Rainiers Reveal 2018 Opening Day Roster

TACOMA, Wash. -- The Tacoma Rainiers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, today revealed their Opening Day roster in preparation for the club's lid-lifter against the Sacramento River Cats this Thursday, April 5 at Cheney Stadium.
Tacoma's veteran-heavy roster boasts 20 players with nearly 2,600 combined games of Major League experience - the group is led by returning infielder Gordon Beckham , who has logged 964 games across time with the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, San Francisco Giants, and Seattle.

View the entire Opening Day roster HERE.

The 24-man roster also features three of the Mariners Top 25 prospects, as ranked by Baseball America. The crop of top prospects is headlined by right-handed pitcher Max Povse , who checks in at No. 6. He is joined by fellow right-handed pitcher Rob Whalen at No. 15 and outfielder Ian Miller at No. 19. All three prospects spent time with the Rainiers in 2017.
Whalen and Povse comprise half of the Rainiers Opening Day starting pitchers. The four-man rotation also includes southpaw Aríel Miranda - who made 29 starts for the Mariners in 2017 - and right-hander Christian Bergman , who collected 13 wins last season, nine of which came with Tacoma.
Right-hander Mike Morin leads an experienced bullpen with exactly 500 Major League appearances among them. In addition to his 183 big league relief appearances, Morin owns 37 career minor league saves and a 3.38 ERA. Dario Álvarez , the lone left-hander in the Rainiers Opening Day bullpen, made 20 appearances for the Texas Rangers in 2017, going 2-0 with a 2.76 ERA.
The bullpen is rounded out by right-handers Shawn Armstrong , Chasen Bradford , Ryan Cook , Erik Goeddel , Ashton Goudeau , Pat Light , and Josh Smith . Light, the only returning reliever from Tacoma's 2017 campaign, saw 12 relief appearances at Cheney Stadium last year.
Tuffy Gosewisch and Garrett Kennedy will serve as the club's two catchers to open the season. Gosewisch led the Rainiers with 69 starts last year and threw out 31.3 percent (20 CS, 44 SB) of attempted base stealers.
Local product Matt Hague will help anchor the Tacoma infield. The 32-year-old native of Bellevue, Washington was a two-way standout at Kentwood High School and played collegiately for three seasons at the University of Washington. Hague spent the 2017 season with Triple-A Rochester in the pitcher-friendly International League, where he hit .297 with 64 runs and 65 RBI in 136 games.
Returners Taylor Motter and Danny Muno , along with newcomer Zach Vincej , complete the infield. Motter and Muno combined for 15 home runs and 51 RBI with the Rainiers last season. Vincej was claimed off waivers from Cincinnati in November 2017.
Tacoma's outfield in 2018 features a pair of quick-footed base stealers in Miller and former Chicago Cubs farmhand John Andreoli , who finished last year tied for first in the Pacific Coast League with 26 stolen bases. Between the two are 403 career swiped bags. Polishing off the outfield and the roster are Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Cameron Perkins .
Manager Pat Listach returns for a fourth season to lead the Rainiers and will be assisted by pitching coach Lance Painter and hitting coach Dave Berg.
Tacoma's season-opener against Sacramento is slated for this Thursday, April 5 at Cheney Stadium with a first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. PT.
All season ticket options, group outings, and suite packages for the club's 2018 season are available now and can be purchased by calling the Tacoma Rainiers front office today at (253) 752-7707. Single-game tickets can be purchased over the phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at TacomaRainiers.com. The most up-to-date news and notes about the Tacoma Rainiers leading up to the 2018 season can be found by following the club on Twitter (@RainiersLand) and liking the team on Facebook.