Seattle Mariners Rumors: Mike Zunino Demoted, Fernando Rodney Traded By Mariners


Seattle Mariners rumors confirm the front office is finally making huge changes. These Mariners rumors began with a Fernando Rodney trade, continued with Jack Zduriencik getting fired, and culminated with Mike Zunino getting demoted. A report from the Seattle Times has the Mariners sending Zunino to Triple-A Tacoma and calling up John Hicks as his replacement at catcher. It was a move many Mariners fans had thought would come much earlier in the 2015 MLB season.

Zunino will have to work on his swing, as he really struggled at the plate this season. Before getting demoted, Zunino was hitting just .174 for the team, despite being really good behind the plate and with the pitching staff. It is highly likely that he gets called up again when the MLB rosters expand, but Zunino is getting a short “mental break” from the stresses of being at the highest level.

A report from ESPN covered other Seattle Mariners rumors, these ones about how Fernando Rodney is going to be used with his new team. The Mariners traded the former closer to the Chicago Cubs, where manager Joe Maddon says that they will be giving him a “soft landing.” Rodney actually pitched for Maddon when both were with the Tampa Bay Rays. If anyone can find Rodney’s talent again, it could be Maddon. He was an All-Star with the Rays, but seemed to lose something on the mound during the current season.

The news out of Seattle has been dominated by general manager Jack Zduriencik getting fired, proving that the franchise is ready to head in a new direction. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the team is working on a long-term replacement, but the search might go into the baseball offseason. Some MLB analysts are calling the situation a “mess” in Seattle, with a Minor League system that doesn’t have nearly as much talent as some other organizations.

The team is already looking a lot different from how it did in the month of July, with Brad Miller playing outfield and Ketel Marte getting the nod almost every day as the starting shortstop. Now the team has new faces in the bullpen and a new catcher in John Hicks as well, all with the hope that the new players can prove something down the stretch. These Seattle Mariners rumors are definitely putting the team back on the front page, but there is a lot of work still to be done by a new general manager.

[Image Source: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images]

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