The Mariners announced a series of roster moves today, with infielder Abraham Toro being recalled from Triple-A Tacoma. He will take the spot of infielder/outfielder Sam Haggerty, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left groin strain. Additionally, left-hander Justus Sheffield was appointed the club’s “29th man” for today’s doubleheader.
Haggerty, 28, left last night’s game in the ninth inning, requiring assistance to leave the playing field due to his injury. Though the Mariners have qualified for the Wild Card round, today’s IL placement will officially prevent Haggerty from being with the team until the ALDS at the earliest. Even if the club is able to push deep into October, it might not matter much in this case, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times relays that Haggerty is likely done for the year.
Despite the sour ending, it’s been a nice campaign for Haggerty, who was outrighted off of Seattle’s roster at the end of last year. At that time, he had 59 career MLB games under his belt but had hit just .207/.265/.321, wRC+ of 66. He played well in the minors to begin this year and got himself back onto the big league club by mid-May. He eventually got into 83 games at the major league level and stepped to the plate 201 times. He launched the ball over the fence on five occasions and stole 13 bases while producing a batting line of .256/.335/.403 for a wRC+ of 114.
Defensively, he made very brief appearances at second and third base but spent most of his time in the outfield. His work on the grass has been reviewed favorably by advanced metrics, with Haggerty earning five Outs Above Average out there this year, along with eight Defensive Runs Saved and a 6.2 mark from Ultimate Zone Rating. Due to his strong work in all facets of the game, he produced 1.5 wins above replacement, in the eyes of FanGraphs, despite playing a limited role.
Going forward, Haggerty will still be shy of qualifying for arbitration this winter and will have four years of club control remaining, meaning Seattle can keep him around at very affordable rates if they expect him to continue producing like he has this year. The outfield mix in Seattle has some fluidity to it, with Mitch Haniger and Adam Frazier both set to reach free agency this winter. That leaves their 2023 group consisting of Julio Rodriguez and Jesse Winker, alongside utility player Dylan Moore and guys with question marks like Jarred Kelenic, Kyle Lewis and Taylor Trammell. In the short term, that group will head into the Wild Card round and hope to survive long enough to give Haggerty a chance to return.
Where’s Kyle Lewis? You know, the former Rookie of the year?
Just never has regained the strength and mobility in the injured leg, I fear.
I haven’t checked on him lately, where he is and such.
Kyle hit 15 HRs in Tacoma in less than 200 ABs this season so you’d think we’ll see him get another look next year. But yeah, as Fred said he just never got his legs under him as the season went along. Watching him in the outfield was painful. He may be stuck learning 1B or playing DH.
Lewis only has 12 HR in Tacoma. 3 were with Everett during his rehab assignment, which is a little less meaningful in my eyes. Either way, a .245/.362/.517 probably wasn’t enough, particularly given his 31% K rate. Way too high in AAA. Definitely think your point about his defensive ability is also part of the issue. We already have Santana and Winker who should get zero defensive innings in the playoffs. Likely don’t want to add another to that list.
Even with the limitations from his previous leg injuries, he was doing pretty good hitting. However, he then got beaned and suffered a concussion. That and our roster was full of DH types placed him back in Tacoma.
I for one like what I saw of Haggerty.
I hope he is part of next season’s plans.
I like his attitude, exemplified in his nickname Swaggerty.
And he has been clutch at times, sort of like Cal Raleigh.
My kind of player.
Haggerty should have one more option year, so gotta think he is at least somewhat in next season’s plans. We’ll see if he plays his way into being a permanent 4th OF fixture a la Charles Gipson.
Definitely hurts. He was going to be a valuable late-inning pinch runner and defensive sub. Hard to replace 89th percentile spring speed and 79th percentile defensive jump. Maybe Moore can be that guy, given the M’s will face all righties in Toronto’s rotation. Here’s to hoping…
Go M’s!
See ya in the WS, Seattle!
Swaggerty!
Id like to see Swaggy at second next year…spend some time with Perry on the glove side….
Kelenic needs to figure out how to take his AAA performance up to the big leagues. I have become very wary of the offensive numbers put up by Pacific Coast League teams. Still, he needs to sit down and watch his big league at bats. He needs a better approach to each at bat.