Dominic Canzone

Mariners Select Ben Williamson

By Mark Polishuk | April 13, 2025 at 12:03pm CDT

The Mariners announced that they have selected the contract of third baseman Ben Williamson. In corresponding moves, outfielder Dominic Canzone was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma, and Ryan Bliss was moved to the 60-day injured list to create space on the 40-man roster.

Since multiple injuries up and down the roster have left the Mariners in need of infield reinforcements, the door was opened for Williamson to earn the first call-up of his three-year career as a professional. Williamson only made his Triple-A debut this season and has hit a modest .281/.317/.333 in 60 plate appearances in Tacoma, but the M’s can’t afford to be too picky given their lack of depth at the big league level.

Williamson was a second-round pick for the Mariners in the 2023 draft, and he has a total career slash line of .281/.366/.389 over 645 PA, with four home runs and 22 steals (in 29 attempts). MLB Pipeline ranks him 13th on their list of Seattle prospects and Baseball America has him 14th, with BA’s scouting report describing Williamson as “a pest at the plate” due to his high contact rates and on-base skills. While Williamson makes a lot of contact, he has lacked in hard contact and in overall power, as evidenced by his uninspiring slugging percentages even at the minor league level.

This may not be the ideal profile for a Mariners team in sore need of consistent hitting, but Williamson does offer immediate defensive help at third base. He is regarded as an excellent fielder who can also chip in at second or shortstop, but the hot corner seems like his natural spot since regular third baseman Jorge Polanco has been limited to DH duty. Williamson is a right-handed hitter that could pair with the lefty-swinging Miles Mastrobuoni in a platoon situation until Polanco is healthy enough to return to the field.

Since the Mariners are reportedly scanning the trade market for other infielders, Williamson might just be in line for a cup of coffee in the majors if Seattle can land some more experienced help elsewhere. Beyond Polanco’s ongoing knee and side discomfort, Luke Raley has now moved from first base to the outfield in the wake of Victor Robles’ shoulder fracture, and Bliss will miss the next 4-5 months after undergoing surgery to fix a torn left biceps. It was just a matter of time before the Mariners moved Bliss from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL in order to free up a 40-man roster spot.

Victor Robles Carted Off Field With Shoulder Injury

By Nick Deeds | April 6, 2025 at 10:47pm CDT

10:47pm: Ari Alexander of KPRC2 reports that Canzone is set to be recalled to the big leagues by the Mariners. That seemingly suggests that Robles is ticketed for the injured list, which Jon Morosi of MLBNetwork reported was likely earlier this evening, though no official move has been made to this point.

6:08pm: Mariners outfielder Victor Robles made an outstanding catch late in today’s game against the Giants, but the moment quickly turned worrisome when Robles crashed into the right field netting in foul territory. As noted by multiple reporters, including Adam Jude of The Seattle Times and Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, Robles exited the game and was carted off the field clutching his left arm. As noted by Jude, manager Dan Wilson told reporters that Robles suffered a shoulder injury and is undergoing initial tests to determine the exact issue.

It’s potentially devastating news for the Mariners, for whom Robles has emerged as a spark plug in all aspects of the game since he was signed by Seattle back in June after being released by the Nationals earlier that year. In 77 games for Seattle the rest of the way, Robles hit a phenomenal .328/.393/.467 with a wRC+ of 154. He also played solid defense across all three outfield spots and went 30-for-31 on the basepaths en route to 3.2 fWAR in just 262 trips to the plate for the Mariners last year. It was such a strong performance that the club signed Robles to a two-year extension that guarantees him $9.75MM and keeps him under team control through the end of the 2027 season thanks to a $9MM team option for a third year.

That 2024 breakout season represented a remarkable comeback for Robles, who was considered the best prospect in the Nationals’ system and among the top prospects in the entire sport as he came up through the minor leagues alongside Juan Soto. Unfortunately, injuries have dogged Robles all throughout his career. He appeared in just 530 games in parts of eight seasons in D.C. due to elbow, ankle, back, and hamstring injuries among other ailments. He’s only had one full season in the majors over the years, his 2019 rookie season with the club, and since then has only reached even 400 plate appearances in a season a single time.

It’s impossible to say with certainty to what extent the injuries led to Robles, who hit a disappointing .236/.311/.356 during his time with the Nationals, to under perform the expectations associated with his top prospect status. Even so, it’s without a doubt that both he and the Mariners were surely hoping his fresh start in Seattle last year would afford him the opportunity to prove himself healthy and effective in the big leagues over an extended period of time. While even an approximate timetable for Robles’s return to action won’t be clear until the Mariners provide more details regarding the nature of his injury, it seems safe to say that Robles will miss at least some time due to the injury.

In terms of options to replace Robles in the lineup, they’re relatively few and far between. Dylan Moore has gotten off to a hot start this year but is currently stepping in for Jorge Polanco at third base while Polanco nurses a sore knee. Dominic Canzone is on the 40-man roster at Triple-A and capable of playing the outfield, or the club could move Luke Raley from first base back into the outfield while giving first base to some combination of Donovan Solano, Austin Shenton, and Tyler Locklear. Regardless of which options they ultimately go with to fill in for Robles while he’s out, an extended absence from the outfielder could be tough for the club to handle given their relatively lackluster depth options on the positional side of things.

Mariners Outright Jonathan Hernandez

By Mark Polishuk | August 11, 2024 at 5:29pm CDT

TODAY: Hernandez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, the Mariners announced.

AUGUST 8: The Mariners announced a quartet of roster moves tonight, including the news that right-hander Jonathan Hernandez has been designated for assignment. Infielder Jason Vosler was also optioned to Triple-A Tacoma, while outfielder Dominic Canzone was reinstated from the 10-day injured list and righty Eduard Bazardo was called up from Triple-A.

Hernandez hits the DFA wire for the second time in just over a week, as the Rangers’ decision to designate the reliever led the Mariners to make a waiver claim. Hernandez has already made three appearances in a Seattle uniform, but after throwing scoreless innings in his first two outings, he was charged with three earned runs in just one-third of an inning in the Mariners’ 6-2 loss to the Tigers yesterday.

Because Hernandez is out of minor league options, the M’s had to designate him and thus again expose him to waivers in order to bring Bazardo’s fresh arm into the bullpen mix. If he clears waivers and is outrighted off Seattle’s 40-man roster, Hernandez doesn’t yet have enough MLB service time to reject such an assignment in favor of free agency, nor has he been previously outrighted during his career.

Over 43 1/3 combined innings with Texas and Seattle this season, Hernandez has a 5.40 ERA, 20.3% strikeout rate, and an ugly 14.6% walk rate. The latter number is one of the worst walk rates of any pitcher in baseball, underlining the control problems that have marked much of Hernandez’s five-season run in the big leagues. He was able to keep things in check for long enough to post a 2.93 ERA over 61 1/3 innings for the Rangers during the 2020 and 2022 seasons, with the 2021 campaign a complete write-off while Hernandez was recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Though the 2023 season was also a struggle for the righty, Hernandez’s 2022 success is recent enough that another team in need of bullpen help could be willing to put in a waiver claim and bet on a turn-around. Hernandez turned 28 last month, and he is still arbitration-controlled through the 2026 season. Earning a $1.245MM salary this year, Hernandez still has about $363K remaining, and a new team would owe only the prorated portion of the average MLB salary. The Mariners also paid only a prorated average rate during Hernandez’s brief time on the active roster, as the Rangers are covering the bulk of the remaining money.

Canzone last played on July 9, so he’s back after almost exactly a month recovering from a right adductor strain. Between that absence and a prior IL stint due to a left AC joint sprain, Canzone has been limited to 54 games and 159 plate appearances this season, hitting .211/.289/.394 with seven homers. Canzone’s left-handed bat can come off the bench and help balance out a Mariners lineup that mostly tilts to the right side, and he is a solid defender at all three outfield positions.

Mariners Notes: Crawford, Canzone, Saucedo, Santos, Woo

By Mark Polishuk | May 11, 2024 at 10:45am CDT

The Mariners’ 8-1 win over the Athletics on Friday marked Seattle’s fourth-highest run total of the season, in a positive sign for the club’s search for lineup consistency. With offense generally down around the league, the Mariners’ 98 wRC+ still puts them ahead of 11 other teams, but naturally there’s still plenty of room for improvement. The Mariners’ 28.7% strikeout total is the highest in MLB, and they also rank 24th of 30 clubs in both batting average (.225) and runs (147).

Some lineup reinforcements could be on the way, as shortstop J.P. Crawford is close to beginning a minor league rehab assignment. Mariners GM Justin Hollander told reporters (including Adam Jude of the Seattle Times) that Crawford could possibly start the assignment this very weekend, as Crawford completed batting practice and a full fielding drill prior to yesterday’s game. Crawford hasn’t played since April 23 due to an oblique strain, and given how oblique problems often have a wide range of recovery times, it’s a good sign that Crawford appears better after such a relatively short period.

Crawford wasn’t exactly off to a roaring start prior to his injury, as he had only a .198/.296/.302 slash line in his first 98 plate appearances. A .227 BABIP could be largely responsible for those numbers, though Crawford’s Isolated Power metric was down to .105 — much more akin to his career norms before last season’s big spike up to 172. The shortstop enjoyed the best offensive season of his career in 2023, hitting .266/.380/.438 with 19 homers and a league-best 94 walks over 638 PA, translating to an excellent 134 wRC+.

Albeit in a much smaller sample size, Dominic Canzone had a comparable 133 wRC+ in 35 PA this season before hitting the injured list himself with a left AC joint sprain. Canzone suffered the injury crashing into the outfield wall while making a catch in the Mariners’ 3-2 loss to the Cubs on April 14, so it looks like he’ll miss just over a month since the outfielder is starting a Triple-A rehab assignment today. Hollander said the plan is for Canzone to play four minor league games before being evaluated for a possible activation from the 10-day IL.

Tayler Saucedo was placed on the 15-day IL last Wednesday due to a hyper-extended right knee, but Hollander said Saucedo’s MRI results suggested that the left-hander might only miss the minimum 15 days. The news isn’t as good for another pitcher on Seattle’s injured list, as Gregory Santos’ recovery timeline has now been stretched into July. Santos has yet to pitch this season due to a lat strain and was already on the 60-day IL, so he wouldn’t have been able to pitch until late May at the earliest.

The initial expectation was that Santos would be able to return either immediately once that 60-day window was up, or perhaps a few days or a week afterwards. However, Hollander said that Santos’ throwing program was recently shut down, and the reliever has only recently started throwing again in the 60-90 foot range.

Bryan Woo was another pitcher who hadn’t yet taken the hill in 2024, as a bout of elbow inflammation in Spring Training forced Woo onto the 15-day IL to begin the season. Woo made his return yesterday against Oakland and looked very sharp in allowing only one hit and one walk over 4 1/3 shutout innings, but he had to make an early exit due to right forearm tightness.

Despite the ominous-sounding nature of a forearm issue, Woo and M’s manager Scott Servais told MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer and other media that the removal was precautionary, and that Woo is expected to make his next start. Woo suggested that “it was just sitting for a long time” during an extended bottom of the fourth inning, when the Mariners scored five runs.

“It was a long inning. You sit for that long, especially coming back from injuries, like it gets kind of cold and it’s kind of hard to get it going again. So it’s kind of been like a theme throughout the rehab process,” Woo said.

AL West Notes: Stephenson, Canzone, Verlander, Valdez

By Mark Polishuk | April 14, 2024 at 5:44pm CDT

Robert Stephenson ended his minor league rehab outing after four pitches yesterday, as the Angels right-hander called for the team trainer and then left the mound. Manager Ron Washington told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) that Stephenson would be undergoing tests, but didn’t offer any other details about the situation.

Shoulder inflammation kept Stephenson from pitching during Spring Training, yet after beginning the season on the 15-day injured list, the reliever seemed to be making good progress in his recovery and was looking to be part of the Angels’ roster before April was over. Yesterday’s news seems to put that timeline in jeopardy, and the only hope now is that Stephenson’s setback is less ominous than it seemed. A dominant four-month stretch with the Rays last season turned Stephenson into one of the more sought-after commodities in the free agent relief market this past winter, and the Angels landed the righty on a three-year, $33MM contract.

D-Backs Acquire Paul Sewald

By Anthony Franco | July 31, 2023 at 6:08pm CDT

The Diamondbacks have added a key arm to the bullpen. Arizona and Seattle announced a trade sending Paul Sewald to the Snakes for infielder Josh Rojas, rookie outfielder Dominic Canzone and infield prospect Ryan Bliss.

Sewald was one of the top bullpen arms available. The right-hander has broken out as one of the game’s best relievers since landing in Seattle two and a half years ago. A minor league signee over the 2020-21 offseason, Sewald cracked the Seattle roster by May ’21. He had an excellent run in the Pacific Northwest, pitching to a 2.88 ERA over 171 2/3 innings. He kept his ERA at 3.06 or better in all three seasons.

He has paired that run prevention with very strong swing-and-miss numbers. Sewald punched out just under 35% of opposing hitters with Seattle. That includes a 35.5% strikeout percentage with a 2.93 ERA over 43 innings this year. His fastball only sits in the 92-93 MPH range but has well above-average spin despite a lower arm angle. That movement profile has translated into big whiff tallies. Sewald has gotten swinging strikes on over 14% of his offerings in each of the past three seasons.

Among 176 relievers (minimum 30 innings), Sewald ranks 10th in strikeout rate and 39th in whiffs. His 8.3% walk rate is acceptable and he has dominated hitters from both sides of the plate. Sewald is a fly-ball pitcher who has given up some homers in past seasons, but this year’s 1.05 HR/9 rate is almost exactly league average for a reliever. That well-rounded, consistent production quickly pushed him up a strong bullpen hierarchy. He has worked as the M’s primary closer this season, collecting 21 saves in 24 attempts.

Arizona has searched for that kind of reliability late in games for a while. The Snakes had one of the league’s worst bullpens in 2021-22. It hasn’t been quite so disastrous this season, thanks in part to free agent additions of Andrew Chafin, Miguel Castro and Scott McGough that have all worked out reasonably well. The D-Backs didn’t have anyone of Sewald’s caliber to lock things down, though. Kevin Ginkel and Drey Jameson (the latter of whom is out for a while with an elbow injury) are the only Arizona relievers with a sub-3.00 ERA. Left-handers Chafin and Kyle Nelson are the only pitchers with a strikeout rate above 30%.

Bolstering the pitching depth has been a priority for an Arizona club that has dropped eight of its last 10 to hold a 56-50 record. The D-Backs have fallen out of the projected playoff picture after leading the NL West for a good chunk of the season. They’re only a game out of the final Wild Card spot, though. Sewald will presumably step into the ninth inning for skipper Torey Lovullo. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Arizona could look for another bullpen addition and is unsurprisingly still searching for rotation help over the next 24 hours.

Seattle’s position in that standings isn’t that dissimilar from Arizona’s. The Mariners are 54-51 and 4.5 games out in the AL Wild Card picture. They’re certainly not buried, though president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto acknowledged two weeks ago the club hasn’t played well enough to be aggressive deadline buyers. They’re reportedly open to offers on the likes of Teoscar Hernández and Ty France and have given some consideration to dealing from their stock of talented young starting pitching.

The primary purpose in all those talks is to subtract from an area of surplus to add controllable offensive help. The bullpen certainly qualifies as a strength. Seattle relievers are fourth in ERA and trailing only Houston in strikeout rate. Sewald was a big part of that success, of course, but the likes of Andrés Muñoz and Matt Brash are thriving in high-leverage capacities. Muñoz seems likely to take over the ninth inning with Sewald headed out.

In exchange, Seattle nets the kind of upper level hitting talent they’d been seeking. There’s perhaps no clear “headliner” of the deal, but all three players could factor into the mix in relatively short order. Rojas and Canzone have big league experience, while Bliss had recently worked his way to Triple-A.

Rojas, 29, is the most well-known of the trio. Originally acquired in the Zack Greinke 2019 deadline blockbuster with Houston, Rojas developed into a productive bat-first utility option. The left-handed hitter combined for a .266/.345/.401 batting line in over 1000 plate appearances between 2021-22. He’d never rated especially highly as a defender at any stop but had enough flexibility to move throughout the infield and into the outfield corners.

While not a franchise building block, Rojas looked like a quality role player. However, he has had a difficult 2023 campaign that pushed him into more a depth capacity of late. Rojas has hit only .228/.292/.296 over 216 trips to the plate and remains without a home run on the season. A walk rate that had sat north of 10% is down to 8.3%, while his strikeouts are up a few points to 23.6%. The D-Backs optioned him last month; he spent the bulk of his Triple-A time on the minor league injured list before returning to the majors when Evan Longoria went on the IL over the weekend.

Rojas has primarily played third base in Arizona but has a clearer path to playing time at the keystone in Seattle. Kolten Wong’s struggles have left the M’s with very little out of second base this season. Righty-swinging José Caballero has had a fine debut campaign but is nearly 27 and was never a top prospect. Rojas adds a left-handed complement to Caballero and Dylan Moore and could occasionally see some reps behind Eugenio Suárez at third base.

It’s a buy-low flier for Seattle that also helps to balance the trade financially. Sewald is making $4.1MM this season, his second-to-last year of arbitration. Around $1.37MM remains to be paid out. Rojas is playing on a $2.6MM arbitration salary, his first of four arb years as a Super Two player. He’s still owed around $867K through season’s end. Arizona will take on roughly $500K in salary, thereby preserving a decent amount of financial flexibility for further deadline pickups.

Rojas could be a non-tender candidate after the season, though he’ll get a couple months to try to secure his roster spot at T-Mobile Park. He could be joined immediately by Canzone, a left-handed hitting outfielder nearing his 26th birthday. He has struggled over his first 41 big league plate appearances but has had a monster year in Triple-A. Canzone mashed at a .354/.431/.634 clip with 16 homers through 304 trips to the dish in Reno, making him one of the top hitters even in a favorable offensive environment.

Canzone is limited to the outfield corners but clearly an accomplished minor league hitter. He could factor into the short-term left field mix. Jarred Kelenic is out into September after breaking his foot, while AJ Pollock is on his way to San Francisco. Canzone still has all three minor league option years remaining.

Bliss is not yet on the 40-man roster. A 2021 second-round pick of Auburn, he’s a right-handed hitting second baseman. Bliss struggled in his first full professional season but had a monster .358/.414/.594 showing in Double-A this year. That earned him a spot in the Futures Game and a recent bump to the top minor league level. Baseball America had ranked him the #16 prospect in a strong Arizona farm system, crediting the 5’9″ infielder with a hit-over-power approach and quality range as a defender.

Arizona gets a year and a half of control over the impact late-game arm they’ve been seeking for some time. Seattle is clearly open to reshuffling some veteran talent on the roster but is following through on their stated goal of adding upper level hitting. The M’s aren’t completely throwing in the towel on 2023 while adding more controllable talent.

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic first reported the D-Backs were making progress on a Sewald trade. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the deal as being finalized, while Piecoro first had the return of Rojas, Canzone and Bliss.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

D-Backs Select Dominic Canzone, Designate Konnor Pilkington

By Anthony Franco | July 7, 2023 at 6:07pm CDT

The Diamondbacks announced a number of roster moves heading into tonight’s matchup against the Pirates. Arizona selected corner outfielder Dominic Canzone and recalled reliever Justin Martinez from Triple-A Reno. Outfielder Dominic Fletcher was optioned, while reliever Drey Jameson landed on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation. To clear a 40-man roster spot for Canzone, the Snakes designated lefty Konnor Pilkington for assignment.

Canzone, 25, reaches the majors for the first time. Arizona selected the lefty-swinging outfielder in the eighth round of the 2019 draft out of Ohio State. He has consistently posted big numbers in the minors but progressed relatively slowly up the ladder. He first reached Double-A late in 2021 and got to the Triple-A level for the first time last season.

Baseball America ranked him the #25 prospect in the D-Backs’ system over the winter. The outlet praised his power upside and statistical track record but suggested some scouts have expressed trepidations about his hit tool and athleticism. Canzone has continued to post excellent numbers over the past few months, hitting .354/.431/.634 with 16 home runs through 304 trips to the plate.

Even in an extremely hitter-friendly environment in Reno, Canzone’s production stands out. He’s walking at a 12.8% clip and has only struck out 13.2% of the time. Among Pacific Coast League hitters, he ranks eighth in on-base percentage and tops the circuit in slugging. He’ll add some short-term outfield depth with Corbin Carroll day-to-day after reinjuring his shoulder last night.

Canzone isn’t the only Diamondback hoping to make his MLB debut. This is Martinez’s second promotion, but he was optioned a few days after his first without appearing in a game. The 21-year-old righty has a 3.77 ERA over 31 innings in Reno. He replaces Jameson in the relief corps for now.

The D-Backs acquired Pilkington in a cash transaction from the Guardians in May. The 25-year-old has spent his entire time in the organization on optional assignment to Reno. Over 11 starts there, he’s been tagged for a 9.53 ERA with a below-average 18% strikeout rate and a huge 16.1% walk percentage.

Pilkington tossed 58 innings for the Guardians last summer. He posted a decent 3.88 ERA but with worse than average strikeout and walk numbers over his initial MLB look. The Mississippi State product has struggled at the Triple-A level but posted a 3.04 ERA in 100 2/3 Double-A frames. Arizona will trade him or put him on waivers within a week.

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