The Mariners are in agreement on a contract with outfielder Steven Souza, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. It’s a minor league deal. (Twitter links) He’ll make a $1MM salary if he cracks the big league roster, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. It’s a minor league deal with a split option, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.
Souza’s best season came back in 2017 with the Rays, when he played 148 games and hit 30 home runs. He finished the year with a slash line of .239/.351/.459, wRC+ of 121 and 3.8 fWAR. Unfortunately, the years since then haven’t gone as well. After being traded to the Diamondbacks, he struggled in 2018, then missed all of 2019 after suffering a gruesome injury in Spring Training. In 2020, he only got into 11 games with the Cubs and then only played 17 games with the Dodgers last year. Turning 33 in April, Souza will hope to get a crack at the big league roster and a chance to show he’s still capable of the excellent form he showed five years ago.
For the Mariners, this bolsters the depth in an area where they have many options but little certainty beyond Mitch Haniger manning right field. Jarred Kelenic made his debut last year but failed to impress in his first 93 games at the big league level. He’s likely to get another shot based on his prospect pedigree and strong finish, but will have to produce to keep his playing time. Kyle Lewis had an excellent breakout campaign in 2020 but was limited to just 36 games last year due to injuries. Then there’s a pile of other intriguing-but-unproven options, such as Jake Fraley, Taylor Trammell and Dylan Moore. Top prospect Julio Rodriguez is on the way, but only got as high as Double-A last year, making him more of a long-term option than a short-term one.
I feel like a guy stuck in traffic and all he sees is a panhandler holding up a crude sign:
Anything helps, God Bless.
If I was Seattle, I would have done my best to keep this out of the news. It’s immaterial.
You’re living on borrowed time, Curly. My right front hoof was twitching very near that mute button.
You could go to join The Voice of Reason and that other clown from Gotham, with the forgettable name.
Never heard of you troll. I’ve been on this site for years. Your front right hoof is stuck up your horses a$$. You don’t even talk about baseball. That makes you clueless & not worth any further contact.
My real name is Fred Park, Curly.
And after you read this, I’m gonna mute you.
Goodbye.
Oooooooohhhhhh I’m terrified!!!! So long Fark Pred, we’ll all remember you
I think he’s actually Trevor Bauer that’s why he is so clueless n I’ve been around for years as well you’re always good for a hearty chuckle
95% of the posts on this site are immaterial moves and yet you care enough to have created an account to comment.
96%
Useless commentary, Curly, thanks.
What’s your point myaccount2?
Do you actually have something to contribute?
Cmon man! Let’s get some impact guys and quit messing around.
Mariners already added two all stars this offseason
@Brixton, I was saying earlier that they don’t need any more help.
But everybody keeps wanting another “impact bat.”
Well that would be good, but lets’s get the show on the road!
Believing they don’t need any more help is exactly why this organization is, and has been, where it is. You have not replaced Kyle Seager‘s run production. You’re hoping Kyle Lewis is healthy and productive after missing almost the entire season last year. And you’re hoping Julio Rodriguez comes out of the gates firing on all cylinders. For a team that needs to upgrade offensively from last year‘s negative run differential, they aren’t even close to where they need to be. Not to mention Frazier is only here for a one year deal. You need to build a foundation with significant room to grow, which they have done. And when that is built, you must strike while the iron is hot. This is the time to do it.
They still have a lot of work to do. They were lucky they got 90 wins last year. Negative run differential. Think they need more pitching though.
Yes, yes, that is the prevailing thought.
But that was an exciting team to follow all year, and if they can duplicate that I don’t give a hoot for the “run differential.” It doesn’t tell the whole story.
A negative run differential with the benefit of an extra innings rule that significantly favored us, as we had a lock down bullpen and could get out of the inning with a man on second a lot easier than our opponents. To assume our bullpen is going to be that locked down again is a very dangerous concept. It’s significantly hurt us after 2018 after having the top bullpen in the league and then that same exact bullpen completely blowing up the following year. They were fun to watch last year, without question. But I can promise you one thing: every single one of these players wants more help offensively. They know they need it. And without it this team is not going to get to 90 wins again.
I’m must saying, even if they don’t get that big bat they’re going to be an exciting team to follow.
For me, after following baseball for many years, that’s as good as it gets.
I’ve seen a lot of famous winning teams that were no fun for me.
Yeah, pretty long shot to win 90 again, but I’ll be there watching.
I enjoy all of your comments, Shiatsu4yu. You know the game.
We need another Starter and. A stop gap til JRod is ready. Another infielder would be nice. Pineda would be a good addition, Comforto would be a great one year signing. And he might do that after his crappy season last year. A get right contract.
This guy was a legend when Foolish Bailey simmed the last decade in OOTP
Such a good series!
watching him play for the Dodgers last year the guy has the appearance of a major league player. unfortunately that’s pretty much the upside.
He is a Nationals legend. He made a diving catch to secure the last out of our first no-hitter, and then was the trad epiece that got us Trea Turner, critical member of the 2019 World Series Champions. I am happy to see him continue to have a career.
Rays don’t lose trades….
Unfortunately, this is one of those we lost. Souza had glimpses of greatness, but it didn’t fully materialize. Dude had some pop, too
Jake Cronenworth says hello.
I was being facetious about Rays not losing trades. In the case of Cronenworth, it might be too soon to know, because Xavier Edwards hasn’t had an opportunity yet. This trade is ALMOST in the ‘Lost’ column, though…
Thought he made a retirement announcement recently.
Any Rays fan will remember when he LUNGED for a fly ball that he was at least 20 feet away from….a real comedy show. He looks too beat up physically to be able to contribute, but, like many others, worth a minor league deal.
It was like something out of Major League. They all had a good laugh. He made quite a few non-blooper highlight reels, tho
Good for Souza. He’s from Everett, WA, just 20 miles north of Seattle. He’ll probably play AAA down in Tacoma. A homecoming for him and some OF depth for the Mariners.
To me, it almost seems the Mariner’s have more OF depth than they know what to do with: Haniger, Lewis, Kelenic, JRod, Fraley, Dylan Moore, Adam Frazier …but DiPotos pedigree makes me look like a pauper, so what do I know?
It looks like that, but I doubt we see JRod to start the year, Kelenic really hasn’t proven he’s a legit big leaguer, Lewis is one knee injury away from being out of baseball, Dylan Moore isn’t the guy you want in the outfield if you can help it, and Frazier is here for one year. Oh yeah, Haniger is on his last year of a deal as well and has an injury history. There’s also Taylor Trammell, but he’s unreliable. I’ll take Souza on a minor-league deal with absolutely no risk.
JRod isn’t likely to arrive until midseason, Moore/Frazier are better infielders but utility types anyway, and Fraley is not good. They need an impact outfielder even with what they have. Souza is a solid depth signing for AAA
Pesky hitter good risk for Seattle