The Mariners announced this evening that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Luis Urias from Triple-A Tacoma. The club designated infielder Terrin Vavra for assignment and optioned left-hander Gabe Speier to Triple-A in corresponding moves.
Urias, 27, joined the Mariners back in November when he was acquired from the Red Sox in trade. Urias entered the 2024 season seemingly poised to share time at third base with Josh Rojas while also filling in occasionally at the keystone for veteran second baseman Jorge Polanco in the club’s infield mix following the club’s decision to move on from third baseman Eugenio Suarez over the winter. Unfortunately for Urias, however, Rojas caught fire to open the season with an eye-popping .351/.417/.526 slash line in his first 30 games of the 2024 campaign.
That allowed Rojas to secure more and more playing time that was initially expected to go to Urias, and it didn’t help matters that Urias himself was struggling badly at the plate. Urias hit just .152/.264/.317 in 91 trips to the plate over the first two months of the season before the Mariners decided to option him to the minors on May 24. Urias found himself outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster shortly thereafter, and since then has been working toward a return at the Triple-A level.
He’s seen some real improvement since going down to the minors with a .261/.379/.415 slash line in 349 trips to the plate with Tacoma this year. That’s good for only a 104 wRC+ due to the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, but even numbers 4% better than average are a significant step up when compared to the 75 wRC+ Urias was posting in the majors prior to his demotion. Now, Urias appears poised to join Rojas, Polanco, Leo Rivas, and Dylan Moore, in the mix for playing time at second and third base down the stretch. The return of Urias to the big league roster could free up Moore for occasional appearances in the outfield/DH mix as well, improving the overall flexibility of Seattle’s lineup.
Making room for Urias on the 40-man roster is Vavra, who the club claimed off waivers from the Orioles just last week. Vavra, 27, has missed most of the 2024 season due to a torn labrum in his right shoulder and was outrighted off the Orioles’ 40-man roster back in November. He hit fairly well upon his return to action at Triple-A, however, and earned a call up back to the majors in the aftermath of the trade deadline but was immediately optioned back to the minor leagues and wound up designated for assignment a few weeks later. Now he’s once again set to hit the waiver wire, where any of the league’s 29 other clubs can claim him. Vavra hasn’t played in the majors yet this year and struggled amid the aforementioned shoulder issues last year but could intrigue clubs based on his solid 40-game cup of coffee with the Orioles in 2022 where he slashed .258/.340/.337 (99 wRC+) in 103 trips to the plate.
Blackpink in the area
So many weird roster moves lately. I don’t get it.
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
Welcome back Luis now can you please hit .150
Has anyone seen r/mariners recently? Everyone is pissed on there
Ziskmania
Come on, Urias has improved….he will hit .154
BPax
Sad Tormented, M’s fan here. What is r/mariners? I need another outlet to vent!
Blackpink in the area
Hey at least you aren’t neglected…..
Hawktattoo
Was wondering same thing.
chrisjaybecker
r/mariners is the M’s fans’ Reddit
BPax
Thanks, Chrisjaybecker!
SadMsFan
Hooray!!! I’m so relieved, I’ve been constipated since he was sent down, and now I finally have the laxative I need to pass this huge ****load of pent up rage.
proton
Relieved also now the ALW title is ours.
Fever Pitch Guy
Proton – If you want Campbell back, you can have him.
SteveFinleyEnthusiast
Oh, Wicho. I thought he’d be the 2B for a long time in San Diego. It’s a shame he hasn’t panned out, besides those 2 good years in Milwaukee.
Zippy the Pinhead
Cue the closing credits.
To get to 88 wins (that magical 54%), which might not even be enough to get to the playoffs, they’ll have to go 19-6 the rest of the way. Julio Urias is irrelevant to the discussion.
PrincessYuki
The Seattle Mariners can still make the playoffs. There are still 24 games left, and 3 of those games are against the Cheatros.
Zippy the Pinhead
The A’s could technically still make the playoffs, too. Mariners gonna Mariner.
martevious
Technically, yes, they could still make the playoffs, but they are dead in the water. They are playing lifelessly.