Morosi: How Mariners can approach contracts of struggling vets

Sep 30, 2024, 10:32 AM

Mitch Garver of the Seattle Mariners celebrates with teammates after scoring a run during a 2024 game. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

(Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

BY ZAC HERETH

Seattle Sports

After missing the playoffs in a disappointing fashion for a second straight season, the Seattle Mariners are once again entering a pivotal offseason in their window of contention.

Video: What led to the Mariners missing the playoffs again

A number of questions surround the M’s as they look to get back to the playoffs for just the second time since the 2001 season. At or near the top of that list is what they will do with the contracts of struggling veterans Mitch Haniger and Mitch Garver, who both turn 34 this offseason.

Haniger has a $17.5 million player option for 2025, per Spotrac, that he is expected to exercise. Garver is owed $12.5 million for the second year of a deal that includes a $12 million mutual option for 2026. Combined, the pair will be making $3.5 million more in 2025 than they did this season.

The deals add up to just under $30 million next year for two players who had a combined minus-0.9 fWAR.

So, what exactly can Seattle do with Haniger and Garver this offseason? MLB Network insider Jon Morosi shared his thoughts with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob.

“They’re kind of stuck because there are certain teams that, when they make a mistake in free agency, they can outspend their mistakes,” Morosi said. “And this is one team that probably can’t do that right now.”

The struggles

The Mariners reunited with Haniger in a trade with San Francisco last January that sent starter Robbie Ray, who missed the first half of 2024 after having Tommy John surgery in 2023, to the Giants. The deal meant Seattle picked up Haniger’s remaining contract while being relieved of the $73 million dollars owed over three years to Ray.

Health was the biggest concern for Haniger coming into the year. He had played more than 63 games just once since 2019.

Haniger had a fully healthy season this year, and had his moments. He hit .300 through his first 17 games and later set the franchise record with his eighth career walk-off hit in Seattle uniform.

But in the end, he produced to the tune of a .208/.287/.335 slash line with just 12 home runs, 44 RBIs and a career-high 29.6% strikeout rate in 118 games. He also ranked near the bottom of the league defensively in outs above average for outfielders.

“In the case of Haniger, he had so many injury issues in the past and it’s been really a while since he’s played like a star,” Morosi said. “… He really hasn’t been fully healthy and effective over a full year since 2021, and I think that they probably could have seen that coming for a player now entering his mid-30s.”

Garver was brought in to be the full-time designated hitter after a stellar 2023 season where he helped the Texas Rangers win the World Series. His two-year, $24 million contract with a mutual option for a third season is the largest handed out to a position player during president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto’s nine-year tenure in Seattle.

However, struggles led to the veteran moving into a role as the backup catcher while mostly being used as a platoon bat against left-handed starters. Garver was decent against left-handers with eight doubles, eight home runs and a .763 OPS in 156 plate appearances, but his overall .172 batting average was last among MLB players with at least 400 plate appearances by 15 points.

Before signing with Seattle, Garver was 0 for 31 in his career while hitting a T-Mobile Park. He hit .153 at home compared to .186 on the road in 2024, but he had a higher OPS at home (.644) than on the road (.614).

“They have to really evaluate … how much of the issues that he went through this year are fixable, (or) how much of them is it that he doesn’t feel comfortable hitting in Seattle for whatever reason,” Morosi said.

Off-setting the cost

Morosi offered a couple of routes the Mariners could use. One would be to attempt to offload the contracts of Haniger or Garver with another player in a trade. It’s the strategy they used this past offseason when they paired starting pitcher Marco Gonzales (and $9.5 million of the $12.5 million still owed to him) with outfielder Jarred Kelenic in a deal with the Braves for two minor leaguers.

That deal aged pretty well despite its initial perception, thanks to Luke Raley (acquired in a separate trade) proving to be a more productive replacement for Kelenic. But if the M’s were to use a similar strategy this offseason, chances are it would be one of their talented pitchers or touted young prospects attached to one of the contracts.

Another route would be to try and find another team with a player on bad contract and swap those players with the hopes a change of scenery is what is needed. The Mariners made a deal like this back in 2009 when they traded pitcher Carlos Silva to the Cubs for outfielder Milton Bradley, a deal that neither team got much out of.

“It would certainly help them to move either or both of those contracts,” Morosi said. “But you may have to pair it up with another bad contract that someone else has or – and this is what you would not want to do – attach them to a player that has much greater value, like one of the pitchers. I would have a hard time thinking that they would do that.

“But that’s one way that you could do it, if basically that is the last thing added on to a deal to try to just make some money balance out, whatever it might be.”

Listen to the full conversation with MLB Network insider Jon Morosi at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-6 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.