The sailors announced this morning that they had released outfielders Mitch Haniger. Haniger owes 15.5mm this season, the final year of his three-year, 43mm contract with the Giants before the 2023 season. Haniger himself and Jerry Dipoto, president of Baseball Operations, are both announcing and providing statements.
“Mickey has always been an important part of sailor history and will be missed.” Dipoto said in a statement. “He was on the day he participated in his first spring training in 2017 and he established one of the most focused, prepared, hardest and hardest players he’s been meeting. We’re all thankful for the many ways he’s on the court and on the court to make us better.”
“Putting in a sailor uniform and playing at T-Mobile Park is something I always cherish,” Hanigge said in a statement. “For our fans, my teammates and everyone is part of this organization, thank you for embracing my family and me. We have so many wonderful memories to look back on.”
This is the unfortunate ending of Haniger’s tenure with the organization, which first started in the 2016-17 offseason. Jean Segura and Zach Curtis In the transaction sent Ketel Marte and Taiwan Walker Go to Arizona. Although Rattlers fans will surely remember when Marte grew up as a star player with the club, Haniger’s career with Seattle over the years was impressive. Though he was often dogged by injuries throughout his tenure with the club, the outfielder remained productive and slashed .263/.337/.480 with a 124 wRC+ in 530 games from 2017 to 2022. His most impressive campaign with Seattle came in 2018, when he delivered a 137 wRC+ en route to a 5.0 fWAR/6.5 bWAR season that earned him an All-Star appearance and an AL 11th place in the MVP vote.
After the 2022 campaign, Haniger left the club for free agency and found a profitable deal in San Francisco that guaranteed him $43mm of his 43mm over three years. Unfortunately, his first season with the Giants was a forgotten season as the outfielder was limited to 61 games, and he cut a trivial .209/.266/.365 on the plate with 229 trips. During that season, Haniger was repeatedly bitten by the injury pest because he had a fractured forearm in addition to tilting and back problems throughout the year. Despite these injuries, the Giants chose not to keep him all the way and figure out what a healthy season for the new outfielder might look like.
Instead, they transported him back to Seattle, right hand Anthony Desclafani Dealing last winter Robbie Ray Go to San Francisco. The surprise blockbuster reunited Haniger with the Mariners, and as he enters the season much healthier than the previous year, there are plenty of optimistic reasons for veterans to return to the club. Unfortunately, this didn’t pass. Last year, Haniger struggled in 121 games against Seattle against Seattle, cutting only .208/.286/.334 in 423 sets.
It’s his second straight season to fight a negative war, and there’s little reason to be optimistic about his career-high strikeout rate of 29.8% and he’ll be able to turn things around. Haniger when the club was acquired Randy Arozarena and Victor Robles In the 2024 season, both of them effectively locked outfield corners to 2025.
Haniger this year with Mitch Garver and non-member invitees Rowdy Tellez For the starter DH job, but in seven games this spring, he quickly fell behind the club’s other two options when he hit only .167/.250/.389 in seven games and was plagued by a sore shoulder. He has not played since early March, and although the game on the injured roster seems possible, it now appears that the Mariners will allow Haniger to seek opportunities elsewhere, while clubs in the league are still finalizing their opening day roster decisions. A 34-year-old is expected to have a significant rebound, he is two full seasons and there is a risk of withdrawing from above-average batsmen, but another club has hardly hurt Haniger if he is left in a minor league deal if he is interested in one person.
