The Mariners have agreed to a minor league deal with veteran infielder Jonathan Villar, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). The ACES client will head to Triple-A Tacoma for the time being. Villar was released by the Angels late last week and by the Cubs earlier in the summer.
Villar, 31, began the season with the Cubs after signing a one-year, $6MM contract in free agency. It looked to be a nice enough value add by the Cubs, as Villar had been an above-average hitter with a nice blend of power and speed in two of the past three seasons (the exception being the shortened 2020 campaign). Even with an ugly showing in 2020, Villar came to the Cubs with a .259/.327/.417 slash over his past 1456 plate appearances.
Unfortunately for Villar and for both of the teams for which he’s suited up this year, his 2022 season looks a lot more like his 2020 campaign than his strong 2019 and 2021 years. The Cubs cut Villar loose after he hit just .222/.271/.327 through 166 plate appearances, and things deteriorated even further with the Angels. In 54 trips to the plate as a Halo, Villar hit just .163/.226/.224.
While this year’s production, or lack thereof, has been glaring, Villar is still a 10-year big league veteran with recent success at the plate and plenty of defensive versatility. As far as a depth option to stash in Triple-A, he’s a good one to have. If he can get back on track in the minors, he could feasibly join the Mariners later in the season and give them some speed and flexibility on the bench.
On purpose?
Not a shock with current injuries
At point has a team acquired enough former Mets and Reds to qualify for their own LOL prefix?
I like it. Good depth piece.
Him and jankowski nice replacements for nothing while rodriguez france moore and Haggerty are out
Damn. Who will end up on more teams this year, Cano or Villar lol?
I don’t mind this move at all. Decent depth piece
Get the trophy ready!
Can we get Bryan Reynolds or Brandon Drury now please (:
Jerry takin more Angels trash for a few weeks
Another solid move, acquiring a veteran who can, at the very least, provide some help while regulars are out. Maybe he has enough left in the tank to provide a much-needed spark in the M’s lineup.