EVERETT — It was a skeleton crew of Everett AquaSox that took the field at Everett Memorial Stadium Tuesday afternoon under threatening skies that never did open up for the team’s first official workout of the 2016 season.
The majority of Tuesday’s participants arrived the day prior from extended spring training at the Seattle Mariners’ complex in Peoria, Ariz. The number is expected to grow as other 2016 draftees assemble for Wednesday’s exhibition game against the Everett Merchants at 7:05 p.m. ahead of Friday’s short-season Class A Northwest League opener at Tri-City. The AquaSox open the home portion of their season June 23 against the Boise Hawks.
“The draft guys are kind of trickling in here, so hopefully we’ll have them by the end of this week and just kind of pick it up from there,” said Frogs manager Rob Mummau, who is in the second year of his second stint and fourth season overall as Everett’s manager.
Joining Mummau on this year’s coaching staff is pitching coach Moises Hernandez — brother of Mariners ace Felix — and hitting coach Brian Hunter, a former Mariners outfielder and Vancouver, Wash., native who is in his second year with Everett.
“We’re super excited,” Hunter said. “The guys have been working so hard playing in spring training, and doing extended spring training in 115-degree heat is not easy at all. They’re really paying their dues.”
There was another face familiar to Mariners fans of yesteryear at Tuesday’s workout as former Seattle catcher Dan Wilson made the trip north from the Emerald City. Wilson is the Mariners’ roving defensive coordinator and this is the first of several stints he’ll have with the AquaSox this season.
“This is always an exciting time of year when the short season teams crank it up and we get some new faces in the organization,” Wilson said. “It’s fun to get them underway and get them playing.”
The coaching staff put the players through the paces Tuesday, including ground balls, fly balls, pitchers’ fielding practice and batting practice. The workout was relatively light as most of the players and coaches are familiar with one another after spending the past two months together in Arizona.
Pitchers Luiz Gohara and Lane Ratliff, and catcher Yojhan Quevedo return after playing in Everett last season. They will be joined by a number of other players who spent last season with Peoria in the Arizona League as well as the incoming draft picks.
Mariners first-rounder Kyle Lewis and third-rounder Bryson Brigman are widely expected to be with the club by the weekend, but there has been no official confirmation.
The players took part in a barbeque for season ticket holders Tuesday evening in advance of Wednesday night’s exhibition game against the Merchants of the Pacific International League.
It all gets underway for real on at 7:15 p.m. Friday at Gesa Stadium in Pasco.
“You definitely remember what it was like for you, coming out of the draft and being excited and kind of nervous and all that stuff at the same time,” Wilson said. “But these guys have come in and are ready to play, and I think that’s what’s exciting. They’ll crank it up over in Tri-Cities and they’ll have quite a few butterflies, I’m sure, but this is where it begins for a lot of these guys.”
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