While the Mariners boast improved depth at a number of positions, there are very few wide-open competitions in Cactus League play. But that doesn’t mean they are without any.
There’s the fifth starter spot, a few bullpen positions, the right-handed platoon at first base and then the utility infielder role—the competition for which Luis Sardinas finds himself in the thick of.
Ketel Marte comes to camp as the assumed 2016 Opening Day shortstop, but he’s not going to play all 162 games. So the Mariners—like all teams—need an infielder who’s capable of playing the keystone position. That’s where Sardinas, the 22-year-old out of Venezuela, has the potential to fit in.