2 weeks Ago
For someone with just 32 games of professional experience, 19-year old shortstop Felnin Celesten has created quite a buzz. Since signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2023 for $4.7 million, the highest bonus the franchise has ever paid for an international amateur, Celesten has provided Seattle with exciting glimpses of talent—when healthy.
After missing 2023, Celesten was plagued with injuries again in 2024, this time a bad hamstring and season-ending hamate bone surgery. But when he was in the lineup, he hit .352/.
431/.568 with three home runs in 144 plate appearances in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League. “I’ve been just incredibly excited about it,” Mariners minor league hitting coordinator C.
J. Gillman said. “It’s just more expectation management.
Every time the kid touches the field, he’s electric. And so the fact that he’s missed a couple chunks of time has been, I think, really hard on him.” Gillman’s biggest challenge is keeping Celesten present at the moment.
He’s got plenty of pop, but Gillman doesn’t want Celesten to try too hard to hit for power so he can get to the big leagues sooner. “My job is to help him recognize all those things, compartmentalize all those things, and understand that the best way to get there the fastest is to just get better today and just stack a good brick,” Gillman said. “You’ll get there when you’re supposed to get there.
” It isn’t often a player as young as Celesten shows such promise and polished skills. In fact, Gillman could only think of one other player he has worked with who has stood out at such a young age. “Just Julio ( Rodriguez ),” Gillman said.
“Julio is a pretty solid example of a guy who was obviously a very good player the whole time, but just continually got better. You don’t know when the popcorn is going to pop, but you look at it and you know it’s coming.” MARINADE — The Mariners are inviting several of their top prospects to big league spring training, including shortstops Colt Emerson and Cole Young , catcher Harry Ford , righthander Logan Evans , outfielder Lazaro Montes , third baseman Ben Williamson and second baseman Brock Rodden .
— When the Mariners signed second baseman Jorge Polanco on Feb. 3, they designated for assignment Cade Marlowe to make room on the 40-man roster. The outfielder hit .
236/.342/.395 with 13 homers in 90 games for Triple-A Tacoma last season and had appeared in 42 total big league games in 2023 and 2024.
— The Mariners also designated lefthander Jhonathan Diaz for assignment on Feb. 3, soon after acquiring righthander Casey Legumina from the Reds for cash considerations. Diaz pitched 9.
2 innings for Seattle last season. — Seattle signed righthander Shintaro Fujinami on Jan. 30 to a minor league contract.
He has a 7.18 ERA in 64 career big leagues games, split between Oakland and Baltimore in 2023..
