By Larry LaRue
The News Tribune
PEORIA, Ariz. – When the telephone call awakened Luis Ugueto from a sound sleep in Venezuela – a call that told him he might be headed to the major leagues for the first time – he did one any 23-year-old would do.
He went back to sleep.
“It was a friend who’d heard I’d been taken in the Rule V draft by the Mariners, and that to keep me they had to keep me on the 25-man roster,” Ugueto said Saturday. “I didn’t believe him.”
Next morning, his mother called and repeated the news.
More than two months later, the shortstop who has never played an inning above Class A ball is, indeed, in spring training with the Seattle Mariners – and they are, indeed, thinking of ways to keep him on the opening night roster.
“Our scouts love him,” manager Lou Piniella said. “He has soft hands, quick feet, a lot of arm and speed. A number of things have to happen for him to make the team, but he’s in a good position.”
There are a number of scenarios that would keep Ugueto a Mariner, and sending him to the minors probably isn’t one of them. All Rule V draftees must either stay on the major league roster or be offered back to their original team, in this case the Florida Marlins.
The only aspect of any of it that Ugueto can control is the first part.
“He has to show potential, make an impression, show us he can play a bit,” Piniella said.
Ugueto will also have to play a few positions – he’s working out at third base, second base and his natural position, shortstop. And the Mariners must break camp with 11 pitchers, not 12.
Or the Mariners will have to swing a deal, moving either reserve infielder Alex Arias or Desi Relaford, or reach an agreement with the Marlins that would send a player to Florida to keep Ugueto.
Is he worth all that?
“He’s ahead of the game defensively, his offense is coming along, and he’s not the 175-pound middle infielder I thought he might be,” coach Dave Myers said. “He’s a smart hitter, everything he’s hit so far has been a line drive or a ground ball.
“He’s a bit of a long shot, but I think he can play. If our scouts grabbed him out of A ball and thought he could play here, they had to see something.”
On paper, Ugueto doesn’t seem a can’t-miss prospect. Last year in Class A Brevard County, he batted .263 while striking out 96 times in 392 at-bats.
He stole 22 bases in 121 games – and committed 30 errors.
What was it the Mariners saw?
“Our scouts saw him playing winter ball, and he was the rookie of the year down there,” said Roger Jongewaard, Seattle’s assistant general manager. “He hit over .300 and looked like the real thing at shortstop.”
A switch-hitter with speed and a good glove, Ugueto appears to be a quick learner in camp. Whether listening to Myers talking about fielding or to Gerald Perry discussing hitting, Ugueto has made quick adjustments.
Three years ago, Ugueto was 5-foot-11 and 145 pounds. Today, he’s 6-feet tall and weighs 196 pounds, most of the added weight being muscle.
“He’s strong, he’s quick, he’s got lots of tools,” Jongewaard said.
So far, his biggest thrill in camp has been a simple one – meeting Ichiro Suzuki.
“I was like, ‘Damn!’ when we were introduced,” Ugueto said.
He doesn’t lack confidence.
“I can make this team,” he said. “I play hard, and that’s the way they
like it. Whatever happens, I’m going to give it my best.”
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