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Mariners Signal Donovan Solano – MLB Commerce Rumors


The Mariners introduced that they’ve signed infielder Donovan Solano to a one-year contract. Robert Murray of FanSided reviews that the ACES consumer will make $3.5MM this yr, with $1MM in efficiency bonuses additionally obtainable to him. Left-hander Austin Kitchen was designated for project to open a 40-man roster spot.

Solano, 37, has considerably quietly been one of many higher utility gamers within the league lately. Earlier in his profession, he frolicked with the Marlins and Yankees however didn’t hit sufficient on the main league degree. He languished within the minors in 2017 and 2018 however obtained again to the massive leagues in 2019 and has been hitting nearly continuous since then.

Over the previous six years, Solano has performed for the Giants, Reds, Twins and Padres. He obtained into 546 video games over that stretch, stepping to the plate 1,838 occasions. He has managed to provide a batting line of .294/.353/.413 in that point, which interprets to a wRC+ of 112, indicating he’s been 12% above league common total.

For these years, he has a mixed .360 batting common on balls in play. That may usually be a priority, for the reason that league common is normally beneath .300, however he’s been sustaining excessive BABIPs for a number of years now. Of the six most up-to-date seasons, his BABIP bottomed out at .321 in 2021. He was at .346 or larger within the different 5 seasons. That implies the numbers are extra a mirrored image of his swing than mere luck.

Solano gained’t present enormous energy, with final yr’s eight residence runs truly marking a profession excessive. His stroll charges aren’t particularly robust both. Nevertheless, his fashion of offense could possibly be a great match for Seattle, as that membership has been cautious of its strikeout issues for some time now.

Going again to the 2023 membership, guys like Mike Ford, Jarred Kelenic, Teoscar Hernández, Eugenio Suárez and Tom Murphy weren’t introduced again after posting strikeout charges north of 27%. However Seattle didn’t discover the enhancements it was searching for in that class final yr, with guys like Luis Urías, Mitch Garver, Mitch Haniger, Jorge Polanco and Randy Arozarena putting out greater than 28% of the time after being introduced aboard. Solano has a profession strikeout price of 18.9% and has by no means had that quantity end larger than 22.2% in any particular person season.

The Mariners have clearly been searching for infield assist this winter. Justin Turner hit free company. Josh Rojas was non-tendered. The M’s turned down a membership choice on Polanco. That left them with J.P. Crawford at shortstop and query marks elsewhere.

Solano has performed all 4 infield spots in his profession however hasn’t performed shortstop since 2021. He has extra expertise at second base than anyplace else however has spent extra time on the corners lately.

That flexibility offers the Mariners some choices by way of how Solano is deployed. Reporting this winter has steered the membership could really feel it has sufficient in-house choices to cowl second base, with Dylan Moore and Ryan Bliss doubtlessly masking there till prospect Cole Younger seizes the job. Luke Raley is an choice to be the robust facet of a platoon at first, since he’s a lefty swinger with notable splits. Guys like Austin Shenton, Tyler Locklear, Samad Taylor and Leo Rivas are additionally able to taking part in varied infield positions and on the 40-man roster.

The M’s are possible not completed including to that group, so Solano’s function might nicely be decided by what different strikes are forthcoming. He might take some taking part in time at second or third, whereas his right-handed bat might additionally enable him to defend Raley from lefties at first base. Solano has pretty impartial platoon splits for his whole profession, with a 101 wRC+ towards lefties and 98 wRC+ in any other case. Nevertheless, he’s been a bit extra excessive in his current resurgence. Over the previous six years, he has slashed .310/.361/.444 towards lefties for a 122 wRC+, in comparison with a .285/.349/.395 line and 107 wRC+ towards righties.

It has been reported this offseason that the M’s have been working with about $15-16MM of payroll area. Solano will dissipate a small portion of that whereas strengthening the infield group. That also leaves with them with some powder dry for an additional infield addition. It was beforehand reported that they have been involved in bringing again Turner, although it’s attainable the Solano signing makes that tougher to place collectively.

It’s additionally attainable that the M’s make a daring transfer to completely remake the image, as there have been rumors they might commerce Luis Castillo as a way of liberating up some spending capability. Whether or not they go that route or just discover one other modest infield addition stays to be seen. Pitchers and catchers will probably be reporting to spring coaching in a couple of month.

Kitchen, 28 subsequent month, has restricted large league expertise. A prospect within the Rockies’ system, he was chosen to the massive league roster in June however was designated for project the subsequent day with out getting right into a recreation. He went to the Marlins through waivers and made 4 appearances for that membership, permitting 11 earned runs in seven innings. A second DFA in September put him again on waivers, which led the Mariners to place in a declare.

Although Kitchen has an unsightly 14.14 earned run common, it’s a tiny pattern of main league work. His minor league monitor file has typically been stable, with the lefty maintaining the ball on the bottom. In 2024, pitching for 3 organizations, he logged 52 1/3 innings within the minors. In that point, he had a 3.78 ERA, 15.1% strikeout price, 6.8% stroll price and 55.1% floor ball price.

The M’s will now have per week to determine what’s subsequent for Kitchen, whether or not that’s a commerce or one other journey to the waiver wire. The waiver course of takes 48 hours, so any trades must come collectively within the subsequent 5 days. Kitchen nonetheless has a few choice years and minimal service time, so a membership keen to provide him a roster spot might preserve him as low cost depth for the foreseeable future.

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