Mariners going with Jose Caballero over Kolten Wong at second base for now

ATLANTA — The Mariners have scrapped the platoon model at second base for the time being, opting to go with rookie Jose Caballero over veteran Kolten Wong despite facing right-handed starting pitchers in the series finale in Boston and Friday’s series opener vs. the Braves at Truist Park.

When Wong was out of the lineup Wednesday at Fenway Park, manager Scott Servais hinted toward a possible change, saying they were going with the player getting better results.

Caballero made the decision seem wise. In a lopsided loss where almost nobody performed up to expectations, he went 1 for 2 with a pair of walks while driving in a run and scoring a run.

During his weekly radio show on Seattle Sports 710-AM, which airs every Thursday morning, Jerry Dipoto, the Mariners president of baseball operations, discussed Wong’s struggles and the decision to plan to use Caballero more in the interim.

“Rough start,” Dipoto said. “It’s the whole body of work right now. It’s just been a struggle for him. Obviously, you saw last night that Cabby got a start against the right-handed pitcher. And you may see that more in the short term as we try to just give Kolten a chance to reset and get his season started in the way he’s accustomed to playing.”

Of the 36 second basemen in MLB with 100 plate appearances, Wong ranks last in terms of FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement at -0.6. He has a .177/.259/.208 slash line. That’s not what the Mariners expected when they acquired him this offseason from the Brewers in exchange for Jesse Winker and Abraham Toro.

“He’s been a really good player for the better part of a decade in this league,” Dipoto said. “I don’t think that is done, I don’t think that’s over. Clearly, he got off to a rough start, and he’s having a tough time reeling it in. Maybe just a breather will give him a chance to do just that. But it’s been the whole of his game that has been just off. He’s aware of that. And hopefully this is a chance to … just reset and just start over.”

Caballero, who was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handed pitcher Mike Leake at the MLB trade deadline in 2019, has generated 0.7 WAR in 26 games with a .298/.393/.362 slash line in 56 plate appearances.

“The biggest thing is Cabby’s played really well,” Servais said before Friday’s game. “I don’t want to lose sight of any of that stuff. Every time he’s out there, he does something to help us, whether it’s that crazy at-bat in Boston the other night in tough conditions, he finds a way. He’s going to get an opportunity to play. Kolten will get back in there. There’s no question about it. We’ve done this with other players in the past.”

The difference for Servais is that they don’t really know Wong that well since he joined the team this season.

“It’s not going to be, ‘OK, come over here and sit and watch the game for a while,’” Servais said. “You need to talk with the player and get insight from them. We don’t have much track record with Kolten. So it’s things that he’s done in the past to get himself going or making sure he’s in a good spot. That’s what we’re doing right now. Talking with him. Here’s kind of what we’re seeing, what have you done in the past, and then you try to ultimately put a plan together and then see where it takes us.”

Injury update

Dipoto offered an update on the health of reliever Andres Munoz, who suffered a setback in his recovery from a right deltoid strain. Munoz recently received a platelet-rich plasma injection in the shoulder to clear up inflammation.

“Munoz is in his throwing program,” Dipoto said. “My understanding is that if his throwing goes well over the next two days, he’ll progress toward his mound work and then start building up his pitch count to get ready to go out on a rehab assignment. So we’ll find out more in the next two days. It has gone very well for him since he had his PRP injection. We’ve taken very methodical steps to make sure that when Muni does get back here, he’s ready to do the things that Andres does.”

On tap

• The Braves were still listing their probable starting pitcher for Saturday’s game as “to be announced.” With injuries in their starting rotation, they could make a bullpen start or call-up lefty Dylan Dodd from Triple-A Gwinnett. The decision will likely be based on how much the bullpen is used in Friday night’s game.

• Saturday’s game vs. the Braves will be a Fox national broadcast (Ch. 13 in Seattle) with announcer Jason Benetti and analyst A.J. Pierzynski on the call. The game will have a 4:15 p.m. first pitch. The hourly forecast shows a thunderstorm rolling into Atlanta in the afternoon and remaining until late in the evening.