To many around baseball, he’s inching closer to becoming yet another cautionary tale of a talented player filled with potential who is unaware he’s squandering it.
It’s left the Mariners questioning his desire to be something more than he already is as a player. And until he proves to them otherwise, he won’t be considered part of their immediate future or beyond.
“It’s up to him,” Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said. “I have zero expectations for Jesus Montero. Any expectations I had are gone.”
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It should have been a seminal offseason for Montero. The disappointment of 2013 should have offered the ultimate motivation. Most players would’ve used the offseason to prepare like they’ve never prepared before and come to camp ready to atone for the past failures.
Instead, Montero came in heavier than ever. He even admitted it, dropping the regrettable comment: “After winter ball, all I did was eat.”
After each season, players meet with training and medical staff to set up their offseason. Each player is given a target weight he is expected to come in at next spring. According to sources, Montero has never once met that target weight since joining the Mariners. This year he came in 40 pounds over.
“We are disappointed in how he came in physically,” Zduriencik said bluntly.
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“I’m not counting on him,” Zduriencik said. “I’m not expecting anything. Whatever he does, he’s got to get our attention — that’s how I’m looking at it. We haven’t discarded him at all. But he’s got to prove it to us. We’ve got players here that want to be big-league players and want to be big-league players for a long time. In his case, he’s still got that to prove yet. And I don’t think he’s done that. He hasn’t taken that next step where he’s got everyone’s attention. He can, because the ability is there to do that.”
And if not?
“In the end, it is Jesus’ life,” Zduriencik said. “It’s Jesus who has to make a call on this. We’ll be there to assist any of these players, him included. But he will not be given anything. It’s an uphill climb for him.
“He has the ability to get over the hump, and he should. But if he doesn’t, then shame on Jesus.”