Carlos Gonzalez amongst MILB players cut by Mariners

The Seattle Mariners are set to release their more prominent minor league contract signing of the 2019-2020 off-season.

When the Mariners announced they would be paying their minor league players for the duration of the 2020 season, it was also confirmed that they would be cutting 50 players from their MILB system. The announcement falls in line with the news that MLB is going to eliminate 42 MILB teams and Seattle is slated to lose at least one affiliate.

The names of the 30 players are not yet known with one exception. Former All-Star outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, who signed a minor-league deal with the club in February, is one of those players who will be cut.

The news shouldn’t come as a surprise. The 32-year-old former Oakland A’s, Colorado Rockies, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians outfielder wasn’t a great fit for a young and rebuilding MLB team and Gonzalez didn’t wow anybody in his opportunities in Spring Training. His .273 batting average and .360 on-base percentage were both fine, but he wasn’t hitting for much power.

In addition, Gonzalez was having a problem with velocity and appeared to have lost more bat speed, an issue that has plagued him for the past three years. With little defensive value or power to his game, Gonzalez just wasn’t going to make the team, especially since a shortened season will lead to more opportunities for young players like Jake Fraley, Kyle Lewis, Braden Bishop, and possibly Jarred Kelenic.

Gonzalez’s great career may be over as the once-great player will have difficulty finding traction around the league.

We still do not know who will join Gonzalez in the minor league roster dump, but don’t expect too many surprises to be on that list. If this is the end for Gonzalez, he will retire as one of the more underrated players of his era after 12 solid seasons.