Mariners admit defeat and get serious by sending Rob Refsnyder, Mitch Garver packing

Say what you will about how the Seattle Mariners handled the trade deadline, but they did enough to turn the page for a new-look roster. And in a turn of events that almost certainly isn't going to result in the shedding of many tears, Rob Refsnyder and Mitch Garver won't be part of it.

Following earlier reports from Ted Schwerzler, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times confirmed that the two veterans have been released:

It would be nice to put some sort of positive spin on what Refsnyder and Garver contributed to the 2026 Mariners. But, alas, the best we've got is that Garver was really good at using the ABS challenge system.

Productivity-wise, Garver is leaving behind a 73 OPS+ and 0.3 rWAR and Refsnyder is leaving behind a 34 OPS+ and -1.0 rWAR. Refsnyder's OPS+ is tied for the worst in Mariners history among hitters who took at least 120 plate appearances. So he has that going for him, which is not so nice.

Mariners aim for addition by subtraction by releasing Rob Refsnyder and Mitch Garver

Of course, there is a more tragic reading on Refsnyder's tenure in Seattle.

This reading recognizes his original signing to a $6.25 million contract as smooth move on the front office's part. And also, that his struggles with the team simply can't be separated from knee issues that dogged the 35-year-old basically all season. He didn't so much rob the Mariners as he got robbed by the baseball gods of a fair shot at pulling his weight.

Either way, the writing was on the wall for Refsnyder as soon as the Mariners acquired Taylor Ward on Monday. Ward is a right-handed hitter who crushes lefties and primarily plays the outfield. It's basically a copy of Refsnyder's resume, but without any folded corners or coffee stains. Ward leads the AL in walks and has a .383 OBP. If only one could stay, that's obviously the guy.

As for Garver, it's still a cool story that it was Cal Raleigh who got him back on the Mariners by urging him to make a call. And to Garver's credit, he did his best work while he was filling in for Raleigh while he was on the injured list with a strained oblique. That mattered.

However, it was in that same window that Jhonny Pereda angled for a new life as a Mariners fan favorite by putting up a 99 OPS+ in 19 games. He's also hit .319/.402/.440 with Triple-A Tacoma this year, so both the floor and the ceiling look higher than what the Mariners were experiencing with Garver.

All told, it's hard to imagine any scenario in which the Mariners are worse off without Refsnyder and Garver. Indeed, it arguably would have been malpractice to keep them around. The Mariners are 55-58 as is, so the time to stop wasting at-bats on stragglers was yesterday.

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