Chase De Jong knows how it looks.
The preseason trade that moved the 23-year-old righthander from the Los Angeles Dodgers to Seattle; the blown save in his major league debut and the two losses that followed; the reassignment to Class AAA Tacoma where he went 3-6 with a 6.00 ERA; all the way to his Tuesday arrival in Arkansas to join the Class AA Travelers.
It’s the appearance of a promising prospect in freefall — a dizzying series of turns away from the performance that led to him being named the Texas League Pitcher of the Year in 2016 with the Tulsa Drillers.
De Jong said Tuesday that he is intent on proving things aren’t as bad as they seem.
“I’ve taken my lumps,” said De Jong, who will start for the Travs today against the Frisco RoughRiders. “I’ve gotten beat up up there. I’ve had some success. But just to be able to keep going out there, keep learning … I’m definitely looking forward to getting back up there. Showing them what I can do. Showing them that I can be a real asset to them.”
When Tacoma Manager Pat Listach told De Jong on Sunday that he would be sent to Arkansas, De Jong said the move “wasn’t something that I understood.”
“I know my numbers don’t look great, but I know that after the second half [of the season] I’ve been stringing together some quality starts,” said De Jong, who has three quality starts since the break — a stretch that also includes a start in which he allowed eight earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. “That’s what I’ve been trying to do is get back to how I was throwing the ball last year. Being able to control a game. And I was finally able to do that again. And I was told I was coming down here.”
De Jong said he received a call later Sunday night from Andy McKay, Mariners director of player development.
“He let me know that, ‘Hey, this isn’t a performance-based move,’” De Jong recalled. “‘We’re not demoting you. We just need you to go pitch down there because of the stockpile of arms they have at the AAA level right now.’ It’s not like I’m not a Triple A or big league pitcher anymore. Just right now, on Thursday, I’m going to throw for Little Rock. I’m going to throw as best as I possibly can.”
Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto had high praise for De Jong when he traded two minor league infielders to the Dodgers for the former second-round pick on March 1. De Jong had just gone 14-5 with a 2.86 ERA for Class AA Tulsa in the Dodgers organization.
“He’s a player we’ve tried to acquire multiple times dating back to last July,” Dipoto told the Tacoma News Tribune.
The Mariners entered the regular season with four pitchers on the disabled list, and De Jong was called up from Tacoma on April 3. Two days later, the Mariners entered the bottom of the 13th inning with a 3-2 lead over the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. De Jong, normally a starting pitcher, was the only fresh arm left in the bullpen.
His major league debut consisted of getting a ground out, before sandwiching a foul out between a walk and a single.
Then Astros right fielder George Springer hit a walk-off home run to left field.
“Couple things go a different way, I end up the hero in that scenario,” De Jong said. “But it didn’t, and we just had to learn from it and keep moving on. Just like every outing I’ve had up there. Good and bad. Learn from it, and move on.”
De Jong was sent back down to Tacoma the following day and has moved frequently between the teams. Since the start of August, the Mariners organization has signed six pitchers to its system. On Aug. 6, the team conducted a five-player trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Two days later, De Jong was sent to Arkansas.
“I’m not overly frustrated with being here,” De Jong said. “I’m pitching. This is still a high level. I know going back up to Tacoma or to Seattle isn’t out of the question at all. But just making sure I log my innings, put together quality starts. That’s all they want to see from me.”
Today’s game
TRAVELERS VS. ROUGHRIDERS
WHEN 7:10 p.m.
WHERE Dickey-Stephens Park, North Little Rock
RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in central Arkansas
WEBSITE travs.com
PITCHERS Travs: RHP Chase De Jong (3-6, 6.00 ERA, Class AAA); RoughRiders: RHP Collin Wiles (8-9, 4.10)
TICKETS $13 box, $9 reserved ($6 kids), $7 general admission ($5 kids). Gates open one hour before start of game.
PROMOTIONS Super Hero Theme Night: Show organ donor identification and receive a discounted ticket price; receive a free hero cape and dress as your favorite super hero and enter the seventh-inning costume contest.
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY vs. Frisco, 7:10 p.m.
FRIDAY vs. Midland, 7:10 p.m.
SATURDAY vs. Midland, 6:10 p.m.
SUNDAY vs. Midland, 6:10 p.m.
MONDAY Off
TUESDAY at Frisco, 7:05 p.m.
WEDNESDAY at Frisco, 7:05 p.m.