How Mitch Haniger opting into contract affects Mariners' offseason

On Monday evening, news broke that outfielder Mitch Haniger exercised his 2025 player option to remain with the Seattle Mariners for another year. This, of course, is bad news for the Mariners as they had held onto hope that he'd move on and save them $15.5 million for next season.

There was never a chance that was going to happen, though. Players are always in the driver's seat when they have an upcoming player option after a year in which they were either injured or underperforming. Haniger would've been foolish to test the free agent market after limping to the finish line like he did in 2024. Instead, he'll stay on the Mariners and be their third-highest paid player after Luis Castillo and Julio Rodriguez.

The difference between Haniger and the other two is that Castillo and Rodriguez have earned their contracts, and then some. Haniger, who can't stay healthy and has struggled for years now, has not.

Mitch Haniger's player option throws a wrench in Mariners offseason plans

With a long to-do list this winter, the Mariners need to spend their money wisely. The club needs upgrades around the diamond, including at first base, second base and third base. Heck, there's probably even room for another reliever or two as well.

Each of these positions has some solid options to choose from. Christian Walker, Paul Goldschmidt and Pete Alonso are at first. Gleyber Torres is at second. Alex Bregman is at third. The Mariners will have no shortages of options, but now it's a matter of how much money they're willing to spend now that they're tied down to Haniger for another season.

Haniger, 33, signed a three-year deal with the Giants prior to the 2023 season. The third year came in the form of a 2025 player option that became the Mariners' problem when they acquired him in a trade for Robbie Ray this past January.

The Giants made out like bandits in this deal, as Haniger made 121 appearances for the Mariners in 2024, hitting just 12 home runs with a ghastly .208 average, .620 OPS and 84 OPS+. He looked nothing like the player that spent five of the first seven years of his big league career patrolling Seattle's outfield.

To make matters just a little bit more complicated, Haniger is going to take up $17.5 million of the Mariners' 2025 payroll rather than the $15.5 million his player option was for. According to Sports Illustrated's Brady Farkas, this is because Haniger is owed the prorated version of the $6 million signing bonus he agreed to receive from the Giants.

Over the years, the Mariners have proven to be great at moving ugly contracts via trade. Just last offseason, they sent Evan White and Marco Gonzales packing in the same trade, so it's entirely possible they try to pull this off again with Haniger. Of course, they lost Jarred Kelenic in the process that time. In this instance, there's no way they can do this again without eating at least some of Haniger's 2025 contract or giving up a player of legitimate value in the deal.

Haniger opting in to next season is going to bog down the Mariners in multiple ways. His $17.5 million salary will eat up a huge chunk of their payroll and there's little reason to believe he's magically going to figure things out at the plate and turn it around. He's likely going to be nothing more than an underperforming, overpaid veteran who isn't the player he once was anymore.