Andr¨¦s Mu?oz in live BP with virtually the entire front office and coaching staff observing. That session was more of a highlight for Seattle¡¯s All-Star closer -- who unveiled his new ¡°kick changeup¡± to hitters for the first time -- though Rodr¨ªguez also ripped a 100 mph fastball to the wall to catch attention.

¡°I¡¯m trying to get more reps, prepare myself a little bit better to hit the ground running,¡± Rodr¨ªguez said. ¡°There¡¯s no better training in the league than against the pitchers that we¡¯ve got over here.¡±

At this time last year, Rodr¨ªguez was still laboring through left hand inflammation and easing into action. He didn¡¯t make his Cactus debut until March 2 and wound up getting 33 at-bats before Opening Day. It¡¯s not like that was an inadequate volume, but given that he¡¯s fully healthy this spring -- and that he has a track record of starting slower in the regular season -- there¡¯s more of an emphasis on each at-bat.

For his career, Rodr¨ªguez has a slash line of .238/.296/.347 (.643 OPS) in March/April and compared to .286/.342/.493 (.835 OPS) from May on. Part of that could certainly be a correlation to playing in the cooler months at T-Mobile Park, which MLB.com recently detailed as the league¡¯s least hitter-friendly environment.

¡°I don't want to carry anything from behind, just to set that straight, because I don't want to have lingering things or keep talking about old things,¡± Rodr¨ªguez said. ¡°At this moment right now, I feel good.¡±

The Mariners appear to be all on board with Rodr¨ªguez¡¯s intentions this spring, too.

Edgar Martinez, Seattle¡¯s director of hitting strategy, notoriously took extra at-bats in Minor League spring games throughout his Hall of Fame career, even roving from multiple games in the same day. Martinez and Rodr¨ªguez have obviously become quite close since the leadership change last August that saw Martinez rejoin Seattle¡¯ coaching staff.

¡°If guys do feel like they need some more, they want some more ABs, it's a good opportunity to go down there,¡± Wilson said. ¡°They can lead off every inning and get four or five at-bats over the course of the first five innings of a game. So we'll just kind of monitor that and see how guys are feeling about it, but that is definitely a way we can get them more work and when there aren't as many at bats in [Cactus] games.¡±

Tuesday¡¯s double was just one hit, but also a positive sign for a prominent player making a pointed effort to get better.