Mariners claim outfielder Leody Taveras off waivers from rival Rangers
By Jeffrey Nooney, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - Our Seattle Mariners have claimed outfielder Leody Taveras off waivers from the Texas Rangers. The Rangers placed Taveras on waivers Monday, just before the news broke that former Mariner infielder Brett Boone was being named as the Rangers’ new hitting coach. Taveras, 26, has been struggling at the plate this season as he is slashing just .241/.259/.342/.601 with an OPS+ of just 74, 26% below league average. His regression from his career average is not unheard of for the Rangers this season, as Texas’ offense has been one of the worst in baseball with players like him, Joc Pederson, Jake Burger, Adolis García and Marcus Semien all struggling. Pederson and Burger were the Rangers key offseason additions, and both have been among the worst offensive players in baseball.
This move is much like the one Seattle made for Victor Robles in 2024. Robles was released from the Washington Nationals after a disappointing career in Washington, but a change of scenery did wonders for him once the Mariners claimed him off waivers from Washington. Perhaps that will be the key for Taveras moving forward, and while they are not the same player, they do have some real similarities. Taveras has been an elite defender in center field and is a real threat on the base paths, having stolen 23 bases in 2024 while only being caught six times. His walk rate was good last season at 7.9%, but that has cratered this year at just 2.4%. His strikeout rate this year is 28%, almost 7% more than it was last season, and surely the Mariners will want him to improve on both fronts as Seattle has been able to draw a ton of walks so far this season all while cutting down heavily on their strikeout numbers.
The underlying numbers for Taveras are all over the place. His savant page leaves a lot to be desired, as it’s as blue as the Puget Sound, but there may be something here for the Mariners to fix. He does not hit the ball hard whatsoever, and his expected batting average is ranked near the bottom of the league, which is a problem. Taking that into consideration, there could be some good news in here too. His ISO is 29 points below his career average (.101 as compared to .130). His BABIP (batting average on balls in play) is actually .327, which is .026 points above league average. If Taveras can cut down on the strikeouts even near his career average of 24.3%, things will turn around for him at the plate, and perhaps the way that hitting coaches Edgar Martínez and Kevin Seitzer have the Seattle offense working this year, he can see a resurgence while plugging a hole for the Mariners in their outfield.
The Mariners have been devastated with injuries this year and it is only May 6th. Right fielder Victor Robles is out with a fracture in his shoulder (that is healing properly, but he’ll still miss a few more months), infielder/outfielder Luke Raley is out for up to six weeks with an oblique strain, while infielder/outfielder Dylan Moore was on the injured list with hip inflammation but was just activated today. Randy Arozarena missed yesterday’s game with a hamstring injury, but is back in the lineup today, albeit at the designated hitter position. The Mariners have had to call up outfielders Samad Taylor and Rhylan Thomas from AAA Tacoma to fill in in the outfield, but bringing in a guy like Taveras who is a weapon on defense should help stabilize an outfield who has had to rely on young players and call ups quite a bit less than two months into the season.
Because they claimed him off waivers from Texas, our Mariners now are required to absorb the remainder of Taveras’ $4.75 million salary for this season, which amounts to roughly $3.5 million. It’s a tough situation for them, because as sources have told CSS, eating that money on his contract could play a role in the spending the franchise can make towards improving it’s roster. That’s no surprise to fan, probably just disappointing, considering the tight budget the front office had to improve the roster this past offseason. We’ll see how things go, as ownership has said that if the club plays well enough to be in a good spot that the front office could get more resources, but it’s more of a “see it before I believe it” kind of situation.
In a corresponding move, AAA Tacoma pitcher Luis F. Castillo has been designated for assignment. The 40-man roster is still full at 40 players. Castillo was called up to replace Emerson Hancock in the rotation earlier in the season after Emerson’s disastrous first outing, but made just two starts. In his seven innings of work, “The Pebble” gave up seven runs (six earned) on twelve hits, walking seven and striking out five. Castillo was sent back down to Tacoma where he has struggled as well since then. Look for the Mariners to outright him to Tacoma should he go unclaimed by the rest of the teams.
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