Mariners only get half the big bat they need with Rob Refsnyder signing

The Seattle Mariners began the winter in need of two big bats, and they have filled one-and-a-half of those spots by re-signing Josh Naylor and agreeing to terms with Rob Refsnyder on a one-year contract on Monday.

The Refsnyder signing came out of nowhere, as there hadn't been any buzz connecting the Mariners to the veteran utility man before it happened. It's a one-year, $6.25 million deal, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, which is a decent chunk out of the roughly $15 million budget for new salaries that the team carried out of the Winter Meetings.

The 34-year-old figures to come off the bench for Seattle, with primary functions to make occasional starts in right field, left field and designated hitter. He'll otherwise be a potent weapon as a pinch-hitter for Dan Wilson.

Mariners get half the big bat they need with Rob Refsnyder signing

What Refsnyder brings to the table as a hitter has become less of a secret in recent years. Batting from the right side of the plate, he absolutely demolishes left-handers. In fact, here's a helpful comparison.

• Player A: 155 wRC+ vs. LHP since 2022
• Player B: 159 wRC+ against everyone since 2022

Player A is Refsnyder. Player B is Juan Soto. We're not saying Refsnyder would be Soto's equal as a batsman if he was just as good against righties, but we're not not saying that either.

Whatever the case, it's easiest to see Refsnyder as a platoon partner at DH for Dominic Canzone, who had a 150 wRC+ batting left-on-right and a more modest 113 wRC+ batting left-on-left. Refsnyder will also have ample opportunities for at-bats if Luke Raley supplants Victor Robles as the Mariners' starting right fielder. He had a 137 wRC+ batting left-on-right across 2023 and 2024.

All that said, there's only so much work in any given season for a right-on-left platoon guy. Refsnyder took only 759 plate appearances for the Boston Red Sox between 2023 and 2025, only 49 more than Julio Rodríguez took on his own just this season.

This is to say that there needs to be another shoe to drop in the wake of Jorge Polanco's signing with the New York Mets. Another free-agent deal with a depth piece (i.e., Willi Castro) seems possible, but Refsnyder's presence isn't going to stop Mariners fans from rooting for an impact trade — least of all while Ketel Marte and Brendan Donovan are reportedly still in play.

To be clear, the Mariners are a better team with Refsnyder than they were without him. Yet this is very much a case of Seattle improving on the margins while leaving the picture in the middle relatively incomplete.