Tag Archives: Seattle Mariners

Emilio Pagan Signs Two-Year Deal with Cincinnati Reds

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Emilio Pagan is headed to Ohio…

The 32-year-old Puerto Rican professional baseball player has signed with the Cincinnati Reds on a two-year deal for the right-handed reliever.

Emilio Pagan, The deal is reportedly worth $16,000,000 and includes both a player option after the first season and performance bonuses.

The Cincinnati Reds are expecting to spend money this offseason according to Bob Castellini, with the signing of Pagan considered the first of several deals the team makes this offseason to add to their 82-win club from 2023 that’s full of young talent.

Pagan spent the 2023 season with the Minnesota Twins and had one of the best years of his career.

He pitched in 66 games and threw 69.1 innings while posting a 2.99 ERA, giving up 45 hits – including 5 home runs – to go along with 21 walks and 65 strikeouts.

He has played in the MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres and Minnesota Twins. He plays for the Puerto Rico national baseball team.

Eugenio Suarez Acquired by Arizona Diamondbacks in Trade with Seattle Mariners

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Eugenio Suarez is headed to the desert…

The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired the 32-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball infielder in a trade with the Seattle Mariners, filling their vacancy at third base and adding much-needed power to their lineup.

Eugenio SuarezThe Mariners received right-hander Carlos Vargas and veteran catcher Seby Zavala for Suarez, who has belted at least 21 home runs in each of the past seven full seasons.

The reigning National League champion Diamondbacks were in need of a third baseman when three-time All-Star Evan Longoria became a free agent this month. Longoria, 38, appeared in just 74 games during the regular season but started 16 of 17 games at the hot corner during Arizona’s postseason run.

“It adds a little bit of stability at that spot,” Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said. “He’s a guy we’ve liked for a long time.”

Suarez will make just over $11 million in 2024 — the final guaranteed year of a seven-year contract that also includes a $15 million club option for 2025. His 7.2 WAR over the past two seasons is ninth among all major league third basemen.

Suarez batted .232 with 22 homers and 96 RBIs but also struck out a league-leading 214 times this past season, his second with the Mariners. He was an MLB All-Star with the Cincinnati Reds in 2018 and enjoyed his best season in the majors the following year, when he had a career-high 49 homers and 103 RBIs.

But Suarez has struggled to make consistent contact over the past four years, starting with the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season when he batted just .202 despite hitting 15 homers in 60 games with Cincinnati.

Suarez, who has batted just .221 since 2020 and has led the American League in strikeouts in each of the past two seasons, will join a Diamondbacks lineup that finished tied for 10th in the National League this season with 166 homers.

Arizona ranked 26th in baseball in WAR by third basemen in 2023. Of the five players who played that position for Arizona last season, three are already off the roster — Longoria is a free agent, Josh Rojas was traded to Seattle at the trade deadline, and Buddy Kennedy was lost on waivers to the St. Louis Cardinals. Jace Peterson and Emmanuel Rivera remain from the group and figure to fill reserve and/or platoon roles.

Vargas, 24, made five relief appearances during the regular season while Zavala, 30, is a .210 career hitter in parts of four seasons with the Diamondbacks and White Sox.

Jerry Dipoto, president of baseball operations for the Mariners, said the club envisions Zavala as the backup to Cal Raleigh entering the season.

Moving on from Suarez will be hard to sell to a fan base full of skepticism about the direction of the club after Seattle missed the playoffs and Dipoto’s misstep with some of his postseason comments. From the outside, it appears to be a move to clear salary, erases a key leader from Seattle’s clubhouse and leaves a hole at third base.

“Adding Seby and Carlos is another step toward building the type of deep roster that is required at the major league level,” Dipoto said. “Seby is an experienced catcher with excellent defensive skills who will team with Cal behind the plate. And Carlos is a young reliever with the type of ‘big stuff’ that our staff has done a wonderful job developing over the years.”

Adrian Beltre Among Newcomers to Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame Ballot

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Adrian Beltre is getting his first chance at entering the hall…

The 44-year-old Dominican former professional baseball player, regarded as one of the greatest third basemen of all time, is among the newcomers to the 26-player Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame ballot, as revealed on Monday.

Adrian Beltre Beltre, a four time MLB All-Star. played 21 major league seasons and won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award five times. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers.

Other newcomers are  Bartolo Colon, Matt Holliday, Jose Bautista, Adrian Gonzalez, Jose Reyes, Victor Martinez, James Shields, David Wright, Joe Mauer, Chase Utley and Brandon Phillips.

Players must receive 75% of the vote to gain induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, with the top holdovers from last year’s vote including Todd Helton (72%), Billy Wagner (68%), Andruw Jones (58%), Gary Sheffield (55%) and Carlos Beltran (46.5%).

It’s the 10th and final year on the ballot for Sheffield, while Wagner is on the ballot for the ninth time.

Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez, both of whom received PED suspensions during their careers, also return to the ballot.

Beltran returns for the second time after his vote total might have been held down in his initial appearance due to his involvement in the 2017 Houston Astros cheating scandal.

Here’s a look at the top Latino newcomers:

  • Beltre should be a lock as a first-year candidate after finishing with 3,166 hits, 477 home runs and 93.5 WAR while capturing five Gold Gloves. He ranks third in WAR among third basemen, behind only Mike Schmidtand Eddie Mathews. He had his career season with the Los Angeles Dodgersin 2004, when he led the National League with 48 home runs and finished second in the MVP voting, but his best run came in his 30s with the Texas Rangers from 2011 to 2018, when he had four 30-homer seasons and hit .304.
  • Colon became a fan favorite late in his career, and he finished with 247 wins and won a Cy Young Award with the Angels in 2005, but his career ERA of 4.12 is a little high for serious consideration.
  • Bautista had a nice run from 2010 to 2015 as the game’s top power hitter — he led the AL with 54 home runs in 2010 and 43 in 2011, and his 227 home runs over those six seasons were 28 more than Miguel Cabrerato lead all hitters — but he was late bloomer and didn’t do enough on the front end or back end of his career, and Hall of Fame voters tend to reward longevity over peak value.
  • Gonzalez (43.5 WAR) falls into the “Hall of Very Good” category, with just over 2,000 hits, 317 home runs and seven 100-RBI seasons, but the offensive bar is high for first basemen.

Other holdovers are Omar Vizquel, Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu, Jimmy Rollins, Mark Buehrle, Francisco Rodriguez and Torii Hunter.

After years of electing multiple candidates, the BBWAA has elected just one each of the past two years — Scott Rolen in 2023; David Ortiz in 2022 — and didn’t elect anyone in 2021.

Earlier, the Hall of Fame announced its Contemporary Era Committee ballot, which this year considered managers, executive and umpires.

The eight candidates on that ballot are managers Jim Leyland, Lou Piniella, Cito Gaston and Davey Johnson; executives Hank Peters and Bill White (who was also a fine player); and umpires Joe West and Ed Montague.

Miguel Andujar Agrees to One-Year Contract with Oakland Athletics

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Miguel Andujar is preparing for an Athletic(s) season…

The 28-year-old Dominican professional baseball third baseman and outfielder has agreed to a one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics alongside Abraham Toro.

Miguel AndujarOakland announced the deals on Friday.

Andujar’s contract is worth $1.7 million, and Toro receives $1,275,000 under his agreement.

The A’s also claimed right-hander Michael Kelly off waivers from Cleveland and signed outfielder Daz Cameron to a minor league deal with an invitation to big league spring training.

Kelly, who went 1-0 with a 3.78 ERA in 14 big league games this year, was designated for assignment on Tuesday.

Andujar, who also can play the corner outfield spots, was claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh on November 6.

Andujar batted .297 with 27 homers and 92 RBIs for the New York Yankees in 2018, but his production has dropped considerably. He has a .270 average with 39 homers and 149 RBIs in parts of seven big league seasons.

Toro was acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday for minor league right-hander Chad Patrick.

The 26-year-old Toro hit .444 (8-for-18) with two homers and nine RBIs in nine games for Milwaukee this year and .291 with eight homers and 58 RBIs in 96 games at Triple-A Nashville.

A switch-hitter, Toro has a .211 career average with 28 homers and 108 RBIs in five seasons with Houston Astros (2019-21), Seattle Mariners (2021-22) and Milwaukee.

Oakland also announced that it had declined to offer a contract to infielder Kevin Smith. The 27-year-old Smith batted .185 with five homers and 11 RBIs in 49 games this year.

Seattle Mariners Acquire Luis Urías from Boston Red Sox

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Luis Urías is heading out west…

The Seattle Mariners have acquired the 26-year-old Mexican professional baseball infielder from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for right-handed pitcher Isaiah Campbell.

Luis UríasUrías, a utility infielder who can play second and third base and shortstop, appeared in 52 games last season between the Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox while dealing with injuries.

Urías missed the first two months due to a hamstring injury. He was dealt to the Red Sox at the trade deadline and appeared in 32 games for Boston the rest of the way.

Urías hit just .194 last season, but played in 119 games in 2022 and a career-high 150 games in 2021 with the Brewers. Seattle will be hoping it gets the 2021 version of Urías, who hit .249 with 23 homers and 75 RBIs.

Campbell, 25, made his major league debut last season with the Mariners. Campbell was 4-1 with a 2.83 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 28⅔ innings out of the bullpen. Campbell made his debut on July 7 after spending parts of three seasons in the minors of the Mariners’ organization.

Tampa Bay Rays’ Star Yandy Diaz Wins His First Silver Slugger Award

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Yandy Diaz is celebrating his first silver moment…

The 32-year-old Cuban professional baseball player and Tampa Bay Rays star has won his first Silver Slugger Award, which is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball.

Yandy DiazDiaz, who has played for the Rays since 2019, won the award in the American League’s first base position. He was this year’s AL batting champion.

Seattle Mariners’ star Julio Rodriguez has picked up his second Silver Slugger Award.

The 22-year-old Dominican professional baseball center fielder won one of the outfield awards in the American League.

In the National League voting, 25-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball player William Contreras, who plays for the Milwaukee Brewers, has claimed his maiden Silver Slugger.

NL batting champion Luis Arraez (.354) of the Miami Marlins won his second in a row after winning in 2022 with the AL‘s Minnesota Twins.

Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. collected his third Silver Slugger Award in the outfield, alongside San Diego Padres’ Juan Soto, who claimed his fourth award.

Francisco Lindor, the 29-year-old Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop for the New York Mets, picked up the third Silver Slugger prize of his career.

The Texas Rangers received their first American League Offensive Team of the Year honor.

Louisville Slugger presented the Atlanta Braves with the inaugural National League Offensive Team of the Year award as determined by a combination of offensive statistics and a fan vote for finalists between September 25-October 1.

Both the Rangers and Braves led their leagues in runs, hits, home runs, RBIs, batting average, slugging percentage and OPS.

Here’s the full list of winners: 

American League
C: Adley Rutschman (Baltimore)
1B: Yandy Diaz (Tampa Bay)
2B: Marcus Semien (Texas)
SS: Corey Seager (Texas)
3B: Rafael Devers (Boston)
OF: Kyle Tucker (Houston), Julio Rodriguez (Seattle), Luis Robert Jr. (Chicago)
DH: Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles)
UTIL: Gunnar Henderson (Baltimore)

National League
C: William Contreras (Milwaukee)
1B: Matt Olson (Atlanta)
2B: Luis Arraez (Miami)
SS: Francisco Lindor (New York)
3B: Austin Riley (Atlanta)
OF: Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta), Mookie Betts (Los Angeles), Juan Soto (San Diego)
DH: Bryce Harper (Philadelphia)
UTIL: Cody Bellinger (Chicago)

Andrés Giménez Could Repeat as a Gold Glove Award Winner This Year

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Andrés Giménez could soon have a set of gold gloves…

The 25-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball shortstop and second baseman for the Cleveland Guardians, a Gold Glove winner last year, is among the finalists contending for the award this year.

Gimenez is among the three American League finalists in the second base position. He’ll face off against Houston Astros’ Mauricio Dubón and Texas Rangers’ Marcus Semien. Dubon is also a finalist in the AL’s utility category.

Puerto Rican professional baseball player of the Toronto Blue Jays José Berríos (29) and Venezuelan professional baseball player Pablo López (27) are finalists in the American League’s pitcher race, along with the Minnesota Twins’ Sonny Gray.

Other Latino finalists include Minnesota Twins’ Carlos Correa (AL, shortstop), Cleveland’s José Ramírez (AL, third base), Seattle Mariners’ Julio Rodriguez (AL, centerfield), Texas Rangers’ Adolis García (AL, right field), Miami Marlins’ Jesús Luzardo (NL, pitcher), Arizona Diamondbacks’

Gabriel Moreno (NL, catcher), Milwaukee Brewers’ Carlos Santana (NL, first base), New York’s Francisco Lindor (NL, shortstop), Colorado Rockies’ Ezequiel Tovar (NL, shortstop), Los Angeles’ David Peralta (NL, left field), Atlanta Braves’ Eddie Rosario (NL, left field) and San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. (NL, right field).

Voting is conducted among managers and up to six coaches from each team, who can’t select players on their own club. Since 2013, voting has been factored with a Society for American Baseball Research defensive index, which comprises about 25% of the total.

The utility category is based on a SABR formula and additional defensive statistics.

Gold Glove winners will be announced on November 5.

Here’s a look at all the finalists:

American League finalists:

Pitcher: José Berríos (Toronto), Sonny Gray (Minnesota), Pablo López (Minnesota)

Catcher: Jonah Heim (Texas), Alejandro Kirk (Toronto), Adley Rutschman (Baltimore)

First base: Nathaniel Lowe (Texas), Ryan Mountcastle (Baltimore), Anthony Rizzo (New York)

Second base: Mauricio Dubón (Houston), Andrés Giménez (Cleveland), Marcus Semien (Texas)

Shortstop: Carlos Correa (Minnesota), Corey Seager (Texas), Anthony Volpe (New York)

Third base: Alex Bregman (Houston), Matt Chapman (Toronto), José Ramírez (Cleveland)

Left field: Austin Hays (Baltimore), Steven Kwan (Cleveland), Daulton Varsho (Toronto)

Center field: Kevin Kiermaier (Toronto), Luis Robert Jr. (Chicago), Julio Rodríguez (Seattle)

Right field: Adolis García (Texas), Kyle Tucker (Houston), Alex Verdugo (Boston)

Utility: Mauricio Dubón (Houston), Zach McKinstry (Detroit), Taylor Walls (Tampa Bay)

 

National League finalists:

Pitcher: Jesús Luzardo (Miami), Taijuan Walker (Philadelphia), Zack Wheeler (Philadelphia)

Catcher: Patrick Bailey (San Francisco), Gabriel Moreno (Arizona), J.T. Realmuto (Philadelphia)

First base: Freddie Freeman (Los Angeles), Carlos Santana (Milwaukee), Christian Walker (Arizona)

Second base: Nico Hoerner (Chicago), Ha-Seong Kim (San Diego), Bryson Stott (Philadelphia)

Shortstop: Francisco Lindor (New York), Dansby Swanson (Chicago), Ezequiel Tovar (Colorado)

Third base: Ke’Bryan Hayes (Pittsburgh), Ryan McMahon (Colorado), Austin Riley (Atlanta)
Left field: Ian Happ (Chicago), David Peralta (Los Angeles), Eddie Rosario (Atlanta)
Center field: Brenton Doyle (Colorado), Michael Harris II (Atlanta), Alek Thomas (Arizona)
Right field: Mookie Betts (Los Angeles), Fernando Tatis Jr. (San Diego), Lane Thomas (Washington)
Utility: Mookie Betts (Los Angeles), Tommy Edman (St. Louis), Ha-Seong Kim (San Diego)

Pete Alonso Makes MLB History with Third Career 40-Homer Season

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Pete Alonso has entered the Major League Baseball history books…

The 28-year-old half-Spanish American professional baseball player, nicknamed “Polar Bear,” homered twice and drove in four runs, reaching 40 homers and 100 RBIs for the second consecutive season as the New York Mets beat the first-place Seattle Mariners 6-3.

Pete AlonsoAlonso, a three-time MLB All-Star, hit an RBI single in the first inning before his two-run shot in the third made him the fifth player in major league history with at least three 40-homer seasons in his first five campaigns, joining MLB Hall of Famers Ralph Kiner (four times), Eddie Mathews, Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols.

“Kind of mind-baffling,” Alonso said. “Impressive names. I had no idea.”

Jeff McNeil also went deep — after finishing a homer shy of the cycle Saturday night — and New York took two of three games from the Mariners to hand them their first series loss since Aug. 11-13 against the Baltimore Orioles.

“It’s been a while,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said.

Seattle, which won a franchise-record 21 games in August, began the day leading the American League West by one game over the Houston Astros.

“We just had a historic month for the organization, and we had maybe a little setback here,” said M’s first baseman Mike Ford, who hit the second of back-to-back homers in the fourth. “But we can get right back on it.”

Alonso’s solo homer in the seventh made him the fourth player in Mets history with at least three 100-RBI seasons. David Wright reached the 100-RBI milestone five times, and Carlos Beltrán and Darryl Strawberry each did it three times.

“Through thick and thin, we know one thing: Pete’s going to walk through that door the same guy every day,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “Pleasure to be around. He never has a bad day. He cares about his teammates, cares about the Mets. And to see guys like him have success, it makes it even more enjoyable.”

Alonso’s 41 home runs are tied for the second most in a season in franchise history with Beltrán and Todd Hundley. Alonso holds the team record with 53 as a rookie in 2019.

“It seems like yesterday I was in my rookie season,” Alonso said. “This is my fifth year, and time flies. It means a lot. This place has been extremely special to me. New York’s treated me so incredibly well.”

Alonso can become a free agent following the 2024 season, and speculation has been heating up about whether the retooling Mets will trade him this winter after dealing away veteran aces Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander over the summer to restock the farm system.

“Everybody knows that’s part of the game until the contract is done,” New York shortstop Francisco Lindor said.

Julio Rodríguez Breaks MLB Record with 17th Hit in Four Games

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Julio Rodríguez is rewriting Major League Baseball history…

The 22-year-old Dominican professional baseball centerfielder set a MLB record with his 17th hit in four games, helping to lead the Seattle Mariners past the Houston Astros 10-3 for their fifth straight win on Saturday night.

Julio Rodríguez,Rodriguez, with a single to left field in the seventh inning, broke a major league record set in 1925 by Milt Stock of the Brooklyn Robins. He finished 4-for-6, giving him his fourth consecutive four-plus-hit game.

“Honestly, I knew when they put it on the scoreboard that I had set a record for a four-game span,” Rodriguez said. “Before that, I didn’t know.”

The four straight four-hit games tied Rodriguez with Stock for the longest such streak, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. He is 17-for-21 (.810) during the four-game stretch, improving his season batting average from .256 to .278.

“Julio is just smoking hot right now and it is fun to watch,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “Every time up there he expects to get a hit, we expect to watch him get a hit. … Tonight obviously our offense was on it. We’ve seen Framber Valdez a lot, had really good at-bats tonight early on putting pressure on him.”

Dylan Moore homered twice for the Mariners, and Logan Gilbert (11-5) surrendered just two runs on eight hits, struck out three and walked one in six innings for his 14th quality start of the season.

The Mariners, who are 13-3 in their past 16 games, pulled to 1½ games behind the Astros for the second AL wild-card spot and maintained a half-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays for the third and final AL wild-card spot.

Houston Astros Star Jose Altuve Notches 2,000 Career Hits

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Jose Altuve has 2,000 reasons to smile…

The 33-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball player and Houston Astros star has notched 2,000 career hits, becoming the third player in franchise history to reach the milestone.

Jose AltuveAltuve hit a leadoff single in the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert on Saturday night.

He was thrown out trying to stretch the play into a double, but the Minute Maid Park crowd was ready to celebrate.

As Altuve trotted toward the dugout, a 2,000-hit graphic was displayed on the jumbotron and the eight-time MLB All-Star tipped his helmet to the roaring crowd. With the fans still cheering, Altuve stepped up out of the dugout for a curtain call, once again tipping his helmet.

“We did a little champagne toast and they said some things about me and then I had to say some things about me, too,” Altuve said about the postgame clubhouse celebration. “It was good.”

Hall of Famers Craig Biggio (3,060) and Jeff Bagwell (2,314) also reached 2,000 hits with the Astros. They were both in attendance on Saturday night.

Altuve also singled on Gilbert’s first pitch of the game and singled in the seventh, ending the day with 2,001 career hits. He finished 3-for-5 in a 10-3 loss to Seattle.

“That’s quite an accomplishment,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “A couple other Hall of Famers here got 2,000 hits. … Hopefully he can stay healthy and be around for the next 1,000.”

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen and Chicago White Sox infielder Elvis Andrus also reached 2,000 career hits this season. Andrus got his milestone hit on April 5. Freeman accomplished the feat on June 25, and McCutchen reached the milestone on June 11.

There are seven active MLB players with at least 2,000 hits: Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Nelson Cruz, Andrus, McCutchen and Freeman.