Should the Seattle Mariners Drop Julio Rodriguez in the Batting Order?

It feels, to me, like it's time to move Julio Rodriguez down in the batting order for the Seattle Mariners. Not because Rodriguez is as bad as the vitriol online suggests, but because he could stand to benefit from a different perspective, and the team could stand to benefit from relieving some of the pressure on him. Much of that pressure is clearly self-inflicted.

And I don't want this to be a permanent change, but it's necessary for now.

Rodriguez has hit second much of the year, and now, he's doing it in front of Cal Raleigh. While the logic may suggest that Rodriguez is getting more pitches to hit in front of Raleigh, he could also be getting others pitcher's best pitches, as they want to do all they can to avoid Raleigh stepping to the plate. That's a tough position to be in.

Though he was just named an All-Star for the third time in his career, Rodriguez is hitting just .247 this season, and he's 2-for-23 in his last five games. He had just a .386 slugging percentage in June and has a .290 OPS in six July games.

In my opinion, the M's would be best served hitting him fifth under the current lineup set-up. If the Mariners are content to hit Raleigh third, I don't want Rodriguez in a spot where teams are pitching around Raleigh just to get to Rodriguez. That could further mess with his confidence. Perhaps Jorge Polanco, or Randy Arozarena, could move into that two spot. Or, Raleigh himself could move to second, allowing Rodriguez to potentially hit fourth.

Regardless, Rodriguez is clearly pressing, and a trip down in the order may help him alleviate some of that pressure, and it may help the team get more at-bats from hot players.

For instance, Arozarena hit six homers in seven games last week.

The Mariners will open up a series with the New York Yankees on Tuesday at 4:05 p.m. PT. Seattle is 48-42.