Disrespected Mariners veteran is taking revenge on his doubters amid hot streak

Back in early May, there were plenty of people who believed it was time to end the Donovan Solano experiment in Seattle, including us. We saw no justifiable reason to keep the slumping veteran on the Mariners roster, with him projected at the time for the worst season of his 12 years in the majors.

The Mariners refused to give up on Solano, however, with there even being (hidden) reason for hope as May concluded. And now, it would seem that he is owed a big apology, with him taking revenge on his doubters to an extent that no one would have predicted.

The 2020 Silver Slugger winner has been on a tear in recent weeks, batting .450 and producing 12 RBI in his past 14 games. He truly came alive over the weekend in Chicago, as he played a significant role in helping the Mariners win their first ever series at Wrigley Field.

Donovan Solano lights up the Cubs

Solano went 9-for-14 during the series, as he had three hits in all three games and collected a total of eight RBI. This included Sunday's rubber match, when he had just the fourth multi-homer game of his time in the majors with two blasts and finished just one shy of his career-high with five RBI.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson is certainly appreciative of what the 37-year-old has done for the team lately. As per Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times, Wilson said: "Donnie has been a guy who has swung the bat well his whole career. I don’t think this surprises anybody. He’s a guy that has proven over the years that he is a very good hitter. And he just got off to a slow start, but he has put up some really nice at-bats and had some key hits for us and that’s what Donnie does. It’s been great to see.”

Solano had been a solid above average hitter in the six years before this one, so perhaps it shouldn't really be that much of a surprise about his recent turnaround. It has also been a timely rebound, with him now the main at first base due to Rowdy Tellez being all but gone and Luke Raley needing to help in the outfield.

Mariners must continue to consider their options at first base

We're more than happy to give Solano his due credit and will keep our fingers crossed for the Mariners that his recent form will continue indefinitely, but you'll have to forgive us if some concern remains. Even after the weekend, his overall .257/.295/.371 slash line and .666 OPS are still well off the pace of what he achieved during the aforementioned six years.

We will have zero issue in being proven wrong about our ongoing concern (albeit lessening as time passes) and seeing Solano continue to solidify his position on the team. However, it might be best if Jerry Dipoto and company still consider first base one of their prime areas to potentially upgrade the roster ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.