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Offseason In Review: Seattle Mariners

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Despite some glaring needs for offense, the Mariners only ended up tinkering a bit with their lineup after a pretty quiet offseason.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $11.25MM
Total spending: $11.25MM

Option Decisions

Trades & Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

After a few months of scouring the free agent and trade markets for a replacement for second baseman Jorge Polanco, the Mariners ended up signing....third baseman Jorge Polanco, brought back on a one-year deal worth $7.75MM in guaranteed money, and with a vesting option that could guarantee Polanco at least $6MM in 2026.  Polanco has played the vast majority of his nine MLB seasons as a middle infielder, but he does have 24 games of experience as a third baseman, with 15 of those games coming as recently as the 2023 season when he was still a member of the Twins.

Polanco's defensive metrics as a second baseman were mostly subpar, and his lack of a strong throwing arm raises questions about how well he'll translate to the hot corner.  However, the bigger issue might be whether or not Polanco can rebound from a rough year at the plate.  The infielder hit only .213/.296/.355 over 469 plate appearances with Seattle in 2024, while also missing a month due to a hamstring strain, and undergoing surgery in October to correct a lingering left knee problem.

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Mariners Release Mitch Haniger

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The Mariners announced this morning that they’ve released outfielder Mitch Haniger. Haniger was owed $15.5MM this season, the last year of the three-year, $43MM contract he signed with the Giants prior to the 2023 season. Both Haniger himself and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto provided statements alongside the announcement.

“Mitch has been a significant part of Mariners history and will be missed,” Dipoto said in the statement. “The day he arrived for his first spring training back in 2017, he established himself as one of the most focused, prepared, and hardest working players I’ve ever been around. We all appreciate the many ways he’s made us all better, on the field and off.”

“Putting on a Mariners uniform and playing at T-Mobile Park is something I’ll cherish forever,” Haniger said in his statement. “To our fans, my teammates, and everyone a part of this organization, thank you for embracing my family and me. We have so many great memories to look back on.”

It’s an unfortunate ending to Haniger’s tenure with the organization, which first began during the 2016-17 offseason when the Mariners acquired him from the Diamondbacks alongside Jean Segura and Zac Curtis in a deal that sent Ketel Marte and Taijuan Walker to Arizona. While Diamondbacks fans surely remember that deal fondly as Marte has grown into a star player with the club, Haniger enjoyed an impressive career of his own with Seattle over the years. Though he was often dogged by injuries throughout his tenure with the club, the outfielder remained productive and slashed .263/.337/.480 with a 124 wRC+ in 530 games from 2017 to 2022. His most impressive campaign with Seattle came in 2018, when he delivered a 137 wRC+ en route to a 5.0 fWAR/6.5 bWAR season that earned him an All-Star appearance and an eleventh-place finish in AL MVP voting that year.

Haniger departed the club for free agency following the 2022 campaign, and found a lucrative deal in San Francisco that guaranteed him $43MM over three years. Unfortunately, his first season with the Giants was one to forget as the outfielder was limited to just 61 games where he slashed a paltry .209/.266/.365 in 229 trips to the plate. Haniger was bit by the injury bug repeatedly through that season, as he suffered a fractured forearm in addition to oblique and back issues throughout the year. Despite those injuries, the Giants opted not to keep him in the fold and find out what a healthy season from their new outfielder might look like.

Instead, they shipped him back to Seattle alongside right-hander Anthony DeSclafani last winter in a deal that sent Robbie Ray to San Francisco. The surprise blockbuster reunited Haniger with the Mariners, and as he entered the season much healthier than he was the year prior there was plenty of reason for optimism that the veteran could return to form with the club. Unfortunately, that did not come to pass. Haniger struggled through 121 games with Seattle last year, slashing just .208/.286/.334 in 423 plate appearances.

It was his second consecutive season with negative WAR, and a career-high 29.8% strikeout rate offered little reason for optimism that he would be able to turn things around going forward. Haniger’s odds of recapturing his past success in Seattle further shrunk when the club acquired Randy Arozarena and Victor Robles during the 2024 season, both of whom effectively have the outfield corners locked down headed into 2025.

Haniger entered camp this year in competition with Mitch Garver and non-roster invitee Rowdy Tellez for the starting DH job, but quickly fell behind the club’s other two options when he hit just .167/.250/.389 across seven games this spring before being sidelined by shoulder soreness. He hasn’t played in a game since early March, and while a stint on the injured list appeared possible it now seems that the Mariners will instead allow Haniger to pursue opportunities elsewhere while clubs around the league are still finalizing their Opening Day roster decisions. Expecting a significant bounceback from a 34-year-old who is two full seasons removed from being an above average hitter would be a risk, but there’s little harm in another club seeing what Haniger might have left on a minor league deal should he be interested in one.

Mariners Release Drew Pomeranz, Jesse Hahn

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The Mariners announced that right-hander Jesse Hahn and left-hander Drew Pomeranz were both released from their minor league contracts.  Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times notes that both pitchers had enough service time to request releases if they weren’t going to make the Mariners’ Opening Day roster.

Pomeranz and Hahn have a combined 18 years of MLB experience between them, but the two veterans haven’t appeared in a big league game since the 2021 season.  Hahn didn’t pitch whatsoever in 2022 or 2023 while apparently recovering from a shoulder injury, but he resurfaced to toss 50 1/3 minor league innings with the Triple-A affiliates of the Dodgers and Mariners in 2024.  Hahn’s combined 4.29 ERA and 25.1% strikeout rate were respectable enough, but he also had an outsized 17.2% walk rate.

Injuries have dominated Pomeranz’s career narrative, and a variety of health issues (most notably a flexor tendon surgery) limited him to 19 1/3 minor league innings over the last three seasons.  He did sign a Major League deal with the Giants last May but didn’t see any action at the MLB level, as he was designated for assignment and then outrighted off the 40-man within a few days of joining the team.  An All-Star starter back in 2016, Pomeranz seemed to be on the verge of re-inventing himself as an elite relief arm, leading to a four-year, $34MM deal from the Padres in the 2019-20 offseason.  Unfortunately, continued health problems kept Pomeranz from living up that salary, even though he had a 1.62 ERA over the 44 1/3 innings he was able to pitch in 2020-21.

Neither Hahn or Pomeranz posted particularly good Cactus League numbers, leaving the Mariners looking elsewhere for bullpen help.  Right-hander Casey Legumina was also optioned to Triple-A, so Carlos Vargas will break camp as the final member of Seattle’s bullpen.  Divish observes that Vargas’ out-of-options status might’ve helped the team’s decision, as Legumina has options remaining and can be more easily shuttled on and off the roster.

Mariners To Acquire Michael Hobbs From Mets

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A minor trade is in the works, as Will Sammon of The Athletic reported earlier this afternoon that the Mets are shipping minor league right-hander Michael Hobbs to Seattle in exchange for cash considerations.

Hobbs, 25, was selected by the Mets in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft back in December. A tenth-round pick by Los Angeles back in 2021, Hobbs spent his entire career in the Dodgers organization prior to being plucked from the minor leagues by the Mets back in December. Unlike a player selected in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft, there are not specific roster rules that must be adhered to with a player drafted in the minor league phase, meaning Hobbs became a full member of the Mets organization without any real restrictions.

He’ll depart Queens without having so much as appeared in an official game, however, as he’s now ticketed for Seattle where he’ll likely serve as a depth option for the Mariners’ bullpen in Triple-A Tacoma. While Hobbs’s only pro experience to this point has come as a Dodger, his resume in the minors is fairly impressive. After struggling in an eight-game stint in the low minors during his draft year, Hobbs has looked good at the High-A and Double-A levels over the past three seasons with Los Angeles. Last year was particularly impressive, as he posted a 2.97 ERA in 57 2/3 innings of work across 42 appearances. He struck out 21.8% of opponents faced, and while a 12.6% walk rate leaves much to be desired a fantastic 52.7% groundball rate helps him keep the ball in the park and makes up for his lackluster strikeout-to-walk ratio.

With Hobbs now likely ticketed for his first taste of Triple-A action, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the right-hander make his big league debut with the Mariners at some point this year. With that being said, Cody Bolton, Hagen Danner, and Eduard Bazardo are among the relief arms who are likely to be ahead of Hobbs on the Mariners’ depth chart not expected to break camp with the club, suggesting he’ll need to make some noise in the minor leagues if he’s going to leapfrog those alternatives. Of course, the Mets were fairly deep in Triple-A relief depth themselves, with players like Kevin Herget, Huascar Brazoban, and Austin Warren ahead of Hobbs on the depth chart at the club’s Syracuse affiliate.

36 Veteran Players With Looming Opt-Out Dates

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The 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement implemented a new series of uniform opt-out dates for players who qualified as free agents under Article XX(b) of said agreement and sign a minor league deal in free agency. More specifically, that designation falls on players with six-plus years of MLB service time who finished the preceding season on a major league roster or injured list. Some contracts for players coming over from a foreign professional league like Nippon Professional Baseball or the Korea Baseball Organization will also have language written into their contracts allowing them to qualify as an XX(b) free agent despite a lack of six years of service.

The three uniform opt-out dates on those contracts land five days before Opening Day, on May 1 and on June 1. With the regular season set to kick off next week, any Article XX(b) free agents who are in camp on minor league contracts will have the opportunity to opt out on Saturday, March 22. A player triggering one of these out clauses gives his current club 48 hours to either add him to the 40-man roster or let him become a free agent.

There are other ways to secure opt-outs in contracts, of course. Many players who don’t qualify for XX(b) designation will still have opt-out opportunities negotiated into their minor league deals in free agency.

The following is a list of 36 players who are in camp as non-roster invitees and will be able to opt out this weekend. Most were XX(b) free agents, but there are a handful of names who didn’t meet that requirement but had outs negotiated into their respective deals nonetheless. This is not a comprehensive list of all players with opt-out opportunities this weekend.

All spring stats referenced are accurate through the completion of games played Wednesday, March 19.

Astros: LHP Jalen Beeks

Beeks, 31, was a relatively late sign (March 7) who’s since tossed three spring frames — including two scoreless innings just yesterday. He logged a 4.50 ERA in 70 innings between the Rockies and Pirates last season. He struggled to miss bats last year but typically runs strong strikeout rates. Dating back to 2020, Beeks carries a 4.16 ERA in 192 2/3 innings. In Josh Hader, Bryan King and Bennett Sousa, the Astros already have three lefty relievers on the 40-man. Another veteran non-roster invitee, Steven Okert, has rattled off 8 2/3 shutout spring innings with a 14-to-2 K/BB ratio. Beeks might have long odds of cracking the roster.

Blue Jays: RHP Jacob Barnes, LHP Ryan Yarbrough

The 34-year-old Barnes logged a 4.36 ERA in a career-high 66 big league innings last season. He posted an ERA north of 5.00 in each of the five preceding seasons (a total of 115 1/3 frames). He’s been tagged for four runs in 5 1/3 innings this spring.

Yarbrough, 33, had a terrific run with the Jays to close out the 2024 season. Joining Toronto in a deadline swap sending Kevin Kiermaier to the Dodgers, the veteran southpaw posted a 2.01 ERA in 31 1/3 innings. He’s a soft-tosser, sitting just 86.5 mph with his heater, but Yarbrough can pitch multiple innings in relief and has a decent track record even beyond last year’s overall 3.19 earned run average (4.21 ERA in 768 MLB innings). He’s allowed three runs with and 8-to-1 K/BB ratio in 6 2/3 innings in camp.

Braves: RHP Buck Farmer, RHP Hector Neris

Farmer was already reassigned to minor league camp on Sunday, so there’d seem to be a good chance of him taking his out. The 34-year-old turned in a terrific 3.04 ERA in 71 innings for the Reds last year but was probably hampered by his age, pedestrian velocity and subpar command in free agency. With a 3.68 ERA in 193 innings over the past three seasons in Cincinnati, he should find an opportunity somewhere — even if it’s not in Atlanta.

Neris is still in Braves camp. He signed well into camp and thus has only pitched one official inning so far, which was scoreless. (Neris is pitching today as well.) He’s looking to bounce back from a 4.10 ERA and a particularly poor performance in save opportunities last year. Prior to his nondescript 2024, Neris rattled off a 3.03 ERA in 208 innings from 2021-23 between Philly and Houston, saving 17 games and collecting 67 holds along the way.

Brewers: 1B/OF Mark Canha, OF Manuel Margot

He’s had a brutal spring, but the 36-year-old Canha has been an above-average hitter every year since 2018, by measure of wRC+. He’s just 2-for-23 in Brewers camp, but he’s slugged a homer and walked as often as he’s fanned (four times apiece). Milwaukee has Rhys Hoskins at first base, but Canha could chip in at DH and offer a right-handed complement to lefty outfielders Sal Frelick and Garrett Mitchell.

Margot hasn’t hit well in a tiny sample of 35 spring plate appearances, but he’s outproduced Canha with a .250/.314/.375 slash. He’s coming off a dismal .238/.289/.337 showing in Minnesota, however, and hasn’t been the plus defender he was prior to a major 2022 knee injury. Like Canha, he could complement Frelick and Mitchell as a righty-swinging outfielder, but Canha has been the far more productive bat in recent seasons.

Cubs: RHP Chris Flexen

The Cubs reassigned Flexen to minor league camp after just 3 2/3 innings this spring. He was hit hard on the other side of town with the White Sox in 2024, though Flexen quietly righted the ship after an awful start. He posted a 5.69 ERA through nine starts but logged a 4.62 mark over his final 21 trips to the mound, including a tidy 3.52 earned run average across 46 innings in his last eight starts. Flexen may not bounce back to his 2021-22 numbers in Seattle, but he’s a durable fifth starter if nothing else.

Diamondbacks: INF/OF Garrett Hampson, RHP Scott McGough

The D-backs don’t really have a backup shortstop while Blaze Alexander is sidelined with an oblique strain, which seems to bode well for Hampson. He’s hitting .235/.333/.324 in camp and can play three infield spots and three outfield positions. He had a bleak .230/.275/.300 performance in Kansas City last year but was a league-average hitter for the Marlins as recently as 2023.

McGough was reassigned to minor league camp yesterday after serving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings of spring work. That wasn’t the follow-up to last year’s gruesome 7.44 ERA for which the 35-year-old righty or the team had hoped.

Giants: C Max Stassi, RHP Lou Trivino

Stassi is battling Sam Huff, who’s on the 40-man, for the backup catcher’s role while Tom Murphy is injured. The 34-year-old Stassi is hitting .300/.364/.700 with a pair of homers in 22 spring plate appearances. He’s a plus defender with a scattershot track record at the plate.

Trivino hasn’t pitched since 2022 due to Tommy John surgery and a separate shoulder issue. He also hasn’t allowed a run in 8 1/3 spring innings. (9-to-4 K/BB ratio). Trivino’s scoreless Cactus League showing, his pre-injury track record and his familiarity with skipper Bob Melvin — his manager in Oakland — all seem to give him a real chance to win a spot.

Mariners: RHP Shintaro Fujinami, RHP Trevor Gott, 1B Rowdy Tellez

Fujinami’s command has never been good, and he’s walked more batters (seven) than he’s struck out (four) through 5 2/3 spring innings. He’s also plunked a pair of batters. He’s looking to bounce back from an injury-ruined 2024 season but might have to take his first steps toward doing so in Triple-A.

Tellez has had a big camp and looks like he could have a real chance to make the club in a part-time DH/first base role, as explored more yesterday. Gott is on the mend from Tommy John surgery performed last March and won’t pitch until midseason. He’s unlikely to opt out.

Mets: RHP Jose Ureña

Ureña was torched for seven runs in his first 1 1/3 spring innings after signing with the Mets on Feb. 27. He bounced back by striking out all three opponents he faced in an inning this past weekend, but he hasn’t helped himself otherwise. Ureña’s 3.80 ERA in 109 innings with Texas last year was his first sub-5.00 ERA since 2017-18 in Miami.

Padres: 1B Yuli Gurriel, INF Jose Iglesias

Both veterans have a legitimate chance to make the club. Gurriel has had a productive spring (.296/.321/.519) at nearly 41 years of age, while Iglesias is out to a 5-for-18 start since signing in mid-March. Gurriel could split time at first and DH, lessening the need to use Luis Arraez in the field. Iglesias could see frequent work at second base, shifting Jake Cronenworth to first base and pushing Arraez to DH. The Padres probably wouldn’t have put a hefty (relative to most minor league deals) $3MM base salary on Iglesias’ deal if they didn’t see a real path to him making the roster.

Pirates: LHP Ryan Borucki

Borucki was great for the Pirates in 2023 and struggled through 11 innings during an injury-marred 2024 season. The 30-year-old southpaw has allowed one run in eight spring innings. His five walks are a bit much, but he’s also fanned 11 of his 33 opponents.

Rangers: SS Nick Ahmed, RHP David Buchanan, RHP Jesse Chavez, OF Kevin Pillar, RHP Hunter Strickland

Ahmed has more homers in 28 spring plate appearances than he had in 228 plate appearances in 2024 or 210 plate appearances in 2023. He’s popped three round-trippers already and slashed .286/.310/.607. With a crowded infield and versatile backups like Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran, Ahmed might still have a hard time cracking the roster.

None of the three pitchers listed here has performed well in limited work. Buchanan had a nice run as a starter in the KBO in the four preceding seasons, while Chavez has been a mainstay in the Atlanta bullpen for much of the past few years. Strickland had a nice 2024 in Anaheim but signed very late and retired only one of the five batters he faced during his long spring outing.

Pillar may have the best chance of the bunch to make the team. He’s hitting .273/.333/.394 in 39 plate appearances. Outfielders Wyatt Langford and Adolis Garcia have been banged up this spring, so some extra outfield depth could make sense.

Rays: DH/OF Eloy Jimenez

Jimenez homered for the second time yesterday, boosting his Grapefruit line to .263/.300/.447. He’s coming off a dreadful season in 2024, but from 2019-23 the former top prospect raked at a .275/.324/.487 pace, including a 31-homer rookie campaign (admittedly, in the juiced-ball 2019 season). Durability has been a bigger factor than productivity. If the Rays can get Jimenez to elevate the ball more, he could be a bargain; he’s still only 28.

Red Sox: LHP Matt Moore, RHP Adam Ottavino

Moore signed on Feb. 20 and has only gotten into two spring games so far, totaling two innings. Ottavino has pitched four innings but allowed five runs. He’s walked five and tossed a pair of wild pitches in that time. Both pitchers have long MLB track records, but they’re both coming off lackluster seasons.

Reds: LHP Wade Miley

Miley underwent Tommy John surgery early last season and contemplated retirement upon learning his prognosis. He wanted to return to one of his former NL Central clubs in free agency, and the Reds clearly offered a more compelling minor league deal than the Brewers. He’s not going to be a realistic option until late May, and it seems unlikely he’d opt out while his rehab is still ongoing.

Rockies: RHP Jake Woodford

Woodford isn’t an Article XX(b) free agent, but MLBTR has learned that he still has a March 22 opt-out. He made his fourth appearance of Rockies camp yesterday, tossing 2 2/3 innings with an earned run. Woodford has allowed seven runs on 11 hits and three walks with five punchouts and a nice 47.2% grounder rate in 10 2/3 frames this spring. He has experience as a starter and reliever. The righty doesn’t miss many bats but keeps the ball on the ground and has good command. He’s a fifth starter/swingman who’s out of minor league options.

Royals: C Luke Maile, RHP Ross Stripling

Maile is a glove-first backup who’s had a nice spring at the plate but has done so on a team with a healthy Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin. His path to a roster spot doesn’t look great. Speculatively, his former Reds club, which just lost Tyler Stephenson to begin the year, would make sense if they plan to add an outside catcher. Maile’s .214/.294/.329 performance over the past three seasons is light, but he’s already familiar with the bulk of Cincinnati’s staff. He’s a fine backup or No. 3 catcher for any club, Kansas City included.

Stripling notched a 3.01 ERA in 124 innings for the 2022 Blue Jays, but it’s been rough waters since. He was rocked for a 5.68 ERA across the past two seasons, spending time with both Bay Area clubs, and has been tagged for 11 runs on 14 hits — four of them homers — with just two strikeouts in six spring frames. He’ll likely need a strong Triple-A showing, be it with the Royals or another club, to pitch his way back to the majors.

Tigers: LHP Andrew Chafin

Chafin surprisingly commanded only a minor league deal this offseason and has struggled to begin his third stint with the Tigers. He’s been tagged for eight runs in four spring innings, walking six batters along the way. It’s a rough look, but the affable southpaw notched a 3.51 ERA in 56 1/3 MLB frames last year and touts a 3.12 mark across the past four seasons combined.

White Sox: RHP Mike Clevinger, INF Brandon Drury, OF Travis Jankowski

The ChiSox signed Clevinger for a third time late this spring and are trying him in the bullpen. He’s responded with four shutout innings, allowing only one hit and no walks while fanning six hitters. His 2025 White Sox reunion is out to a much better start than his 2024 reunion, wherein he was limited to only 16 innings with a 6.75 ERA thanks to elbow and neck troubles.

Drury could hardly be doing more to secure a spot with the Pale Hose. He’s decimated Cactus League pitching at a .410/.439/.821 pace, slugging three homers and seven doubles in only 41 plate appearances. He’s coming off a terrible 2024 showing with the Angels but hit .263/.313/.493 from 2021-23. It’d be a surprise if the Sox didn’t keep him.

Jankowski started the spring with the Cubs, was granted his release and signed with the Sox. The hits haven’t been dropping, but he has six walks in 25 plate appearances. The White Sox already have Michael A. Taylor in a fourth outfield role. Andrew Benintendi, who missed three-plus weeks with a fractured hand, was back in the lineup yesterday, making Jankowski something of a long shot.

Yankees: RHP Carlos Carrasco

With a nice spring showing and several injuries in the Yankees’ rotation, Carrasco looks to have a good chance at making the roster. Jack Curry of the YES Network already reported it’s “likely” Carrasco will be added this weekend. Carrasco has a 1.69 ERA with 15 strikeouts and seven walks (plus four hit batters) in 16 spring innings. He tossed five shutout frames yesterday.

MLBTR Podcast: The Rays’ Stadium Deal Is Dead, Rangers’ Rotation Issues, And More!

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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 Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Who is a more likely trade acquisition for the Mets, Sandy Alcántara of the Marlins or Dylan Cease of the Padres? And who would command a larger trade package? (20:50)
  • Should the Pirates trade one of their catchers? (24:20)
  • How realistic is it that the Mariners have better offense than last year and are in position to use their prospects for deadline upgrades? (28:40)
  • Should the Yankees try to plug holes with veterans or give playing time to younger guys? (34:25)
  • The Tigers are trying Javier Báez and Spencer Torkelson at different positions. Are they trying to increase the trade appeal of these players or delude themselves into thinking they could actually provide value? (38:25)

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!

Photo courtesy Bill Streicher, Imagn Images

Rowdy Tellez Has Opt-Out In Mariners Deal This Weekend

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First baseman Rowdy Tellez has an opt-out opportunity in his minor league deal with the Mariners this weekend, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. He’ll be able to ask for his release on March 23 if he hasn’t been added to the 40-man roster by that point. The team would have 24 hours to add Tellez to the 40-man roster or release him upon him triggering the clause.

Tellez, who just turned 30 on Sunday, has had a productive Cactus League stint with the M’s, slashing .297/.333/.595 with a trio of homers in 39 trips to the plate. In doing so, he’s put himself into the mix for at-bats at first base or designated hitter.

Fellow lefty-swinging slugger Luke Raley is expected to handle the lion’s share of playing time at first base, but the DH spot is less settled. High-priced veterans Mitch Haniger and Mitch Garver will probably get some looks, but both are right-handed and coming off poor seasons at the plate. There’s a potential platoon setup with the left-handed Tellez, and a shoulder injury to Haniger could set him up for an even more prominent role if he makes the club. Haniger hasn’t played in a spring game in 11 days now. Garver has also been a bit banged up, missing a few games after getting plunked in the hand, but he returned to the lineup over the weekend. Garver has been on a tear this spring and has a long track record against lefties; he and Tellez could also form a platoon in the DH spot.

Tellez has the type of power bat that the Mariners have frequently lacked in recent years, as evidenced by a 35-homer campaign with the Brewers back in 2022. However, he doesn’t walk all that often or run well, leading to perennially middling batting averages and on-base percentages. Even in that 2022 power surge, Tellez hit just .219 with a .306 on-base percentage. He’s also struggled in the two years since, posting a combined .231/.295/.385 line in 772 plate appearances. Overall, Tellez is a career .234/.303/.436 hitter in just over 2300 plate appearances in the majors.

Marlins Claim Seth Martinez

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The Marlins have claimed right-hander Seth Martinez off the Seattle waiver wire, as announced by the Mariners.  It wasn’t known that Martinez had been designated for assignment, and Martinez only joined the Mariners on another waiver claim from Miami less than two weeks ago. The Marlins went on to announce that left-hander Andrew Nardi was placed on the 60-day injured list with low back inflammation to make room for Martinez’s return to the 40-man roster.

Martinez, 30, was drafted by the Athletics in the 17th round of the 2016 draft but has spent his entire MLB career in an Astros uniform. The right-hander made his big league debut in 2021 for an ill-fated cup of coffee where he surrendered five runs across three innings of work, but provided solid middle relief work for the Astros since then. Martinez’s 2022 season was particularly impressive, as he dominated to the tune of a 2.09 ERA across 38 2/3 innings of work with a 24.5% strikeout rate against a 9.0% walk rate. That production wasn’t entirely supported by more advanced metrics, but his 3.32 FIP and 3.56 SIERA still suggested even his underlying performance was that of a quality relief arm.

Unfortunately, Martinez has not been able to maintain that level of success in the years since. The right-hander’s 2023 campaign was something of a disaster, as he struggled to a 5.23 ERA with a 4.42 FIP in 43 innings of work. While his ERA was inflated by a below-average strand rate and a more than 100-point jump in BABIP, his walk and home run rates both crept upwards as well to make the struggles more than simple bad luck. While the luck-based factors in Martinez’s 2023 season reversed in 2024, allowing him to post a solid 3.59 ERA in 52 2/3 frames for Houston last year, his skills took a major step backward as his strikeout rate plummeted to just 16.2% while he surrendered the most home runs of his career.

Those struggles led the Astros to designate Martinez for assignment back in November, and he’s been riding the waiver wire ever since. The right-hander was first claimed by the Diamondbacks and spent most of the offseason with Arizona, but was DFA’d once again to make room for veteran hurler Kendall Graveman on the Snakes’ 40-man. He was picked up by Miami shortly thereafter and since then has been shipped to Seattle, and now will land back in Miami as a potential bullpen arm for a Marlins club with plenty of interesting rotation arms but very little certainty in their relief corps.

Things are even more unsettled in the Miami bullpen due to Nardi’s placement on the shelf. The southpaw entered camp behind schedule but the club provided little information about his situation, instead only noting that he had “some stuff flare up in the offseason.” Evidently, Nardi’s back issues are serious enough that the club does not anticipate him being ready to pitch before the end of May, an unfortunate development regarding one of the club’s better relief arms. The lefty posted an ugly 5.07 ERA in 2024, but underlying metrics suggested his performance was much stronger than that. He struck out a whopping 33.3% of opponents faced, walked just 8.6%, and kept hard contact to a minimum en route to a 2.76 xERA, a 2.77 SIERA, and a 3.33 FIP.

All of those figures were much more in line with the production Nardi posted in 2023, when he pitched to a 2.67 ERA in 57 1/3 innings of work. Given his excellent peripherals last year and previous success, Nardi seemed to be a likely candidate for a late-inning role with the Marlins this year. This injury will put that on hold for at least the season’s first couple of months, and perhaps longer depending on Nardi’s timetable for a return to action.

Mariners Release Neftali Feliz

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The Mariners announced Friday that they’ve released veteran right-hander Neftali Feliz. He’d been in camp as a non-roster invitee this spring but is once again a free agent. Seattle also optioned righty Will Klein to Triple-A Tacoma and reassigned non-roster players Samad Taylor and Nick Dunn to minor league camp.

Feliz, 37 in May, hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2021 and has just four MLB frames to his credit since the 2017 season. The 2010 American League Rookie of the Year has spent the past few years pitching in the Mexican League and in the Dominican Winter League. He embarked on a comeback bid with the Mariners and pitched four official innings during Cactus League play, yielding three runs on six hits and no walks with one strikeout.

During his three-year run in an extraordinarily hitter-friendly Mexican League, he’s pitched quite well. He’s pitched out of the bullpen for four different clubs and logged a 2.37 ERA with a 26.3% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate in 121 2/3 innings. He’s consistently pitched well with a pair of winter ball clubs as well.

At his peak, Feliz averaged better than 96 mph on his heater — he sat 92-94 mph with his four-seamer in his final Mariners outing this spring — and fanned more than 28% of his opponents on the strength of a hearty 14.1% swinging-strike rate. Injuries, most notably including Tommy John surgery and ulnar nerve palsy, slowed his career. He posted a dominant 2.53 ERA with 87 saves and 12 holds in 241 2/3 frames through his age-26 season but has managed only 151 big league innings with a 5.16 earned run average since.

Another club can now speculate on Feliz if his work in Mariners camp intrigued them, and it’s also feasible that he could return for a fourth year in Mexico, given the success he’s had there dating back to 2022.

George Kirby Shut Down Due To Shoulder Inflammation, Will Open Season On Injured List

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Star Mariners right-hander George Kirby has been shut down from throwing due to shoulder inflammation and will very likely open the 2025 season on the 15-day injured list, general manager Justin Hollander announced to the team’s beat today (video link via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). There’s no structural damage at play, and Hollander made clear that Kirby felt he could continue pitching, but the team is understandably taking a cautious approach with such an important member of the pitching staff. Said Hollander:

“George Kirby has not been feeling great after his outings. In the outings, he’s throwing the ball well — same velocity as you would expect. He just hasn’t felt like he’s bouncing back great. We did an MRI — MRI looks great. No structural concerns whatsoever, and I will repeat that: zero structural concerns. There is some inflammation in there that we need to get out, so much to George’s chagrin, we are going to take the ball out of his hands. … This is more like a week-to-week thing than a day-to-day thing. We just want to make sure we’re doing the right thing for the big picture of the whole season as opposed to worrying about Opening Day.”

Hollander didn’t paint the issue as one that would require a long-term absence, but it’s nevertheless a cause for concern and a blow to the team’s short-term outlook. Kirby, the 20th overall pick in the 2019 draft, made his big league debut in 2022 and immediately cemented himself as one of the sport’s most promising young pitchers. The now-27-year-old righty has pitched 511 2/3 innings in the major and turned in a 3.43 ERA with a solid 23.3% strikeout rate and a minuscule 3.1% walk rate. He has arguably the best command of any pitcher in MLB and has parlayed that into an All-Star appearance and a top-10 Cy Young finish in his young career.

Kirby has never been on the major league injured list, though Divish notes that he missed a month during the 2021 minor league season due to mild inflammation in his shoulder and also had a bout of inflammation while pitching at the Mariners’ alternate site during the shortened 2020 season. Neither instance proved to be a long-term issue, and the M’s are surely hopeful that’ll be the case this time around as well.

There’s no immediate timetable for Kirby’s return. In his absence, Seattle will still have an outstanding top-four consisting of Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo. Righty Emerson Hancock is the most experienced depth option on the 40-man roster, although the former No. 6 overall pick (2020) hasn’t yet lived up to that draft billing. He’s pitched in the majors in each of the past two seasons and delivered 72 1/3 innings with a 4.71 ERA. Hancock’s 7% walk rate is strong, but his 14.3% strikeout rate ranks seventh-lowest among the 449 pitchers with at least 70 combined innings over the past two seasons.

Other depth options in camp include righty Blas Castano, who’s also on the 40-man roster (but has not yet made his MLB debut) and non-roster invitees Logan Evans, Jhonathan Diaz, Luis F. Castillo and Casey Lawrence. Evans is generally ranked within the top 10 of an absolutely stacked Mariners farm system after posting a 3.20 ERA in 107 Double-A innings last year. He’s not far from being MLB-ready. Diaz and Lawrence are journeymen who’ve both had brief stints with the M’s in the past. Castillo made a brief MLB debut with the 2022 Tigers and has since spent two seasons in Japan, pitching to solid results.

For all the accolades heaped on their top-five starters, the Mariners are relatively light on depth options behind that prized quintet. It’s difficult to convince veterans who settle for minor league deals to sign on with a team that pretty clearly lacks a path to the majors, as exemplified by the Mariners and Phillies in recent seasons. The M’s generally need to rely on in-house development for depth. Hancock and Evans are products of that process, but the Mariners have also seen prospects like Taylor Dollard and Sam Carlson derailed by injury and traded others like Adam Macko, Connor Phillips, Brandon Williamson and Levi Stoudt in recent years.

It seems unlikely the Mariners would immediately go outside the organization for any sort of notable addition. Beyond the fact that Kirby doesn’t appear ticketed for a long-term absence, the M’s have scant payroll space, as their bare-bones offseason made abundantly clear. Beyond that, any new arms brought into the fold might not be built up in time to factor into the Opening Day rotation.

One route the team could take would be opportunistically grabbing a rotation arm off waivers if the opportunity presents itself, or scooping up a veteran who’s been in camp with another club but is informed he won’t make that team’s Opening Day roster. There aren’t any immediate options available in that regard, but as teams begin to set their rosters in the weeks ahead, both avenues can become more viable paths for Seattle to bolster its depth.

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