Thursday, June 12

WEST SACRAMENTO -- Leody Taveras was admittedly disappointed at first upon hearing that he was placed on waivers by a Rangers team that’s all he’s ever known, but he quickly turned the page for a fresh start with the Mariners, who claimed him on Tuesday and had him join the club one day later for their series finale vs. the A’s. 

And Taveras made a strong first impression in a big way, ripping the game-tying RBI single with two outs in the eighth inning of a 6-5 win, then scoring the go-ahead run in the next at-bat, when Dylan Moore followed with a double.  

“The good at-bats just were very contagious, because he picked it up right away,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.   

Taveras arrived after flying from Boston, then making a 100-mile trek from San Francisco International Airport to Sacramento. Yet the switch-hitting outfielder was already acclimated with Wilson and the few familiar faces he knew before first pitch, batting seventh and playing right field. 

“Not easy, but this is the business,” Taveras said. “I understand all of those things. I'm ready and happy to be part of the Seattle Mariners and to just keep going.” 

How Taveras was deployed on Wednesday hints at what his longer-term role in Seattle will be, especially given the lengthy recoveries to the club's top two right fielders on the depth chart. Victor Robles (fractured left shoulder) is out until around the All-Star break and Luke Raley (right oblique strain) is at least five weeks away from getting back into full baseball activity, based on initial prognosis. 

It’s not just a fresh start for Taveras, who joins a new organization for the first time since signing with the Rangers as an international amateur free agent in 2015. He’ll also get a legitimate opportunity. 

“A change of scenery is a real thing sometimes,” Wilson said. “I think this is an opportunity, obviously, for that. And Leody is a good player. He's a very talented player, great tools, and we're excited to see him on our side.”  

Where the Mariners are bullish that they might be able to unlock something is with Taveras’ bat, which has been well under league average this year (66 wRC+, where league average is 100) but could be an outlier for a player who’s still only 26 years old. 

Taveras has a 29.1% strikeout rate this season that’s on pace for a career worst, which includes two K's on Wednesday before his big hit. But his five-year track record prior was 24.1%, with a 21.1% rate during his best year in 2023, when he helped the Rangers win the World Series. Specifically this season, Taveras has struggled against fastballs, with 15 of his 25 K’s coming against heaters. 

This is an area where the Mariners -- via director of hitting strategy Edgar Martinez and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer -- have worked some of their magic, in addition to refining the collective overall approach, which could potentially help Taveras, as well. 

The Mariners were one of the worst fastball-hitting teams last year (ranking 27th in batting average and 28th in strikeouts against the offering) but are more middle of the pack in 2025 (ranking 22nd and 15th), respectively.  

Perhaps fittingly, it was a 96.8 mph heater that Taveras connected on -- and in a 1-2 count -- for the big hit.  

Taveras’ calling card, though, has been his glove, which has remained effective amid his other struggles this season. He ranks in the 85th percentile in outs above average, 83rd in arm strength and 82nd in sprint speed.  

And he’s essentially a center fielder who will now shift to right, supplementing Julio Rodríguez and Randy Arozarena to give the Mariners what they believe can be one of the more dynamic outfields in baseball -- which is what they envisioned in Spring Training when Robles was among that fold. 

All three games this week in West Sacramento were tense, tight -- and highly entertaining. Might there be a new rivalry brewing in the American League West? It has the potential to be a lot of fun, not just because of the way these teams play, but because they’d represent a changing of the guard in the division.  

Here’s some reaction from both clubhouses this week:  

Mariners RHP Bryan Woo: “I think it's just two really scrappy teams, honestly. Teams that are smaller market, not going to get a whole lot of attention, but just two teams that know themselves really well and don't try to go out and do too much, just play really good team baseball.”

Mariners C Cal Raleigh: “Oh, they're a good team over there. They made some good offseason moves, and they already had a good core, as well, as far as their lineup goes. So they're no joke.”

A’s SS Jacob Wilson: “I think it’s going to be a great year between these two teams. They have a phenomenal pitching staff and a great lineup, as well. I think it showed this week how it’s going to go down the rest of the way. To be able to compete with them back and forth, those three games right there, none of them were blown away. We always think we’re right in it. … I think it’s going to be a great showing between these two teams the rest of the year.”

Stay tuned for when these teams meet again from July 28-30 at Sutter Health Park. 

Andrés Muñoz’s visit to the Seattle Area Feline Rescue (SAFe) last week turned out to be a huge hit, as the All-Star closer helped raise over $15,000 through the auction he helped launch and through other donations. The rescue also received a number of gifts from the community through their other giving platforms that mentioned Muñoz. 

Muñoz will continue to work with SAFe via the launch of the T-shirt that will be available at the Mariners Team Store beginning this homestand -- with $5 from every purchase benefiting the rescue. 

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