EVERETT — The Everett AquaSox’s Northwest League season begins tonight when they travel to face the Spokane Indians.
However, their final workout in preparation of the season Monday afternoon was overshadowed by news from a little higher up in the organization.
Everett’s parent team, the Seattle Mariners, fired general manager Bill Bavasi on Monday. And although the short-season Class A AquaSox are, at least figuratively, a long way from the Seattle, the news still carries impact.
For the players the news was just beginning to trickle in Monday — outfielder Tyson Gillies didn’t know Bavasi had been fired until asked about it early in the evening.
But for the coaching staff the news came a little harder.
“We feel very bad because Bill Bavasi is a great guy,” AquaSox manager Jose Moreno said. “For the last two or three years he’s done a real good job. He took care of the Latin American programs, that’s something I felt real good about. Hopefully he’ll get a new job in a different place.
“But we try to stay away from that because we’re in the minor leagues,” Moreno added. “We need to keep focused and we have a job to do, trying to develop these kids.”
That development begins in earnest tonight, and when the game begins a familiar face will take the ball on the mound for the Sox. Right-hander Doug Salinas, who spent all of last season with the Sox, will get the start.
Salinas, from Ciudad Bolivar in Venezuela, is still just a kid at 19. As an 18-year-old he survived the entire season in Everett’s rotation, though his numbers weren’t pretty. In 15 starts he finished 2-8 with a 5.91 ERA.
But Salinas’ experience in this league made him an ideal candidate for the opening-day start.
“Douglas has been doing a real good job,” Moreno said. “He was at extended spring training and you can tell that he’s mature right now. He’s still working on some things, but his velocity is getting better and he throws strikes. He’s one of the guys who’s ready to go and I think he’ll do a real good job (today).”
Salinas will be followed in the rotation by right-handers Walter Suriel and Robbie Dominguez, left-hander Eddy Fernandez and right-hander Kenta Suda. However, that rotation may not last long.
“Our hands are a little tied with who’s able to start,” Everett pitching coach Jack Uhey said. “We pretty much had to make the starting rotation based on guys who have been stretched out to four or five innings. We’re still expecting three or four more guys from the draft and more than likely all those guys will be starters.”
Uhey also said no decision has been made yet on a closer.
As for the lineup, Sunday’s 12-2 exhibition victory over the semipro Everett Merchants served as a pointer toward projected roles. The speedy Gillies is expected to be Everett’s leadoff man, while corner-infield candidates Nate Tenbrink, Manelik Pimentel and Brandon Fromm are expected to provide power in the middle of the order.
“Watching the last two or three days during (batting practice) I didn’t know most of the guys we had from the draft,” Moreno said. “But now I have a better idea and it looked like the lineup worked very well (Sunday).”
Much of Everett’s team, including Moreno, won a championship with Peoria of the rookie Arizona League last season. They hope to repeat that accomplishment in the Northwest League this season.
“We’re ready for the season to start,” Fromm said. “Everybody gets along great. We had a team last year that got along well. Statistically we weren’t the best at anything, but we won it all and the chemistry is just as good this year, if not better.”
The opening series in Spokane lasts five games. The Sox return to Everett for their home opener on Sunday against Boise.
New additions: Everett added two players to its roster Monday, one name familiar and one name new.
Outfielder Kevin Reynolds, who played 36 games for Everett in 2006, is joining the team today. The 25-year-old from St. Peters, Missouri, had been playing for Seattle’s double-A affiliate in West Tennessee, batting .219 in 12 games. His presence gives the Sox a spare outfielder as Everett previously had just three on the roster.
Infielder Scott Savastano, who was in uniform Monday, is fresh off helping Franklin Pierce to the NCAA Division II title. A 28th-round pick in this year’s draft, the 22-year-old native of Plymouth, Mass., appeared in 58 games for the Ravens this spring, batting .390 with nine home runs and 45 RBI.
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