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Terrin Vavra Elects Free Agency

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The Mariners announced that infielder/outfielder Terrin Vavra has elected free agency after clearing waivers. Seattle had designated him for assignment last week when selecting infielder Luis Urías to the roster.

Vavra, 27, had a bit of prospect heat a few years ago but has been sidetracked by injuries. A third-round pick of the Rockies in 2018, he went to the Orioles in the August 2020 trade that sent reliever Mychal Givens to Colorado.

In 2021, a back injury limited him to just 48 minor league games, but he performed well in those. He drew walks at a 15.6% clip and produced a .275/.406/.449 line, leading to a 138 wRC+. He continued putting up solid numbers the next year and also made his major league debut. He slashed .312/.425/.444 for a 140 wRC+ in the minors and .258/.340/.337 for a 99 wRC+ in the majors.

Vavra has played every infield and outfield position during his professional career. He would later dabble with catching to expand his versatility even further. Even with that roughly league average offense at the big league level, he could have been in line for a role as a viable utility player, though the minor league numbers hinted that maybe even something more was in there. Baseball America considered him the #17 prospect in a strong Oriole system going into 2023.

But he was only able to play 43 games in 2023 between the majors and minors, missing significant time due to shoulder problems. He was outrighted off Baltimore’s 40-man at the end of last season. It wasn’t until May of 2024 that he revealed that he had a torn labrum in his right shoulder and had undergone surgery in September of 2023.

He was still recovering from that shoulder surgery at the start of this year and missed some time, coming off the IL in May. Unfortunately, more injury trouble was to come, as he landed on the minor league IL in June due to a left groin strain and then again in July due to an illness. He was healthy enough for the Orioles to add him back to their 40-man roster at the end of July as Jorge Mateo landed on the IL, though the club recalled Jackson Holliday the next day and optioned Vavra back to Norfolk.

Vavra was designated for assignment when the O’s claimed Emmanuel Rivera a couple of weeks ago. He went to the Mariners on waivers but got the DFA treatment after eight days in Seattle’s system, this time passing through waivers unclaimed. Since this was his second outright, he had the right to elect free agency.

Around his various injuries this year, he has played in just 54 minor league games with a diminished line of .242/.338/.353 and 87 wRC+. That’s obviously not great production but perhaps understandable in such a stop-and-start season after in his attempt to come back from shoulder surgery.

Vavra will now be free to discuss contract arrangements will all clubs, though the fact that he cleared waivers means that he’ll be offered minor league pacts. If he eventually makes his way back onto a 40-man roster somewhere, he has less than a year of service time and therefore offers lots of cheap club control, but he will be out of options next year.

Mariners Sign Jesse Hahn To Minor League Contract

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The Mariners inked Jesse Hahn to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Tacoma. Rainiers’ broadcaster Mike Curto tweeted the transaction.

Hahn, 35, is working to get back to the majors for the first time in three years. He was out of affiliated ball between 2022-23 after suffering a shoulder injury. Hahn returned to Triple-A on a minor league deal with the Dodgers. He tossed 41 2/3 innings of 4.54 ERA ball before being released last week. Hahn fanned a solid 24.2% of opponents while racking up grounders at a massive 58% clip, but his results were undercut by very poor control. The righty walked upwards of 18% of batters faced.

The extended layoff presumably hasn’t done Hahn any favors from a strike-throwing perspective. Yet he also battled his command during scattered MLB looks with the Royals between 2019-21. He issued 18 walks across 25 1/3 innings with Kansas City, turning in a 4.62 ERA in the process. Hahn has also pitched for the Padres and A’s and carries a 4.22 ERA over parts of seven major league seasons.

Mariners Select Luis Urias

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The Mariners announced this evening that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Luis Urias from Triple-A Tacoma. The club designated infielder Terrin Vavra for assignment and optioned left-hander Gabe Speier to Triple-A in corresponding moves.

Urias, 27, joined the Mariners back in November when he was acquired from the Red Sox in trade. Urias entered the 2024 season seemingly poised to share time at third base with Josh Rojas while also filling in occasionally at the keystone for veteran second baseman Jorge Polanco in the club’s infield mix following the club’s decision to move on from third baseman Eugenio Suarez over the winter. Unfortunately for Urias, however, Rojas caught fire to open the season with an eye-popping .351/.417/.526 slash line in his first 30 games of the 2024 campaign.

That allowed Rojas to secure more and more playing time that was initially expected to go to Urias, and it didn’t help matters that Urias himself was struggling badly at the plate. Urias hit just .152/.264/.317 in 91 trips to the plate over the first two months of the season before the Mariners decided to option him to the minors on May 24. Urias found himself outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster shortly thereafter, and since then has been working toward a return at the Triple-A level.

He’s seen some real improvement since going down to the minors with a .261/.379/.415 slash line in 349 trips to the plate with Tacoma this year. That’s good for only a 104 wRC+ due to the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, but even numbers 4% better than average are a significant step up when compared to the 75 wRC+ Urias was posting in the majors prior to his demotion. Now, Urias appears poised to join Rojas, Polanco, Leo Rivas, and Dylan Moore, in the mix for playing time at second and third base down the stretch. The return of Urias to the big league roster could free up Moore for occasional appearances in the outfield/DH mix as well, improving the overall flexibility of Seattle’s lineup.

Making room for Urias on the 40-man roster is Vavra, who the club claimed off waivers from the Orioles just last week. Vavra, 27, has missed most of the 2024 season due to a torn labrum in his right shoulder and was outrighted off the Orioles’ 40-man roster back in November. He hit fairly well upon his return to action at Triple-A, however, and earned a call up back to the majors in the aftermath of the trade deadline but was immediately optioned back to the minor leagues and wound up designated for assignment a few weeks later. Now he’s once again set to hit the waiver wire, where any of the league’s 29 other clubs can claim him. Vavra hasn’t played in the majors yet this year and struggled amid the aforementioned shoulder issues last year but could intrigue clubs based on his solid 40-game cup of coffee with the Orioles in 2022 where he slashed .258/.340/.337 (99 wRC+) in 103 trips to the plate.

MLBTR Podcast: Scott Servais, Perry Minasian, The Orioles’ Rotation, And Joey Votto

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • In my opinion, Max Fried’s 2024 has cost him $100MM+ due to injury and some weirdly shaky games/random innings. Do you agree and does this make him more/less likely to re-sign with the Braves? (41:40)
  • Appears Justin Verlander will not hit the 140 innings pitched needed for his $35MM vesting option for 2025, making him a free agent at the end of the season. What kind of market can we expect for Verlander? What teams interested, salary, contract length. (50:20)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Yankees Claim Duke Ellis

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The Yankees announced that they have claimed outfielder Duke Ellis off waivers from the Mariners. The latter club designated him for assignment in recent days. To open a 40-man spot, right-hander Ian Hamilton was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Ellis, 26, is known for his standout speed. The White Sox briefly called him up earlier this year and he stole four bases in four tries. In 273 minor league games, he has stolen 134 bases while only being caught 18 times.

His work at the plate hasn’t as impressive. He has hit .238/.325/.339 in his minor league career, production which translates to an 85 wRC+, indicating he’s been 15% below league average. Still, the idea of having a speedy outfielder on the bench has been enough for Ellis to garner plenty of interest. After his brief look with the White Sox earlier this year, he has gone to the Mets, the Mariners and now the Yankees via waiver claims.

Finding a roster spot for such a specific skill set can be tricky but it’s possible that the Yankees will find room for Ellis as rosters expand next week, or perhaps in the playoffs where extra off-days lead to a club requiring fewer pitchers. A speedster such as Ellis could be a difference maker in a close game, particularly in the era of the free runner in extra innings. Ellis has a full slate of options and just a few days of service time.

Mariners Notes: Servais, Robles, Rodriguez, Crawford

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6:41pm: Crawford is beginning his rehab assignment earlier than expected, as Tacoma Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto relayed this evening that the shortstop will be in the Rainier’s lineup this evening batting second and playing shortstop.

6:00pm: The Mariners parted ways with longtime manager Scott Servais earlier this week, and the now ex-manager spoke with reporters on the club’s beat (including MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer) yesterday regarding his time in Seattle and the club’s decision to part ways with him.

Servais indicated during his remarks that he had previously thought that if the club missed the playoffs this year, that could lead to the end of his nine-year tenure as the Mariners’ manager. Even, so Servais expressed surprise at the club’s decision to part ways with him midseason, noting (as relayed by Kramer) that his “expectation was that [he’d] get to finish out the year” while also adding that he first heard of his dismissal via news alert on his phone prior to his in-person meeting with Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto, an experience that Servais described as “alarming.”

The 57-year-old was first hired to lead the Mariners back in 2016. Servais had a 681-642 record during his time at the helm of the Mariners, good for a .515 winning percentage despite the fact that his teams made the postseason just once back in 2021 and never won the AL West under his guidance. Despite that relative lack of on-field success, Servais received votes for the AL Manager of the Year award three times during his tenure with the Mariners, including a third-place finish in 2022 and a second-place finish behind two-time winner Kevin Cash back in 2021.

Per Kramer, Servais indicated to reporters that he hopes his split with Seattle won’t mark the end of his managerial career. At least one job opportunity is set to be available this winter after the White Sox fired manager Pedro Grifol earlier this month. Grady Sizemore is currently acting as the club’s interim manager, although White Sox brass have already indicated that the club expects to look for a long-term solution outside of the organization. There’s also some level of uncertainty in the Rockies dugout as the club waits until after the season to discuss the future of manager Bud Black amid what officially became the club’s sixth consecutive losing season yesterday with their 0-3 loss to the Yankees.

More from around Seattle…

  • The club was dealt a bit of an injury scare earlier today when outfielder Victor Robles was struck by a pitch on his right hand during today’s game against the Giants. He exited the game after the incident, but the club fortunately announced shortly thereafter that x-rays had come back negative on the former top prospect’s hand and that he had been diagnosed with a right index finger contusion. The 27-year-old has impressed with a .280/.340/.413 slash line and a 14-0 record on the basepaths in 50 games with the Mariners since signing with them back in June, and while losing their leadoff hitter for any amount of time will surely be a blow, Seattle is a bit better equipped to handle an absence from Robles after young phenom Julio Rodriguez returned to center field yesterday. The 23-year-old has been back from a recent high ankle sprain for two weeks now but had been relegated to DH-only duties until yesterday, when he was finally cleared to return to the field. That kicked Robles over to right field, which now figures to be covered by some combination of Mitch Haniger, Dominic Canzone, and Luke Raley as he nurses his injured finger.
  • While it’s possible that today’s finger contusion could keep Robles out of the lineup for the time being, the Mariners did receive some refreshing injury news yesterday when reporters spoke to shortstop J.P. Crawford as relayed by MLB.com’s Injury Tracker. Crawford took batting practice on the field yesterday and, in conversation with reporters afterwards, indicated that he could begin a rehab assignment early in this next coming week. Crawford has been out for just over a month now while nursing a fractured pinkie finger. The 29-year-old was in the midst of a down season when bitten by the injury bug, with a .204/.299/.347 slash line in 77 games this year, and switch-hitting rookie Leo Rivas has impressed in 26 games while covering for the club’s regular shortstop. Still, Crawford’s return should improve the club’s overall infield mix by allowing Rivas to help carry the load at second and third base alongside Jorge Polanco and Josh Rojas.

Mariners Place Yimi Garcia On 15-Day Injured List

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Prior to yesterday’s game, the Mariners placed right-hander Yimi Garcia on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his throwing elbow.  The placement is retroactive to August 20.  Left-hander Gabe Speier was called up from Triple-A Tacoma in the corresponding move.

This is the second time Garcia has hit the IL this season due to an elbow-related issue, as ulnar neuritis cost him about a month of action prior to the All-Star break when Garcia was still a member of the Blue Jays.  He made two appearances after that initial activation, and the Mariners were satisfied enough with his health to then acquire the veteran reliever in a trade with Toronto on July 26.  After posting a 2.57 ERA in his first seven innings and appearances out of Seattle’s bullpen, Garcia has allowed four runs over his last three appearances (two IP), and it is safe to guess that his elbow problems contributed to those recent struggles.

The backdated placement has already shortened Garcia’s IL stint from the minimum 15 days, but he’ll still be out until September.  Given that there isn’t much time left in the regular season, there is natural concern about when or if Garcia might pitch again, should his inflammation linger deeper into September.  Even missing “only” a month a la his previous IL placement would still represent a big chunk of the final stretch, leaving the Mariners short one of their key deadline additions as the team tries to get its season back on track.

Beyond just the 2024 campaign, the 34-year-old Garcia is scheduled to hit free agency this winter, so two elbow-related injuries won’t help him in the open market even if his overall numbers have been solid.  Garcia has a 3.46 ERA over 39 combined innings with Seattle and Toronto this season, along with a very impressive 32% strikeout rate.  That K% is a new personal best for Garcia over his 10 MLB seasons, though he has also received some good fortune in the form of a .202 BABIP and his 7.8% walk rate is his highest in the last four years.

Mariners Hire Edgar Martinez As Hitting Coach For Rest Of 2024

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The Mariners announced this afternoon that they’ve hired Edgar Martinez as hitting coach for the remainder of the season. Adam Jude of the Seattle Times first reported (X link) yesterday that the Hall of Famer was going to join new manager Dan Wilson’s staff. The role was unreported, but in tandem with Seattle’s dismissal of hitting coach Jarret DeHart yesterday, it wasn’t hard to read between the lines.

While the M’s made clear that Wilson is their full-time manager, Martinez’s status after the year is up in the air. Seattle’s press release specified that Martinez has only taken the job for the final couple months of this season. The M’s would presumably be happy to keep him around beyond this year, but the 61-year-old has previously cited a desire for a less demanding position than a regular coaching role.

Few hitters are more accomplished than Martinez. He won two batting titles and three Silver Slugger awards during his 18-year big league career. Martinez made seven All-Star teams and finished his playing days with a .312/.418/.515 slash line. He spent his entire career with the M’s and was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame within three years of his retirement after the ’04 season. While it took more than a decade, he eventually earned the sport’s highest honors with election into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2019.

Wilson was an All-Star catcher who played for the Mariners from 1994-2005. He overlapped with Martinez for all but the final season. The two have both remained involved with the organization in their post-playing days. Martinez worked as hitting coach on Lloyd McClendon’s and Scott Servais’ staffs between 2015-18. He stepped down after the ’18 campaign and moved into a less intensive role as organizational hitting advisor — a position that enabled him to work with both minor league and MLB players. Wilson had been a special assistant for player development for seven years before moving into the manager’s office yesterday.

Mariners Claim Terrin Vavra, Designate Duke Ellis

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The Mariners announced they’ve claimed infielder Terrin Vavra from the Orioles. Seattle designated outfielder Duke Ellis for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Vavra is a former Colorado draftee who went to Baltimore as a prospect in a trade that sent reliever Mychal Givens to the Rox. Vavra played briefly at the MLB level in 2022-23. The left-handed hitter combined for a .254/.331/.304 slash in 67 games. He showed decent plate discipline and contact skills with minimal power. That has been Vavra’s profile dating back to his college days at Minnesota.

Baltimore passed him through outright waivers last offseason. They reselected his contract around the trade deadline but didn’t get him into a game before optioning him back to Triple-A. Baltimore designated him for assignment earlier this week as the corresponding move to grab Emmanuel Rivera off waivers from Miami. Vavra has a .243/.350/.368 line in 178 Triple-A plate appearances this year. Primarily a second baseman, he also has a decent amount of experience at shortstop and in both corner outfield positions.

Ellis is a speed and defense outfielder who has bounced around this season. The Mets and Mariners successively claimed him after he was DFA by the White Sox in June. Ellis has barely played in the majors, picking up four at-bats in eight games with Chicago. The 26-year-old is hitting .235/.315/.336 in 273 minor league plate appearances on the year. He’ll land back on waivers in the coming days.

Mariners Fire Scott Servais, Hire Dan Wilson As Manager

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The Mariners are making a change as they try to salvage their playoff hopes. Seattle announced Thursday evening that they’ve fired manager Scott Servais and tabbed Dan Wilson as their new skipper. The M’s also dismissed hitting coach Jarret DeHart. They did not announce an immediate replacement at hitting coach, although Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reports (on X) that franchise icon Edgar Martinez will join the coaching staff in an unspecified role. The M’s have not officially announced Martinez’s hiring.

“We believe that we need a new voice in the clubhouse,” president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. “Dan knows our team and has been a key member of our organization working with players at every level over the past 11 years. He is well respected within and outside of our clubhouse and we are confident he will do a great job in leading our group over the final six weeks of the season and moving forward.” Dipoto subsequently thanked Servais for his passion and work over a nearly nine-year run in Seattle.

Servais, 57, has been the skipper in Seattle since he was hired after the 2015 season. The club has had its share of ups and downs in that time but the move seems to be related to the club’s recent slide in the standings. The Mariners were cruising at the beginning of the season while clubs like the Astros and Rangers were slow getting moving. As recently as June 18, the M’s had a ten-game lead over the Astros in the American League West.

But things have flipped since then, with the Mariners hitting a bad skid as the Astros have course corrected. The M’s are now exactly .500 at 64-64, putting them five games back of Houston and 7.5 games back in the Wild Card race.

Whether a club’s failings can be placed on the manager is always a matter for debate, but it’s not uncommon for them to be scapegoated when things go bad. Seattle has a strong pitching staff but the hitters have a collective batting line of .216/.301/.365 this year, which translates to a wRC+ of 96. The team-wide 27.7% strikeout rate is easily the worst in the majors, with Colorado second-worst at 26.1% and every other club below 25%.

Whether that has something to do with Servais or the club’s overall roster construction, or some combination, is something for each fan to decide for themselves. Either way, it seems the decision makers have opted to shake things up with just over a month remaining on the schedule.

The club has stuck by Servais through some other ups and downs, though some of those were clearly planned. The Mariners hovered around .500 in his first three years, including an 89-73 finish in 2018, but then the front office decided to embark on a rebuild. They traded away players like Robinson Canó, Edwin Díaz, James Paxton, Jean Segura and others going into 2019. They finished below .500 that season and in the shortened 2020 season as well.

Things have been much better lately. They won 90 games in 2021, just narrowly missing the playoffs. Another 90-win season followed in 2022, which was enough for a Wild Card spot that year, the club’s first playoff berth since 2001. Last year, they slipped slightly to 88 wins, missing the playoffs by just one game.

Despite a fairly strong three-year run, the ongoing collapse this year has prompted the M’s to pivot to Wilson. It’s a curious choice, as midseason managerial firings usually see the club pivot to another key member of the staff such as the bench coach, but that’s not the case this time.

Wilson played in the big leagues from 1992 to 2005 as a catcher, most of that with the Mariners. The M’s hired him as a minor league catching coordinator in 2013. He has never been part of a big league coaching staff, nor been a manager at any level. According to the M’s press release, Wilson has spent the past seven years as a special assistant for player development.

Notably, the team’s press release lists Wilson as the 18th full-time manager in franchise history. There is no interim tag. Dipoto confirmed that the M’s view him as the permanent manager (via Daniel Kramer of MLB.com). The team did not announce the length of Wilson’s contract.

The aforementioned run scoring issues also led the team to move on from DeHart. Seattle dismissed first-year offensive coordinator Brant Brown just two months into the season. They’ll try to jumpstart the offense with another midseason change. DeHart had been on Seattle’s major league staff since 2019. He has held the title of director of hitting strategy and hitting coach for the past two-plus seasons.

Martinez, one of the greatest hitters in MLB history, was the M’s hitting coach between 2015-18. He stepped down after the ’18 campaign to take a less demanding role with the organization. Now that he’s returning to the coaching staff, he’ll presumably have a significant say in hitting instruction regardless of his specific title. Assistant hitting coach Tommy Joseph is now the top in-house staffer on that side of the ball.

Ken Rosenthal and Marc Carig of the Athletic first reported that Servais would be fired and that the Mariners would hire Wilson in his place.

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