Abraham Toro’s torrid start

Revue de presse

BY TYLER WICKE, THE NEWS TRIBUNE, AUGUST 09

Minutes after taking batting practice and finishing a pregame meal, Abraham Toro was called into Astros manager Dusty Baker Jr.’s office. He had been traded to the Mariners, the team he had prepared to play against that night. And because they were already inside T-Mobile Park on July 27, Toro packed his bags and walked across the field.

From that point on, the newly-acquired Mariner would spend the following two weeks not only at a new position, but as one of the most valuable hitters in baseball.

In his first game in a Mariner uniform, Toro hit a ninth-inning, pinch-hit homer against the team he arrived at the stadium with. He became the first player in major league history to homer in the same ballpark on consecutive nights on different ball clubs.

Toro was only getting started.

Photo ci-dessus : Seattle Mariners’ Abraham Toro (13) shakes hands with third base coach Manny Acta (14) after his solo home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Luis Patino during the fourth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

In his first 10 games with Seattle, Toro amassed a .432 batting average, and reached base at a .488 clip. He mashed three homers, drove in six runs, and was considered the third-most valuable hitter in baseball over that span, per FanGraphs.

“To come here and just have the chance to play every day and just show what kind of player I can be… it’s having a lot of confidence in me and letting me do my thing,” Toro said during Seattle’s east-coast road trip. “That’s what I like a lot over here.”

His playing time with Houston before the trade was patchy. An Astros infield composed of Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, and Jose Altuve log jammed Toro’s progression to everyday play, and the 24-year-old appeared in only 35 games as a result.

Seattle’s front office found an opening. Dylan Moore and Shed Long Jr., for the majority of the season, platooned the position. The acquisition of Toro filled two needs; to upgrade the roster without trading future prospects, and to stay young as the team reaches what they hope is a window for playoff contention.

The Mariners no longer resemble a team that was once so reliant on the top of their order earlier this year.

“We started plugging Toro in there at the five hole, and then Fraley comes up and then you get the younger guys,” Servais said. “The Kelenic’s, the Raleigh’s, and you mix Torrens or Murph, whoever is in there at the bottom. Now you’ve got real depth, and it’s not just leaning so heavily on those guys at the top.”

But the acquisition of Toro brought a new challenge for the infielder: a transition from his natural position of third base. With Kyle Seager as an anchor at the hot corner in Seattle for over a decade, Toro would have to play second, a position he had only played once in his big league career.

Before every game, Toro spends time with infield coach Perry Hill to ease the transition. In Tampa Bay, Servais noticed him taking pregame drills from Hill in a hallway underneath Tropicana Field.

Through Saturday, Toro had yet to make an error in 33 defensive chances after spending 77.2 innings at his new position.

“(It’s) been more of a short-arm... throw to first, instead of that long throw when I’m at third base,” Toro said. “I’m working on that, and also with the transfer from the double play and trying to be quick instead of just throwing the ball hard.”

What stood out Servais in the opening weeks of Toro’s Seattle career was his calm demeanor. He gets in the batter’s box, and he’s not in a hurry. He trusts his eyes, and his swing stays in the strike zone.

“And the fact that he can switch-hit, he’s a tough guy to match up against no matter who you’re putting out there,” Servais said.