The Mariners have signed infielder Didi Gregorius to a minor league deal, per an announcement from Algodoneros de Unión Laguna, the Mexican League club he had been playing for. Gregorius’ deal contains a $1.5MM base salary if he cracks the MLB roster, reports Daniel Kramer of MLB.com (Twitter link).
Gregorius, 33, struggled badly in the past two major league seasons and was released by the Phillies in August of last year. He remained a free agent until May of this year, when he headed to the Mexican League. He has been on an absolute tear since signing, as he has hit .359/.431/.777 through 26 games this year. That strong showing will get him another chance to join the affiliated ranks.
He was once an effective big league shortstop during his time with the Yankees, hitting .269/.313/.446 from 2015 to 2019. He then reached free agency and signed with the Phillies. He was good enough in 2020 to return on a two-year pact, but his results slid at that point. He slashed just .210/.267/.345 over 2021 to 2022, leading to his release.
The Mariners will obviously be hoping that his recent surge in the Mexican League is a sign that he’s capable of bouncing back. The club has had a few of their regulars struggle on offense this year, none more so than second baseman Kolten Wong. He has a dismal .153/.246/.178 line so far this year. His wRC+ of 29 is dead last in the majors among hitters with at least 130 plate appearances.
Gregorius has primarily been a shortstop in his career and was playing that position in the Mexican League. His only major league experience at second base was with the Diamondbacks way back in 2014, but most shortstops are broadly capable of making the switch the other side of the bag without much issue. However the Mariners decide to deploy him, he’ll give the club a bit of extra non-roster depth and try to earn his way back to the majors.
Nice! Still waiting on a couple trades for some REAL reinforcements, but I like taking a look at Didi for sure.
Yeah love that guy Didi!
You guys had a fun lineup all those years
While I realize it’s the Mexican league, given the minimal cost, I’m surprised Boston didn’t sign him. Even with some players getting healthier, they could have made a corresponding trade to remain under the tax base if he were to have been called up. He may have lost a step but he’s still a professional SS.
There were a few teams with an opening at 2B, but I would argue Seattle’s hole is more glaring. The 1.5m guarantee if he’s on the active roster was probably the difference.
Somehow completely forgot about this guy
We’ll gladly give him a shot at some abs down the line. We got AJ Pollocks and Kolten Wongs in there right now striking fear into the hearts of pitchers everywhere
We just hired our Wong replacement lol
Didi >>>> literally anything Wong has done
To quote American Born Chinese, “What could go Wong?”
Great signing Mariners! I was wondering when this former Yankee which automatically makes him a future Hall Of Famer would be back on the field.
> Great signing Mariners! I was
> wondering when this former
> Yankee would be back on the field.
Fixed it for you.
Lol
And
Ewwww.
Could be bad, could be good, no in between.
I am so DONE with Pollock and Wong!!! And La Stella, and Haggerty, and Tramell. Wong and Pollock will be sent packing like the rest of those three. Sadly we replaced Trammell with Mike Ford. Is this the BEST Seattle has available for a hitter in the minors?! Jeez
Trammell should’ve stayed up a little longer imo. Haggerty is alright as well. La stella is long gone I do believe. Ready for wong and pollock to follow la Stella out the door.
I feel bad for Taylor, he is constantly stuck between a rock and a hard place seemingly due to no fault of his own. He is a big boy and plays hard, constantly getting nicked up at crucial times in his development. He probably needs regular MLB abs to get into the swing of things; but was so putrid at the plate in this past stint; it’s hard to justify keeping him up when he is still a young guy with options.
I think we should ship him to the Nationals or someone of the sort in exchange for a vet at a position of need. I agree that more ABs would be beneficial for him, but we have no room for him to do so.
In his last 13 games, Trammell had a 45.7 K%, an OPS of .394 and a 17 wRC+..
With Teo, Geno, Jarred, and even Julio striking out all too often, they had to get some discipline into the club.
And they still do.
Agreed. Replace Wong with Didi, Pollock with Trammell, release Ford (again) and trade for a right handed DH/OF bat.
Wish him the best, miss him on the Yanks. Good guy for sure. One of my favorite moments is his reaction from the dugout when Judge first came up and clobbered a monster HR. Priceless
Follow him on Twitter and enjoy deciphering his excellent Tweets. Andrew McCutchen and Didi are the two most likable dudes in baseball IMO.
Absolutely and a great call.
That wrc of 26 is disgusting for a professional hitter
Holy smokes. Seems like all the Yankee cast offs are landing. Gary Sanchez (SD), Aaron Hicks (BAL) and Didi (SEA).
Chapman is going to be a trade chip to a contender.
Who else is out there in this past week or two?
Zack Britton’s still waiting for a deal.
You have to think there were some glaring negatives in his 3 showcases for him to remain unsigned. The air is thick with desperation for a number of teams, but his name never gets mentioned
He needs 66 days of additional big league service for his mlb pension to fully vest w/ 40 quarter credits.
Awesome tidbit.
He’d have earned it but if he needs the pension after all the money he’s earned that’d be sad.
Jose Caballero already has a 1.0 WAR in like 30 games. He’s never going to hit for much power, but he seems to be the logical answer to Wong’s decline right now. I’m sure Didi is good insurance, especially since Crawford isn’t exactly a worldbeater at SS either, but seems like it will take an injury or demotion for him to realistically get a good shot.
I doubt they signed him to replace Wong outright but add to their depth if one of Caballero and/or maybe Moore replace Wong. Thats my guess at least.
He isn’t hitting RHPs. They will likely continue to use Caballero vs. LHPs, maybe in an eventual platoon with Didi.
About F’n time. What took so wong?
About F’n time. What took so wong?
Two Wongs CAN make it right, Winslow.
I can’t emphasize enough how much I enjoyed that.
Are you saying the Ms should call up Kean from Tacoma? Maybe replace one Wong with another.
Man I miss this guy. Baseball is better off with him in the game.
Yeah,Baby! Give Wong the gong.Nice move,M’s!
That’s offensive!
You must not be old enough to remember the Gong Show..
I liked you Wong but then again, I like cramps.
The Cramps were an amazing band.
By the time he ramps it up the Mariners season will be over. They should have done this at least a month ago.Did Dipoto loose his cell phone?
Nice move. He may still have some mileage. Steamer seems to thinks so even. With him added to their IF depth, its a better situation now if they decide to move on from Wong or reduce his playing time further. I would think Caballero has to be first in line though.
Sir Didi
Didi needs to be up to the bigs— he needs 1 more hit for 1,000 in his MLB career !!
Next article: Seattle Mariners sign Robinson Cano to minor league deal in a shocking twist reunion for the former steroid user and his former ball club
Dididi dadada that’s all I want to say to you…
The Mariners think this is a Gregorius signing.
Always liked Didi. I wish him luck in Seattle.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. I hope this works for Didi and the M’s, but I’m not expecting much from it.
Good for him. Happy to see him get another shot at the big leagues. Great guy.
I heard a rumor he was obnoxious and super conceited in the clubhouse and lots of team mates didn’t like him but idk the validity of said rumor
This stinks of budget-strapped desperation, and yet it might prove to be the right move.
The trade market for middle-infielders is going to be competitive and Seattle may find themselves out of it before significant swaps are made.
What happens when Moore comes back?
Expected the splits with NYY to show his power being a product of the ballpark but it actually wasn’t. Years where he was great on road and bad at home and vice versa.
There’s some guy named Jake in San Diego who is looking to get his mojo back. First base hasn’t been kind to his meager batting skills.
That’s a lot of positive reactions for a guy who hit .210 over the last two seasons. He might be a swell guy but he won’t move the needle at all for the Mariners. And no not the Space Needle either
Your telling me this kids been available this whole time and Red Sox didn’t sign him instead going with the worst defense in the league no the world I’ve see kids play better them
They need him on the MLB Roster ASAP!!!
Nice! He’ll be mashing soon enough. Rangers & Astros have just been put on alert!
Needs one more hit for 1k…….No matter, hope he gets that, then think he needs @2months for his 10yr service time.
Loved him in Philly, hopefully with some”time away” he be able to rebound.
Sure glad the Mariners didn’t do something crazy like try to sign some big money shortstop in either of the last two off seasons….especially the last one. Those 4 bums are only top 6 in SS WAR for the season so far.
Dipoto crushed any chance of signing someone with his annual off-season declaration that JP was the SS. It was the wrong decision then, and is clearly the wrong decision now.
that 2017 team was so much fun. the yankees don’t have the same swagger without didi, sabathia and tanaka
Well, if he can top the .150 hitting that seems to plague the M’s utility players, it’ll be a win
Well we all need to keep our fingers crossed because we really need a MLB caliber player at 2nd; however, this just does not seem like a near term solution. That said, I do hope he on the roster soon.