The Mariners have optioned outfielder Mallex Smith to their alternate training site and recalled righty Art Warren, per a team announcement. The club also sent catcher Tom Murphy to the 45-day injured list, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. They now have an open spot on their 40-man roster as a result.
This continues a brutal year-plus for Smith, who had a terrific season as a Ray in 2018 but hasn’t come close to replicating that production in Seattle. In his second and last season with the Rays, Smith batted .296/.367/.406 (118 wRC+) with 40 stolen bases and 3.5 fWAR in 544 plate appearances. The Mariners surely expected similar success when they dealt catcher Mike Zunino to Tampa Bay for Smith in a five-player swap before 2019. Instead, while he did add 46 steals to his resume a year ago, Smith was a replacement-level who mustered a weak line of .227/.300/.335 (74 wRC+) over 566 trips to the plate.
This season has gone far worse for the 27-year-old Smith, evidenced by his .133/.170/.178 slash and minus-4 wRC+ in 47 PA. He wasn’t able to keep his job in right field, where the Mariners have been turning to Dylan Moore lately, but Smith will remain on their taxi squad.
As for Murphy, this continues to look as if it will be a lost year (or something close to it) for a player who enjoyed an outstanding 2019 campaign in Seattle. Murphy hasn’t been able to build on it because of the fractured metatarsal in his left foot that sent him to the 10-day IL on July 23. The Murphy-less Mariners have used a combination of Austin Nola, Joe Odom and Joe Hudson at catcher. Nola has been a bright spot as the starter, which has softened the blow of losing Murphy.
Mallex Smith is the worst player in baseball via the eye test. He can’t play the outfield and can’t hit anything but weak grounders
Dude is Emilio Bonifacio, only can’t play adequate defense at ANY position. Trader Jack unlocked Bonifacio’s talent for a couple seasons and he was a slap hitter with just the speed and a fair 2b glove. Smith is just a slap hitter w/speed also.. Only rotten everywhere have ever seen him play on defense. Reminds me of Billy Hall with the glove. Might as well just stand still and watch the ball go by.
You luckily haven’t had to watch Daniel Vogelbach it sounds like.
Good point. Malex is second worst.
When he was coming up through the Braves system his #’s were solid and based on what you heard you would think he would be amazing. But I kept watching video of this guy and then saw him in live, and I just didn’t buy the hype. He’s definitely has raw ability… like speed. But it’s almost like he has ADD or something and is bouncing around nonstop…
Don’t forget about Hunter Pence, the real worst major leaguer right now
Poor Hunter, love him and he is a great clubhouse presence. Believe he has hit his expiration date after having a bounce back last year. Once a great Giant, always a Giant. But he should probably retire
Austin Hedges’ son?
At this point Smith can actually be classified as a poor man’s Billy Hamilton. At least Hamilton’s defense and speed have held steady. Smith has only his speed to fall back on, and there’s not much of a market for pure pinch runners these days. He needs to call his agent TODAY (if he hasn’t already) and say, “Look, your job is to figure out a way to get me back to Tampa ASAP.” Of course his agent should reply, “It’s your job to figure out the game of baseball which you clearly haven’t done.”
Remember when Padres fans were upset they traded him during his one good year?
Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Do you mean Rays fans? None of the players talked about here played for the Padres.
Mallex was originally drafted by the Padres but was traded to Atlanta in the Justin Upton trade. Had a .889 OPS in High A-ball in his last season in the Padres org.
Oh yea, I forgot about that.
Actually they were upset about losing Max Fried. You know, the guy with a 1.24 ERA this year?
No fan were pretty upset about keeping Jankowski over Smith during his 1 good year with the Rays and brief stint with Atlanta.