The Seattle Mariners are going through some tough times this season and after sending former number two overall pick down to the minors to work on his hitting, Dustin Ackley will be playing some outfield and that could be his ticket back to the majors.
Acciordnig to the Seattle Times, the team is playing Ackley in the outfield at left and center at Triple-A Tacoma, as the team brought up rookie Nick Franklin to take over second base for now and with him there and the outfield bench thin, they feel Ackley can back to the majors that way. Ackley struggled hitting all season and since he has gone down to Triple-A he is hitting over .400 and it might be time for him to move back up. He previously played the outfield in college and he will be back there for a little bit of time as the Mariners try to pull themselves out of the bottom of the AL west.
The team also brought up catcher Mike Zunino from the 2012 draft after dealing with injuries and now Ackley, Franklin and Zunino could all end up with the major league club at the same time soon. The Mariners also signed first round pick DJ Peterson, a player they drafted first out of high school, to a contract with a $2.7 million signing bonus.
The team is happy to have Peterson, who played at the University of New Mexico and had a great year while hitting .408/.520/.807 with 18 homers and 72 RBI in 55 games and he is just 21-years-old.
"I think it's good for Dustin," GM Jack Zduriencik said. " We've always talked about that. You never know what will happen. Versatility is a good thing. Right now, we spoke to him yesterday, asked him to take balls in the outfield, and he's wide open to it. It's great. He took balls in center field yesterday, took balls in left field, and tonight he's starting in left."
