Sam Haggerty will always have his 2022 season with the Seattle Mariners. He came out of nowhere to become a fan favorite at T-Mobile Park. He was technically more valuable than even reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray. And in the end, he helped the franchise snap a 21-year playoff drought.
Well, now he's looking for work. Again.
It's been a rough year for the 32-year-old native of Phoenix, Arizona. He was DFA'd and released by the Texas Rangers in June, and now he's been released from the Cincinnati Reds organization as well. He had been with the Reds on a minor league deal and, evidently, they didn't find his .205/.293/.273 slash line for Triple-A Louisville to be good enough to continue the partnership.
Sam Haggerty has found a precarious spot in his career after releases by Rangers and Reds
If nothing else, Haggerty is going to walk away from this season with $1.25 million in the bank. That's minus taxes and whatever he owes his agent, of course, but it's still the best money he's ever earned in 12 years as a professional baseball player.
It's worth bringing up because it should not be forgotten what he did to earn it. It's on the Rangers' tab, and that's the case because they saw enough from him in 2025 to decide not to non-tender him. He was a pleasant surprise in Arlington last year, ultimately posting a 102 OPS+ and 0.8 rWAR in 64 games.
It didn't quite match the pinnacle of his 2022 season with the Mariners, which saw him appear in 83 games and end up rocking a 116 OPS+ and 2.2 rWAR. Though a groin injury unfortunately rendered him unavailable for the playoffs, it looked at the time like a breakthrough for a late-bloomer.
The reality four years later is that Haggerty's 2022 and 2025 seasons account for 3.0 rWAR, whereas his whole career has been worth 2.5 rWAR. He's mostly been a replacement-level sub type, and he's currently at a stage of his career where such players aren't necessarily guaranteed work in affiliated ball.
We'll see about that, of course. It's not like it costs much to sign Haggerty, and he checks a bunch of boxes as a stash-able piece of depth. Namely, he's a switch-hitter with 301 games' worth of experience and the ability to play all three outfield spots.
Honestly, we wouldn't be opposed to the Mariners picking him back up and adding him to the roster at Triple-A Tacoma. Even if he wouldn't be first in line for a promotion when rosters expand in September, literally anything that could conjure up some of that magical 2022 energy is welcome right now.
