Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger and his wife had a really great week

The Seattle Mariners brought back Mitch Haniger on a one-year deal to avoid arbitration, and he officially became a dad!

Mitch Haniger had a great first week of December after signing a one-year deal and his wife Amanda delivering their first child! The Seattle Mariners and Haniger agreed to a $3.01M deal. It may seem like a lot for a player that did not play in 2020, but the Seattle Mariners are better off coming to a mutual agreement with one time All-Star rather than going through the arbitration process.

The signing of Haniger is no surprise because he was tendered Mitch Haniger several days ago. But Jerry Dipoto worked swiftly to come to an agreement with Haniger and his representatives. Haniger actually agreed to a one-year deal for the same amount they made last winter, which was his first year of arbitration eligibility.

In even bigger news, the Haniger family introduced a baby girl to the world on December 3rd. The Haniger family is surely enjoying there start to December!

Now going back to the deal, it says a lot about Haniger and his relationship with the organization. If he did not want to stay in Seattle and earn a larger sum of money, he could have asked for way more forcing arbitration. On the flip side, if Seattle was not confident in Haniger’s recovery process, the organization could have easily non-tendered him which would have made him a free agent.

Neither of these scenarios happened which is a good thing from my perspective. I still have a lot of faith in Mitch Haniger and he can be a force in the lineup if healthy. It would be a steal of a deal if he can return to his 2018 All-Star form in 2021. Haniger will enter his third and final year of arbitration eligibility after the 2021 season so next season is also important for Haniger’s future contract.