Headlines

  • Blue Jays Sign Chad Green
  • Rays Extend Yandy Diaz
  • Dexter Fowler Announces Retirement
  • Mets Sign Jeff McNeil To Four-Year Extension
  • Red Sox, Marlins Swap Matt Barnes For Richard Bleier
  • Darren O’Day Announces Retirement
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2023
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mariners Designate Matt Koch For Assignment, Reinstate Mitch Haniger

By Steve Adams | April 29, 2022 at 12:53pm CDT

The Mariners announced Friday that they’ve reinstated right fielder Mitch Haniger from the Covid-related injured list and designated righty Matt Koch for assignment in order to open a spot on the active and 40-man rosters.

Haniger, who paced the Mariners with 39 home runs in 2021, was out to a slow start in eight games before he tested positive for Covid-19 on April 16. Haniger missed nearly two weeks’ time and 11 games, and earlier this week told reporters that he was still not quite back up to 100% (Twitter link via Daniel Kramer of MLB.com). He’s apparently back in playing shape now and will return to the lineup and look to improve upon the .176/.200/.471 slash he posted through his first 35 trips to the plate.

The return of Haniger will only deepen a Mariners lineup that has been among the most productive collective units in Major League Baseball so far. The M’s rank eighth in the Majors with 88 runs scored and have the game’s third-best wRC+ at 123, indicating their lineup has been 23% better than average on the whole. Seattle hitters currently lead the Majors with an 11.1% walk rate, and they’re seven in home runs even without Haniger’s powerful bat. He’ll slot back into the outfield/designated hitter mix and ought to jump right back into the heart of the batting order.

Koch, 31, appeared in four games with Seattle and pitched 4 1/3 innings. He allowed four runs on five hits (two homers) and a walk, striking out three hitters along the way. Koch has appeared in parts of five big league seasons, all coming with the D-backs prior to his Mariners debut this season. He was a serviceable arm out of the Arizona bullpen from 2016-18, pitching to a 4.04 ERA — albeit a mark that was not supported by the underlying metrics. Koch’s 13.9% strikeout rate and 1.72 HR/9 mark during that time were both considerably worse than the league average.

The Mariners will have a week to trade Koch, place him on outright waivers or release him.

Share 0 Retweet 9 Send via email0

Seattle Mariners Transactions Matt Koch Mitch Haniger

Offseason In Review: Miami Marlins
Main
Rays Claim Ben Bowden
View Comments (14)

Comments

  1. 30 Parks

    9 months ago

    Kelenic going to need more time in the minors? Any Mariner fan insights welcome. Hope the kid can sort it out.

    Reply
    • myaccount2

      9 months ago

      Honestly, it’s reaching that point for me. His September was fantastic, but it hasn’t carried over to this season. Too many holes in his swing and too high of a K rate. When he makes contact, it’s often good contact, but he simply isn’t making enough.

      Reply
    • BuddyBoy

      9 months ago

      I’ve said this ad nauseum. Send him down until rosters expand so he can figure out his stance/approach and have some success. Letting him flail away at the ML level doesn’t accomplish much and could hurt

      Reply
      • Stevil

        9 months ago

        With who? Trammell is on the IL, Souza isn’t impressing, and Hamilton can’t hit AAA pitching.

        They absolutely should have done more in the offseason to be prepared for this, but they’re kind of stuck until another team us open to a trade.

        Reply
    • dshires4

      9 months ago

      Won’t happen until both Haniger and Lewis are on the roster. Until then I think we ride him out. I don’t see another option.

      Reply
      • xcfan

        9 months ago

        Yeah, at this point you have to give at bats to either Kelenic or Dylan Moore/Donovan Walton. Don’t see them doing anything until Lewis is healthy. AAA options Stuart Fairchild and the injured Taylor Trammell aren’t going to do it either.

        Reply
  2. compassrose

    9 months ago

    He tries too hard. He has this scowl on his face like he is going to kill someone. Jaw is tight and I imagine he is holding the bat with a grip that could break the bat. Almost every K he yells a profanity. That was something he got away from last year. He needs to lighten up and relax. He isn’t going to win every game for us. Needs to have fun. I agree they need to send him down maybe have Griffey or Ichiro spend a few weeks with him in Tacoma.

    Reply
    • Fred Park

      9 months ago

      compassrose, reading that reminded me of a guy the M’s once had named Brad Wilkerson, who had the greatest scowl but never got it going with the bat.
      Well, nobody ever said it was easy at The Show.
      Most of the commenters here are phonies or wannabes who bandy numbers around in some strange new stat category.
      Some make it, some don’t. Period.
      (just the right hitting instructor still might help Kelenic)

      Reply
  3. Fred Park

    9 months ago

    Step 1 was getting Haniger back.
    Now they can concentrate on trying to fix whatever is wrong with Kelenic and getting Julio to establish whether or not he is really ready to live up to all his first impressions.
    I think Kelenic needs just the right hitting coach to help him adjust.
    And Julio may really be too big and heavy to keep going at CF.

    Reply
    • BuddyBoy

      9 months ago

      Julio looks like a legit centerfielder and has the fifth fastest sprint speed in the league. I don’t see anything that says he is too big for CF

      Reply
      • Fred Park

        9 months ago

        BuddyBoy, it may be that I have formed the wrong impression about Julio.
        I have not actually seen him in a game and I have not found out how much he weighs. Huge upper legs, it appeared to me. Not a typical CF.
        I would gladly admit being wrong. I like his cheerful (some say boastful) attitude. He enjoys the game.

        Reply
      • Fred Park

        9 months ago

        BuddyBoy, after thinking about this, I did some searching online and I find that the size issue for Julio had been talked about previously and I missed it.
        So now I find that he is about 6′ 4″ and 230 pounds.
        I will say it again, I don’t think a guy that size will be a fielder in MLB for very long.
        That’s more the size of a power fullback in the NFL.
        Too tall. Too heavy.

        Reply
  4. mws2010

    9 months ago

    Julio plays center as well or better than any current options, Kyle Lewis, if healthy can play better. But his body is ailing and might be better of in the corners

    Adjusting to hitting curve/slider is Julios issue. Same for Kelnic, though Julio can hit fast balls

    Julios speed on bases is elite, he just needs to get on base more.

    Good start by M’s but they need to continue to win consistently

    Reply
    • Fred Park

      9 months ago

      mws2010, Kelenic waves at a lot of high fast balls.
      He’ll probably see a lot of those from now on.
      True, Julio has been hitting the fast balls, but the pitchers are finding new angles and speeds all the time.
      The sliders are his nemesis.
      I’m eager to see how Julio does today against the crafty Marlins right hander Hernandez.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Blue Jays Sign Chad Green

    Rays Extend Yandy Diaz

    Dexter Fowler Announces Retirement

    Mets Sign Jeff McNeil To Four-Year Extension

    Red Sox, Marlins Swap Matt Barnes For Richard Bleier

    Darren O’Day Announces Retirement

    Royals To Re-Sign Zack Greinke

    Braves Extend Manager Brian Snitker Through 2025

    Rays Sign Pete Fairbanks To Extension

    Royals Sign Aroldis Chapman To One-Year Deal

    Athletics Sign Jesús Aguilar

    Orioles Acquire Cole Irvin From A’s

    Astros Name Dana Brown General Manager

    Rays Extend Jeffrey Springs

    Royals, Red Sox Swap Adalberto Mondesi For Josh Taylor

    Red Sox Designate Matt Barnes For Assignment

    Scott Rolen Elected Into Baseball Hall Of Fame

    Red Sox Sign Adam Duvall

    Brad Ausmus Reportedly Among Astros’ GM Finalists

    Mike Clevinger Under Investigation For Domestic Violence Allegations

    Recent

    Red Sox Notes: Barnes, Bleier, Paxton, Bello, Pivetta

    Extension Candidate: Dylan Cease

    Mariners Win Arbitration Case Against Diego Castillo

    Mariners, Kyle Tyler Agree To Minor League Contract

    Dodgers Move Danny Lehmann To Bench Coach

    MLBTR Chat Transcript

    Reds Sign Jason Vosler To Minor League Deal

    Braves Sign Yolmer Sanchez To Minor League Deal

    Mets’ Khalil Lee Under Investigation Following Assault Allegations

    Read The Transcript Of Our Chat Hosted By Former MLB Outfielder Chad Hermansen

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Offseason Outlook Series
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2023
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • MLB Player Chats
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version