The Mariners announced that they have non-tendered four players: infielder Josh Rojas, infielder/outfielder Sam Haggerty, as well as right-handers JT Chargois and Austin Voth. Haggerty’s non-tender was reported earlier by Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 (X link).
Rojas, 30, has had an up-and-down career thus far. With the Diamondbacks in 2021 and 2022, he slashed .266/.345/.401 for a wRC+ of 106, indicating he was 6% better than league average over that span. He also stole 32 bases while bouncing around to the three infield positions to the left of first base as well as the outfield corners.
But his performance dipped badly in 2023, as he slashed .228/.292/.296 in 59 games for the Snakes that year. The Mariners then tried to buy low on him, acquiring him as part of the July 2023 trade headlined by Paul Sewald.
Initially, it seemed like the buy-low move might have worked, as Rojas slashed .272/.321/.400 for a 105 wRC+ in 46 games after the trade. The M’s gave him a $3.1MM salary for 2024 and hoped that he could keep it going, but this year’s line of .225/.304/.336 led to a wRC+ of just 91. He still stole 10 bases and bounced all over the diamond, but the club has decided to go in a different direction. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Rojas for a bump to $4.3MM next year, though the M’s clearly weren’t willing to bring him back at that price point, sending him to free agency instead.
It’s been reported that the Mariners are looking to upgrade their infield and this further cements that desire. They had already declined a club option on Jorge Polanco and traded away Ty France. Deadline acquisition Justin Turner hit free agency. That means shortstop J.P. Crawford is the only stable portion of the club’s infield mix at present. Luke Raley could get lots of playing time at first base but could also be in the outfield. Players like Dylan Moore, Ryan Bliss, Austin Shenton, Leo Rivas, Samad Taylor or Tyler Locklear could be involved next year but the M’s will surely be looking for external additions in the coming months.
Turning to the others, Haggerty has been a useful part-time players for the Mariners in recent years but he only played eight games in 2024 due to a torn achilles. Voth and Chargois were each entering their final season of club control, so there was no long-term benefit to rostering them in 2025. Voth had a solid 3.69 earned run average this year but with a .236 batting average on balls in play. Chargois had a 2.23 ERA this year but is a journeyman who’s about to turn 34. Haggerty was projected for a salary of $900K, Voth $2.2MM and Chargois $1.7MM, but the M’s have balked at all of those prices and sent those players into free agency instead.
Now this one is really surprising. Rojas is a nice little player. Mariners gotta stop being cheap it’s killing any momentum they attempt to get going.
Rojas was abysmal outside of April. His defense is nice but not worth the black hole in the lineup
He’s at least a good extra infielder who can fill in at multiple positions. And he wasn’t going to make a bunch of money.
The Mariners are being cheap. Again……
That’s what they have Dylan Moore for .
There was room for both. Also Rojas is a lefty bat and the Mariners need lefty bats.
Not if they suck.
Rojas was a 2 win player in 2024. That doesn’t suck.
So… uhh… who’s gonna play 2nd and 3rd?
Dylan Moore full time starter? Jason vosler and *gulp* luis urias?
I hope it’s gonna be hyeseong Kim and ha seong Kim… but money is expensive
Cole Young will be promoted by May to play 2B full time or split time with Ryan Bliss.
Bliss is terrible v. RHP
I’ll take that bet.
He’s 20 and struggled in AA.
Bliss isn’t likely getting any kind of regular or semi-regular role, either.
Urias and Vosler are gone too, both previously elected free agency.
I think Luís was DFA’d
this is how you make space to sign or trade for players. Their 40 man roster was full and they non tendered players to open space. They may even plan to resign as a lot of time those negotiations happen beforehand. I like Rojos but he was a weakness in the lineup as an everyday player and they have Moore as a utility to play everywhere as well as backups at every infield position on the 40 man. This isnt a move that will hurt them.
Urias is gone.
They pick up garbage players for cheap as usual, but there be plenty of giveaway nights!
Money is expensive…but the Mariners have a license to print money. Taxpayer funded stadium, own their own RSN, casual fans pack the stadium regularly for the “experience”, got to see which boat will win the race don’t ya know, annually listed as the most profitable MLB team, etc. So there’s that.
I know your point is that they’re cheap. I couldn’t agree more.
Urias is already gone.
Urías is thankfully gone
Oh, okay, now we need a third baseman. Like there are so many of them available. Third basemen grow on trees don’t ya know?
Wouldn’t mind a trade for Brendan Donovan for the right price.
I don’t think Donovan is available until mid season at the earliest. And even then I doubt it. I agree he’s a good fit for the Mariners.
Cardinal fans have been trying to trade Donovan to M’s for years now. Throwing out Donovan for Gilbert then Kirby and I’m sure you’ll see Woo or Miller now They talk how great he is but have been wanting to get rid of him because really he’s a slightly better DMo. Utility player. M’s should use Castillo to Baltimore to improve their team as with Burnes leaving they are needing an ace and have plenty to trade. Mountcastle, Westburg, and plenty of prospects.
Castillo has negative trade value. Donovan for Miller could make some sense but Miller has nasty home road splits.
Miller is far more valuable than Donovan. We’ll stick with D-Mo.
Miller is a great pitcher in Seattle and barely a number 5 on the road.
Mariners fans keep talking about how great their pitching is and how they don’t want to trade it. But the team isn’t good enough.
They needed a third baseman before they non-tendered Rojas!
Di pot o
El trader
As Ross Gellar says….”Fine by me!”
DFAing 2 roster regulars (Rojas & Voth) is wild; let’s see what they have cooking.
Voth is very replaceable. Rojas is surprising. Now they need a platoon 2B/3B to pair with Moore, a fulltime 2B/3B and a 1B/DH.
Based on rumors so far, that would mean Carlos Santana, Hye Seung Kim and Yoan Moncada. Color me not excited.
And why get rid of Chargois? He had a terrific ERA last year. He made 1.29 million. I know his FIP was bad but come on this is peanuts for a potentially good reliever.
Gave up more hard hit balls than a batting cage.
I thought the GM said they wanted to platoon rojas and Moore
Must be all in on Bregman. /s
Ugh, no thanks
Doubtful. If they sign a free agent, it’s more likely going to be a 1-3 year deal. Bregman should do a lot better than that.
I’m not so sure Seattle would want him, anyway. His recent history is a little shaky and many fans are still bitter over the cheating scandal.
I think they’re more likely to trade for a third baseman or sign a rebound candidate, like Moncada. Madrigal is now available as well.
You mentioned fans being bitter over Trashsstrohs scandal, which is true, but there are so many casual fans in Seattle, more so than most teams have, do you really think Dipoto or Bregman would even realistically consider that?
In any case, I’m not suggesting the Mariners will try to sign him. They won’t. But the reason will be because they don’t spend money on free agents bats.
The main reason would definitely be because of the money. But I think the extra baggage doesn’t help.
It’s probably an easy pass for Jerry and Justin.
For the record, I’d welcome him.
I would too!
Speaking of casual Mariners fans, in 2023 they would boo Dusty Baker right along with Bregman and Altuve. SMH wrong manager my dudes. Embarrassing.
No thanks to rebound guys, imo
I think that was mentioned as a worst-case scenario. Without stating so up front.
Addition by subtraction
I bet there are a ton of trade candidates we don’t know about
There were no surprises. from Seattle. They simply don’t pay 2-3m for middle-innings relievers and Rojas is a replacement-level platoon bat that would have earned more than Moore.
Haggerty missed 2024, so he obviously wasn’t going to get a contract, but he might be back on a minor-league deal. The organization likes him and they need experienced depth.
Let me correct myself….
Rojas is a replacement-level player. He hit .188/.272/.283 with a 24.3 K% and a 67 wRC+ from mid-May through the end of the season (as a platoon bat). His value was in his defense.
I believe Haggerty is expected in May if all goes to plan.
Yeah, and he has not only had experience, he’s had success. I’d really like to see him back on a minor-league deal.
There are some other solid non-tendered players that could help Seattle. I’m really curious what might happen with a handful of specific players.
Haggerty’s walk-up music was “Theme from the Godfather.” Would really throw some people for a loop. Lol.
Romano, Finnegan, for starters
Maybe the M’s are looking at Bohm in Philly. Trader Jerry is on it!
That seems to be the case. Maybe they aren’t sure about his supposed maturity issues