Mariners’ Refsnyder makes ‘no excuses,’ returns with mechanical tweaks

On Tuesday night, Seattle Mariners designated hitter Rob Refsnyder did several things he hadn’t in quite a while.

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First, he returned for his first game back with the M’s after a month-long stint on the injured list for right knee inflammation. Second, he hit a two-run home run that gave the M’s the lead in the fourth inning of their 7-6 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, which was the first time he left the yard for Seattle in two months. And finally, he hit a double for the first time since last September – and first time ever for the Mariners.

Refsnyder’s 2-for-4 performance was promising, and a welcome indication that the Mariners will finally see the kind of results from the 35 year old that they expected when they signed him in free agency last offseason.

To this point, Refsnyder is slashing just .147/.213/.266 for a .479 OPS in 50 games this season, well off of his output in 2025 for the Boston Red Sox (.269/.354/.484 slash, .838 OPS in 70 games).

Refsnyder told reporters before Tuesday’s game that he there’s no excuse about his performance so far for the Mariners, but explained that he’s gone to work with some hitting coaches in the Mariners’ organization to make needed changes at the plate.

“There’s no excuses. I haven’t really been proud of how I’ve competed or played,” Refsnyder said. “We’ve tried a bunch of things, but hopefully turn the page… I’m not trying to hit a home run every at-bat. My job is to have good at-bats for the team and hopefully get on base.”

Refsnyder’s recent rehab assignment saw him visit the Mariners’ complex in Arizona and spend time with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. He credited the staff at both stops in helping him make mechanical changes, including hitting coach Seth Mejias-Brean with the Rainiers as well as Ed Paparella, who was promoted last week from hitting coordinator focused on the Mariners’ minor leagues to assistant hitting coach with the big league team.

“Super thankful. Staff here, staff in Arizona, Tacoma – just very appreciative of all their hard work and time. Feeling better,” Refsnyder said. “Super thankful for Pap (Paparella) – before he got here, we worked together in Arizona. A lot of great people behind the scenes, so very thankful for that.

“… I really don’t want to make excuses. My body is my body. I should have made those adjustments and had more success early on. I just haven’t, but there’s no excuses. We’ve identified some things. … Pap’s brilliant and really, really smart, and Seth as well in Tacoma.”

Refsnyder said that the changes at the plate help him work around the knee issue that landed him on the IL and factored into his rough start with the M’s.

“So just kind of the way my knee was setting up, it wasn’t allowing me to do some things,” he said. “… I think you’ll see tonight my back foot’s turned out a little bit to try to alleviate some stress on my back knee. Obviously when you’re all the cliches of staying behind the ball, being able to recognize certain pitches, (if) you don’t have a backside you’re kind of propelled forward. My swing got super steep, kind of down and across. Some other things – I mean, I could go on and on. It was just a really bad swing. We felt like the approach was there. I was recognizing pitches, I just wasn’t able to put a good swing on it. That’s all on me, though.”

Refsnyder also shared this his knee is in a better spot now after the time out of action.

“I feel like I can compete. I feel like I can help the team. The training staff, the strength staff, I give them so much credit. A lot of thinking behind the scenes, trying some different things out. So without them, I wouldn’t be able to have come back so I’m just truly very thankful and appreciative.

“It was kind of like a science experiment, unfortunately. But it’s feeling good enough to compete. Everyone’s banged up this part of the year. Everyone’s got something that they’re probably working through or thinking about. I know our team’s banged up, but they’re putting in the work every day.”

Refsnyder and the Mariners will look to build off of Tuesday’s win over the Dodgers in Game 2 of the series in Los Angeles, which is set for a 7:10 p.m. first pitch on Wednesday night. Mariners Radio Network coverage on Seattle Sports begins at 6 with the pregame show.

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