Forgotten Mariners Friday: Outfielder Denard Span

For a considerable period of time during the 2018 season, it appeared the Seattle Mariners were on their way to ending their (at the time) 17-year playoff drought. Mitch Haniger, Jean Segura, Nelson Cruz, and Edwin Diaz were enjoying All-Star seasons, and breakout performances were underway from Ryon Healy, Marco Gonzales, and Wade LeBlanc.

One would think that Mariners management would have gone all out at the trade deadline that season – but they didn’t. Instead, the highest profile acquisition they made was for veteran outfielder Denard Span, whose 2018 season would end up being his last.

Denard Span was in the middle of a .238/.364/.385 (.749 OPS) season with the Rays in 2018 when the Mariners acquired him, which was much better than starting outfielder Guillermo Heredia’s .661 OPS mark at the time. With Robinson Cano eventually slated to return from an 80-game suspension for PED usage, Seattle felt that adding on-base ability to the end of their lineup would be their best in-season move, instead of mortgaging part of their future for more thump in the middle of the order.

Span actually did a nice job filling in for 94 games that season, ending with a .272/.329/.435 slash line (.765 OPS) with seven home runs and 30 RBIs. However, with a core group of players capable of pushing the Mariners to the postseason, fans were left with more to be desired from General Manager Jerry Dipoto’s boldness in acquiring talent to bolster the roster (even with the Oakland Athletics’ incredible second-half run to snag the A.L.’s second Wild Card spot).

Denard Span ended his 11-year MLB career after the 2018 season with a lifetime .281/.347/.398 slash line (.745 OPS) and .991 fielding percentage; a well-balanced career for a journeyman outfielder, though one that Span surely wishes could have ended with a postseason run in Seattle.