May 29: Heyman now tweets that Gonzalez is not among the Mariners players who have been released. The Score’s Robert Murray adds, though, that the Seattle organization has released more than 50 minor league players.
May 28: The Mariners have released veteran outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. As a reminder, Major League transactions are still frozen, although we recently verified that minor league cuts are still permissible. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times had previously reported that the Mariners were releasing more than 30 minor league players. Divish adds that minor leaguers who remain with the Mariners will continue to receive the current $400 weekly stipend through the end of the 2020 season. Teams had previously only agreed to pay minor leaguers through May, and some have already cut their pay entirely or extended the stipend but only through the end of June.
Teams didn’t make many of their usual cuts late in Spring Training, so several of today’s releases might’ve already been cut lose already under normal circumstances anyhow. That’s certainly the case for the veteran Gonzalez, who was unlikely to make the club and had an April 1 opt-out date in his minor league deal. As Divish further points out, large-scale minor league releases are common prior to the amateur draft. This year’s five-round draft is vastly shorter than a standard 40-round draft, but other clubs (Orioles, White Sox) have begun to make similar waves of releases. With minor league contraction potentially on the horizon and uncertainty surrounding a minor league season being played at all in 2020, additional cuts seem likely throughout the league.
Turning to Gonzalez, the lone name known at this point, he was always a bit of a tough fit on a rebuilding Mariners club that was trying to give as many plate appearances as possible to young talent. Back in Spring Training, Divish suggested that the CarGo signing was something of a courtesy to a respected veteran — offering him a chance to pick up some spring at-bats. Surely in the event of multiple injuries, the depth would’ve become more useful for the M’s, but the April 1 opt-out in his deal was present to allow him to seek other opportunities if and when he found himself a ways down the depth chart.
Gonzalez, 34, went 6-for-22 with a double, three walks and five strikeouts in 25 spring plate appearances with Seattle. The three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger is coming off a brutal season split between the Indians and the Cubs — one in which he mustered only a .200/.289/.283 batting line in 166 plate appearances. He posted a respectable .276/.329/.467 slash (99 OPS+, 97 wRC+) with the Rockies a year prior, but CarGo hasn’t been a decidedly above-average hitter since 2016, when he batted .298/.350/.505 with Colorado.
While he’s no longer in the prime of his career, Gonzalez isn’t so far past that point that a resurgence is unforeseeable. And with the likely advent of the universal designated hitter for at least the 2020 season, perhaps some NL clubs with lackluster options will have interest in taking a flier on a player who batted .296/.353/.535 with an average of 26 homers per season during his peak from 2010-16.
But he was the best player on the roster that uses a glove!
We’d better get a huge new stimulus package ready for all the new unemployed baseball players.
Can you see Mike Trout on Food Stamps?
Usually its a Goverment bldg printed on food stamps
No but I can see tommy Pham
Korea
North or South?
Weast
i dont think CarGo can be picky at this point in his career
Dipoto- Sorry guy you haven’t produced since the middle of March.
Carlos- MLB has been shut down since the middle March
Dipoto- Don’t get Technical
The one guarantee on this site is that you’ll be here to take a jab at Dipoto whenever there’s an opportunity.
“[Rosenthal] Angels furloughing employees more aggressively than most clubs, weakening amateur scouting department prior to draft, raising eyebrows throughout industry”
Oof. Makes Dipoto look like saint
I thought CarGo had a good shot of making the team. With how weak Seattle is I thought that maybe he could produce, but alas, this is where we stand. The HaloHonk4Life postt above repeats my opinion.
He didn’t. Several area journalists noted at the time that this was more likely a courtesy signing; an opportunity to showcase himself for other teams.
Seattle was already LHH-heavy and they want Jake Fraley, a LHH, and Kyle Lewis to see significant PA’s.
They’d also like to find PA’s for Tim Lopes and they like the positional flexibility of Dylan Moore.
Gonzalez’s only shot was if there were multiple injuries. Many wondered if Haniger’s surgery would open a door, but Fraley apparently did enough to earn a spot out the gate… the gate that hasn’t opened yet.
Worth noting, Vogelbach is probably in the hot seat. He needs to be more aggressive and consistent. He had a miserable second half and his defensive limitations don’t help his cause.
CarGo would probably fit better on the Rangers, TBH. Mariners have a lot of depth at OF as well as two of the literal top 10 prospects right around the corner who are both OF. Maybe Texas can sign him now?
If I was him I’d have my agent calling all the Asian teams that are about to start playing to build my stock back up. Doubtful MLB will even be a go for a half year.
Amazing how many AAA players make good money in Asia. Red Sox had twelve former minor league players there last year.
He’s been in decline for years now and he’s a poor fielder. He’s now 34. That resurgence seems pretty far fetched to me.
Stick a fork in him. He’s been done for two years now.
Players who make 30 million dollars a year do do because they earned it. This is a league worth upwards of 50 billion dollars. YOU choose to pay for your cable subscription. YOU choose to over pay for tickets and concessions and never complain about the price even though you know it’s excessive. Now you want to complain about the players ? If your job asked you to take a 70% pay cut so they could ensure they were profitable would you? No you wouldn’t. Just because these players make more money than and I will ever have doesn’t mean they should be the ones saving the owners. If owners will lose as much as they saying they will they would show proof but owners know they are not losing anything close to what they claim. They also know if they show their revenue streams players will realize they are UNDER paid
Colonial Baking asked workers to take a pay cut to stay in business. The workers refused and the bakery closed…..in my home town.
Jerry Brown (CA gov) signed $15 dollar per hour and immediately after Sport Chalet closed 40 stores and Sports Authority closed 115 stores. Both companies bankrupt same week.
Post Coronavirus fans will have less disposable income…..may have fewer cable subscribers and less money for next TV contract….I would love to see both owners and players get less so there could be more fans in the stands.
Biggest loser with high salaries is the fans!!!
As baby boomers (MLB biggest customer base) die off I wonder how MLB will fare as many of the young generation has grown up playing sports like soccer and lacrosse. Less popularity means less TV contract money and fewer fans in the stands…..something will have to give as Americans find that social security will only cover a fraction of their bills.
Carlos Gonzalez made a pretty good Matt Holiday for a few years. I remember when he flirted with a triple crown, fun stuff. To bad M’s released him. Maybe he will sign on somewhere.
“Just kidding…”
-Jon Heyman
If he has anything left the Yankees should look at him. They could use more left handed guys
And you can bunt a ball over that RF wall…
so is he not released or just not one of the list of guys considered “minor league releases”
Maybe signed to a MLC thus making him eligible to be released
Reports I just looked at (wasn’t sure either) said that Seattle signed CarGo to a minor league contract in February.
This is the best thing the Mariners could do for these guys. Let them collect unemployment and the $600 a week from the federal government. Not the greatest but better than nothing
i saw an article saying that at least one or two of the teams cutting players are going to keep paying them for a bit longer too, so its not meerly a cost-cutting measure.
also i like these “insiders” saying “i know 50+ guys have been cut but i dont know the names of any of them.” these insiders are great.
The total saving out of this is like what, about 5% of what Trout makes a year?
If the owners get their way, maybe about 80% of what Trout makes this year…
This was to be expected virus or no virus. Look what is happening to minor league teams
So, now there’s conflicting information about Gonzalez. Hopefully there will be some clarification soon.
Cargo was awful last year, and while he did have a .796 OPS in 2018, it was largely Coors-inflated. .941 home/.663 road.
Maybe it’s time to ride off into the sunset…
I just want him to stay so I get his autograph
Kelenic and Rodriguez confirmed cut.
really? kelenic???
It was a joke.
CarGo had a solid career but he’s pretty much done now.