The Rangers have agreed to a minor league contract with utilityman Sam Haggerty, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The BHSC client will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.
Haggerty, 30, was non-tendered by the Mariners back in November. He suffered a torn Achilles tendon while running down a flyball with the team’s Triple-A affiliate last May, which unsurprisingly proved to be a season-ending injury.
The switch-hitting Haggerty spent parts of five seasons with the Mariners, plus a very brief MLB debut with the Mets organization (four plate appearances) back in 2019. He’s a career .232/.312/.351 hitter in 477 trips to the plate, including a career-best .255/.345/.382 (113 wRC+) in 309 plate appearances with Seattle from 2022-23.
Haggerty is lacking in power but makes up for that with plus speed and a good bit of versatility. Statcast credited him with 92nd percentile sprint speed (29.2 ft/sec) as recently as 2023, and Haggerty boasts a career 33-for-36 (91.7%) mark in stolen base attempts in the majors. He’s played all three outfield spots and each of first base, second base and third base in the big leagues as well. The bulk of his time has been spent in the outfield — left field, specifically — and he’s drawn solid grades for his glovework there. Haggerty is best-suited for the short side of a platoon; despite his switch-hitting status, he’s just a .209/.278/.272 hitter as a lefty but carries a sharp .263/.355/.452 output when batting from the right side of the plate.
Given that Haggerty has spent the past half decade in the AL West, the Rangers have seen him plenty. He’ll give Texas some depth around the diamond but particularly in the outfield, where Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Adolis Garcia are slated to start and veteran Leody Taveras is projected to be the fourth outfielder. (Of course, Taveras stands as a viable trade candidate, which could improve Haggerty’s chances of making the roster.) If Haggerty does crack the big league club, he’s at 4.036 years of MLB service, making him controllable at least through 2026.
I really miss Mike Hagerty, lovable yet gruff character actor.
We’ll miss you Sam! Thank you for all you did for us here in Seattle and best of luck with Texas! I’ll still be rooting for you!
Sam Haggerty sounds like the name of an early 1900s Irish NYC police officer who would walk down the street and whistle while twirling his billy club.
Car 54… Where are Youuuuu ??
Now I have Sean Connery from The Untouchables pictured in my head lol
Good luck, Hags! Love the way you play the game! Go get’em and be a star down in Texas!
Great pick-up for Texas. He was huge for Seattle in 2022. If he’s healthy, he should be a great utility infielder for the Rangers.
Ranger fans will love Swaggerty! I will miss him. Fun player who plays hard and had some really nice moments for the Mariners.
I wonder if his speed will be affected by that Achilles injury?
This could mean the end of Tavares’ days as a Ranger. Gotta get under that CBT threshold.
Hag was a great utility guy for us. Best of luck with the Rangers.