OAKLAND — In the throes of the most frustrating season of his major-league career, and not long after he committed a costly error Wednesday, Mariners left fielder Jesse Winker opened up about his struggles this season.
In a near-empty visiting clubhouse in the Oakland Coliseum, after the Mariners dropped a 2-1 decision to the A’s, Winker spoke at length about his struggles, especially on defense.
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“This isn’t what I come to the field to perform like,” Winker said. “I want to help the team win. And as of late, I haven’t been.”
Winker, who is hitting .216 this season, made his third error of the season Wednesday and it came in the A’s two-run seventh inning. After reliever Erik Swanson walked Jordan Diaz to begin the inning, Vimael Machin lined a ball the other way down the left-field line and toward the corner.
Winker appeared to get to the ball in time to cut it off before it got to the wall, but it squirted past him, allowing Diaz to score all the way from first base for a 1-0 lead. The A’s added a second run later in the inning.
“Really, I just missed it,” Winker said. “I wasn’t expecting that. It just took a weird hop and I missed it. It happens. Unfortunately, stuff like this has happened to me before.”
“I don’t know if it’s a cliché answer, but it’s baseball, as weird as it is.”
Going into Wednesday’s game, Winker had the second-worst DRS (defensive runs saved) for any outfielder in baseball with over 700 innings in the field (negative-15), according to FieldingBible.com, trailing Andrew Vaughn of the White Sox (negative-17). Winker has played in 200 more innings in the field than Vaughn.
Winker posted a negative-5 in DRS last season with the Reds. He was, essentially, a league-average left fielder the previous two seasons. But he’s struggled with routes and plays at or near the wall this season.
“It’s been a struggle for him recently. With where we’re at in the season, we have made defensive replacements late in games when we do have a lead. It was a 0-0 game there late. That’s a play that typically should be made,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said.
“It’s something we’ll continue to look at.”
PINCH HIT VIMAEL FOR THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/M12dbvRvPC
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) September 22, 2022
The Mariners have replaced Winker several times late in games for defensive purposes, and that certainly could become more prevalent over these final 14 games of the regular season. Or the Mariners could go a different direction entirely.
On Wednesday, the Mariners recalled outfielder Jarred Kelenic from Triple-A Tacoma. Kelenic is a better defensive player, has a strong arm and arrived in Oakland late Tuesday after getting 53 extra-base hits with Tacoma. He was hitting .350 in his last 21 games for the Rainiers.
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The Mariners, who have lost five of their last six games on this 10-game road trip, need some help offensively and, in particular, left field in terms of defense. They are four games clear of the Orioles for the third and final wild-card spot in the American League with 14 games remaining.
As for Winker, he vowed to keep trying to get better.
“You just keep running back out there. I believe in myself. It’s not a lack of belief. It’s just sometimes these things string together,” he said. “I have been around for a few years and I know it can turn. That’s what you hang on to.
“I’ve been on the other side of it where I’ve carried teams. But not right now.”
The Mariners are 81-67 and close out their series in Oakland on Thursday. Then it’s off to Kansas City for three games before heading home. It’s been a memorable season for the Mariners, who are 52-28 since dropping to 29-39 on June 19 after a loss to the Angels.
But it’s been a grind for Winker from April to now, with little respite.
“It’s not about me and my lack of success, is how I look at it,” Winker said. “We’ve had an outstanding season here. There’s been a lot of guys who have really played well. I want to help the team win. That’s why I’m here. But sometimes you don’t.
“As much as that’s a tough pill to swallow, that’s the reality of this game.”
(Photo of Jesse Winker from April: Nick Wosika / USA Today)