The Mariners have claimed outfielder Leody Taveras from the Rangers, in keeping with bulletins from each golf equipment. The Rangers recalled outfielder Evan Carter to take his spot on the roster, a transfer that was beforehand reported. Proper-hander Luis F. Castillo, to not be confused with Luis Castillo, has been designated for project by the M’s to open a 40-man spot for the declare. An energetic roster spot will must be opened at any time when Taveras studies to the M’s.
Taveras, 26, will be part of a brand new group for the primary time. The Rangers signed him as a global newbie again in 2015, giving him a notable bonus of $2.1MM. He went on to change into the membership’s high prospect and one of many high 100 within the league for a couple of years. As a significant leaguer, he has been helpful however not fairly a star. His velocity and protection have allowed him to make notable contributions for the Rangers, although his offense has been much less constant.
When he first arrived within the majors, he struck out fairly a bit, however he was nonetheless in his early 20s at the moment. In 2023, he managed to get the punchouts all the way down to a manageable 21.1% fee. He nonetheless didn’t stroll a lot, only a 6.3% fee, however he put the ball over the fence 14 occasions. That each one led to a .266/.312/.421 line and a 100 wRC+, indicating he was precisely league common on the plate.
Given his different skills, common offense was fairly acceptable. He additionally stole 14 bases and obtained robust marks for his outfield protection. FanGraphs thought-about him to be price 2.4 wins above substitute on the 12 months as he helped the Rangers cost to their first ever championship.
He fell of a bit final 12 months. His stroll fee truly jumped to 7.9% and his strikeout fee basically held regular, bumping ever so barely to 21.2%. His house run whole additionally didn’t change a lot, dropping to 12, however with 25 fewer plate appearances. His batting common on balls in play dropped to .272, after being at .318 the 12 months earlier than. He completed the 2024 season with a .229/.289/.352 line and 82 wRC+. Nonetheless, along with his 23 steals and his glovework, he produced 1.1 fWAR.
Right here in 2025, his offense has dropped additional. Via 82 plate appearances, he has a 2.4% stroll fee, 28% strikeout fee, .241/.259/.342 line and 68 wRC+. That’s been half of a bigger constellation of struggles in Texas, as guys like Marcus Semien and Joc Pederson are additionally struggling badly. Jake Burger’s droop was steep sufficient to get optioned to the minors whereas Taveras was positioned on waivers. The membership additionally fired offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker and employed Bret Boone as a hitting coach in an try to kickstart the offense.
For the Mariners, it’s a buy-low transfer, with some echoes of their Víctor Robles pickup. Robles was additionally a notable prospect with the Nationals who had struggled to click on within the majors. The M’s sntached him up final 12 months after the Nats launched him. Robles then carried out properly with Seattle, sufficient that they signed him to a small extension final 12 months, simply a few months after bringing him aboard.
Robles has sadly been sidelined by a dislocated left shoulder and might be nonetheless a few months away from returning. Luke Raley changed him in proper discipline however he lately hit the IL himself on account of an indirect pressure. Lately, they’ve been enjoying guys like Rhylan Thomas and Miles Mastrobuoni on the market, which is lower than preferrred. Thomas has simply ten main league plate appearances up to now and hasn’t achieved a lot with them. Mastrobuoni is a light-hitting utility man. Dylan Moore was reinstated from the injured listing right now however he could possibly be wanted on the infield, with Ben Williamson producing subpar offense from third base in his first 70 massive league plate appearances.
Presumably, Taveras can be within the combine to assist out in proper. He has solely ever performed middle discipline in his main league profession, although the M’s have Julio Rodríguez there daily. Taveras has performed the corners within the minors and most middle fielders can transfer to left or proper with out subject. Some platoon matchups within the lineup are potential. Taveras is a switch-hitter with higher numbers as a lefty. Williamson and Moore are each right-handed, so maybe they’ll take third and proper discipline when powerful lefties are on the mound.
Although the Mariners are “shopping for low” within the sense that Taveras has been performing poorly of late and was available on the wire, there’s a notable value right here. Taveras certified for arbitration forward of the 2024 season as a Tremendous Two man and earned $2.55MM final 12 months. In January, he and the Rangers averted arbitration for this 12 months, agreeing to a $4.75MM wage. That leaves about $3.7MM left to be paid out, which the M’s are taking up by making this declare.
That’s a reasonably small quantity within the baseball world, the place many guys are making eight-figure salaries yearly, but it surely’s not nothing for the Mariners. They reportedly had about $15MM to spend this winter. They ended up giving out lower than that, bringing again Jorge Polanco and signing Donovan Solano for a mixed $11.25MM. Maybe not coincidentally, including Taveras and his remaining wage results in a sum fairly near $15MM.
Possibly that can give the membership a bit much less wiggle room so as to add on the deadline or maybe possession will greenlight additional spending in the event that they preserve enjoying properly. Time will inform on that. But when the wager on Taveras pays off in Robles-like vogue, there could possibly be advantages past this season. He’s nonetheless controllable by way of arbitration for an additional two years after this one. He must carry out higher over the remainder of the season in an effort to be tendered a contract however that’s precisely what the Mariners are hoping for.
If Taveras is ready to get again on observe, the Rangers would possibly find yourself kicking themselves, particularly since there’s an opportunity he’ll be thriving with a division rival for the subsequent few years. However there’s no assure of that occuring they usually’re most likely completely happy about the associated fee financial savings within the brief time period. It was reported within the winter that Texas needed to get beneath the tax line in 2025 and that plan was confirmed by proprietor Ray Davis. They got here into the season a couple of million beneath the road, in keeping with public estimates, although with a transparent probability of going over. They’ve numerous gamers with sizable contract bonuses and people would bump up the membership’s tax quantity if triggered, one thing that MLBTR did a deep dive on final month.
With the M’s claiming Taveras and the remainder of this 12 months’s wage, that drops the Rangers additional away from the $241MM base threshold of the tax. As of some weeks in the past, RosterResource and Cot’s Baseball Contracts had the Rangers’ CBT quantity at $236.4MM and $237.8MM respectively however these estimates are actually listed at $234.1MM and $235.5MM.
Castillo, 30, was added to the roster in April. George Kirby began the season on the injured listing and Emerson Hancock obtained lit up in his first begin of the 12 months. Castillo made a few spot begins earlier than being optioned to the minors. Hancock has since come again as much as retake a rotation spot with higher outcomes. Logan Gilbert is now on the IL as properly, prompting a Logan Evans promotion, however Kirby is on a rehab project and will have the ability to rejoin the membership quickly.
The M’s are evidently keen to sacrifice a little bit of rotation depth, so Castillo goes into DFA limbo, which may final so long as every week. The waiver course of takes 48 hours, so any commerce potentialities must be explored within the subsequent 5 days. Castillo’s MLB observe report is fairly small however he’s been respectable within the minors and in Japan. From 2022 to 2025, he has a 2.44 ERA, 22.6% strikeout fee and 6.7% stroll fee in 59 minor league innings. He additionally pitched 143 1/3 NPB innings over 2023 and 2024 with a 3.01 ERA. Since he’s nonetheless optionable, he might have attraction for golf equipment trying so as to add some Triple-A rotation depth.
Picture courtesy of Robert Edwards, Imagn Photographs
