The Mariners have claimed outfielder Leody Taveras from the Rangers, according to announcements from both clubs. The Rangers recalled outfielder Evan Carter to take his spot on the roster, a move that was previously reported. Right-hander Luis F. Castillo, not to be confused with Luis Castillo, has been designated for assignment by the M’s to open a 40-man spot for the claim. An active roster spot will need to be opened whenever Taveras reports to the M’s.
Taveras, 26, will join a new organization for the first time. The Rangers signed him as an international amateur back in 2015, giving him a notable bonus of $2.1MM. He went on to become the club’s top prospect and one of the top 100 in the league for a few years. As a major leaguer, he has been useful but not quite a star. His speed and defense have allowed him to make notable contributions for the Rangers, though his offense has been less consistent.
When he first arrived in the majors, he struck out quite a bit, but he was still in his early 20s at that time. In 2023, he managed to get the punchouts down to a manageable 21.1% rate. He still didn’t walk much, just a 6.3% rate, but he put the ball over the fence 14 times. That all led to a .266/.312/.421 line and a 100 wRC+, indicating he was exactly league average at the plate.
Given his other talents, average offense was quite acceptable. He also stole 14 bases and got strong marks for his outfield defense. FanGraphs considered him to be worth 2.4 wins above replacement on the year as he helped the Rangers charge to their first ever championship.
He fell of a bit last year. His walk rate actually jumped to 7.9% and his strikeout rate essentially held steady, bumping ever so slightly to 21.2%. His home run total also didn’t change much, dropping to 12, but with 25 fewer plate appearances. His batting average on balls in play dropped to .272, after being at .318 the year before. He finished the 2024 season with a .229/.289/.352 line and 82 wRC+. Still, with his 23 steals and his glovework, he produced 1.1 fWAR.
Here in 2025, his offense has dropped further. Through 82 plate appearances, he has a 2.4% walk rate, 28% strikeout rate, .241/.259/.342 line and 68 wRC+. That’s been part of a larger constellation of struggles in Texas, as guys like Marcus Semien and Joc Pederson are also struggling badly. Jake Burger’s slump was steep enough to get optioned to the minors while Taveras was placed on waivers. The club also fired offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker and hired Bret Boone as a hitting coach in an attempt to kickstart the offense.
For the Mariners, it’s a buy-low move, with some echoes of their Víctor Robles pickup. Robles was also a notable prospect with the Nationals who had struggled to click in the majors. The M’s sntached him up last year after the Nats released him. Robles then performed well with Seattle, enough that they signed him to a small extension last year, just a couple of months after bringing him aboard.
Robles has unfortunately been sidelined by a dislocated left shoulder and is probably still a couple of months away from returning. Luke Raley replaced him in right field but he recently hit the IL himself due to an oblique strain. Recently, they’ve been playing guys like Rhylan Thomas and Miles Mastrobuoni out there, which is less than ideal. Thomas has just ten major league plate appearances so far and hasn’t done much with them. Mastrobuoni is a light-hitting utility guy. Dylan Moore was reinstated from the injured list today but he could be needed on the infield, with Ben Williamson producing subpar offense from third base in his first 70 big league plate appearances.
Presumably, Taveras will be in the mix to help out in right. He has only ever played center field in his major league career, though the M’s have Julio Rodríguez there every day. Taveras has played the corners in the minors and most center fielders can move to left or right without issue. Some platoon matchups in the lineup are possible. Taveras is a switch-hitter with better numbers as a lefty. Williamson and Moore are both right-handed, so perhaps they can take third and right field when tough lefties are on the mound.
Though the Mariners are “buying low” in the sense that Taveras has been performing poorly of late and was readily available on the wire, there is a notable cost here. Taveras qualified for arbitration ahead of the 2024 season as a Super Two guy and earned $2.55MM last year. In January, he and the Rangers avoided arbitration for this year, agreeing to a $4.75MM salary. That leaves about $3.7MM left to be paid out, which the M’s are taking on by making this claim.
That’s a fairly small amount in the baseball world, where many guys are making eight-figure salaries annually, but it’s not nothing for the Mariners. They reportedly had about $15MM to spend this winter. They ended up giving out less than that, bringing back Jorge Polanco and signing Donovan Solano for a combined $11.25MM. Perhaps not coincidentally, adding Taveras and his remaining salary leads to a sum pretty close to $15MM.
Maybe that will give the club a bit less wiggle room to add at the deadline or perhaps ownership will greenlight further spending if they keep playing well. Time will tell on that. But if the bet on Taveras pays off in Robles-like fashion, there could be benefits beyond this season. He is still controllable via arbitration for another two years after this one. He will have to perform better over the rest of the season in order to be tendered a contract but that’s exactly what the Mariners are hoping for.
If Taveras is able to get back on track, the Rangers might end up kicking themselves, especially since there’s a chance he’ll be thriving with a division rival for the next few years. But there’s no guarantee of that happening and they’re probably happy about the cost savings in the short term. It was reported in the winter that Texas wanted to get under the tax line in 2025 and that plan was confirmed by owner Ray Davis. They came into the season a few million under the line, according to public estimates, though with a clear chance of going over. They have a number of players with sizable contract bonuses and those would bump up the club’s tax number if triggered, something that MLBTR did a deep dive on last month.
With the M’s claiming Taveras and the rest of this year’s salary, that drops the Rangers further away from the $241MM base threshold of the tax. As of a few weeks ago, RosterResource and Cot’s Baseball Contracts had the Rangers’ CBT number at $236.4MM and $237.8MM respectively but those estimates are now listed at $234.1MM and $235.5MM.
Castillo, 30, was added to the roster in April. George Kirby started the season on the injured list and Emerson Hancock got lit up in his first start of the year. Castillo made a couple of spot starts before being optioned to the minors. Hancock has since come back up to retake a rotation spot with better results. Logan Gilbert is now on the IL as well, prompting a Logan Evans promotion, but Kirby is on a rehab assignment and should be able to rejoin the club soon.
The M’s are evidently willing to sacrifice a bit of rotation depth, so Castillo goes into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade possibilities would have to be explored in the next five days. Castillo’s MLB track record is pretty small but he’s been decent in the minors and in Japan. From 2022 to 2025, he has a 2.44 ERA, 22.6% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate in 59 minor league innings. He also pitched 143 1/3 NPB innings over 2023 and 2024 with a 3.01 ERA. Since he’s still optionable, he may have appeal for clubs looking to add some Triple-A rotation depth.
Photo courtesy of Robert Edwards, Imagn Images
I hope this pickup isn’t indicative of Randy’s hamstring.
I think it has more to do with the fact that they are leaning on a lot of inexperience right now.
And we won’t likely see Robles or Raley for another 6-8+ weeks, if I’m not mistaken.
It’s interesting that they’re passing on another Canzone callup. I thought I’d read he was hitting well at Tacoma. Injured or just another AAAA player?
They need real MLB experience.
And they need emergency reserves as well. They probably have a specific plan; things they want to see him do over a larger sample. As a reserve, that’s easier to do.
Stevil, I also think the Canzone experiment is largely over.
Saves the rangers Millions
That’s why it’s a bit surprising they claimed him. They’re helping the Rangers.
And that 3 mil could’ve gone to a better player
Another Angels F
Arte probably didn’t want to pay the remainder of his $4.75 million salary.
He does Not hit well vs. AL west teams, nor at T-mobile
Nor vs AL teams.
Or NL teams for that matter.
But the word ‘well’ can be subjective.
Well well well, we’re going to the well.
Well…
I really wondered if Seattle would bite. My doubts had more to do with his salary.
With Robles and Raley out for a while, and the team lacking a solid fourth outfielder (let alone a third right now), taking a flyer on a veteran makes some sense.
As long as they’re not cheap I’m happy even if it’s a bad move
Nice fairly cheap pick-up. Needed an OF w/Raley and Robles out, plus Raley may be needed at 1B when he returns.
I thought there was a reasonable chance the Royals would claim Taveras. I wonder if they also put in a claim, but Seattle’s had precedence over theirs?
The Mariners have a better record than the Royals right now, so that means the Royals passed on claiming Taveras.
Taveras had one decent year in 2023. Otherwise he’s bumped along slightly above replacement level. If Seattle wants to take his salary off the Rangers’ back, Chris Young won’t complain.
Rangers will have to change the signs when they play the Mariners.
J-Rod should be sent to AAA. His wheels are coming off.
He’s having some bad luck too though
Julio is fine. Too many grounders, but he’s walking a lot and playing good CF defense. As tormented mentioned, his BABIP has been absurdly low this season (234 this year v 335 career). His bWAR is 1.0 so far, so like 4+ over an entire season
Throw in his personal slow start history, it would be rather foolish to replace Julio’s ABs with Miles Mastrobuoni & Rhylan Thomas
It is inexcusable for the Rockies not to put in a claim on him.
They don’t want to mess with team chemistry when they are only 17.5 games out of 1st place
They are right there in this thing why mess with that?
This could turn out to be a very good pick up for the Mariners
Much like last year when the Mariners signed Victor Robles in early June and he ended up being maybe the Mariners best player last year
So change of scenery is sometimes what players need to jumpstart their careers
such a cheap team, what a shame
Take that Rangers, hope he thrives with a rival
He is a + defender. hits well when their line drives and groundballs. NOt so well on fly balls.
-maybe he can share the Rangers signs from 3b coach
I hope Leody finds success in Seattle. I always hoped for more while he was with the Rangers. He kind of comes across as someone who is not always focused.
Dave Peralta woud have been a better option and probably cheaper