Mariners should take a chance on a forgotten star who's now looking for work

Some interesting news broke during the Seattle Mariners' three-game trip to Chicago, with it being confirmed that the White Sox had released Omar Narváez on Tuesday from his minor league deal. The reason for the interest from our perspective is down to the catcher having previously played in Seattle during the 2019 season.

Further, Narváez's best year of his time in the majors actually came during his 2019 campaign with the Mariners. He set a host of career-bests, including 22 home runs, 55 RBI, 47 walks, 63 runs, a .813 OPS, 119 OPS+ and 2.3 WAR, although he was still subsequently traded to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Special moment of Omar Narváez's career didn't come in his best season

It's noteworthy that despite 2019 being the best of Narváez's Major League career, he actually earned his one and only All-Star selection two years later, in his second of three seasons with the Brewers. During that 2021 season he produced 11 home runs, 49 RBI, 41 walks, 54 runs, a .743 OPS, 101 OPS+ and 1.5 WAR.

Now, we entirely appreciate that the 33-year-old is no longer that guy, who was a dependable catcher during the middle part of his career. Since 2022 — among other things — he has an underwhelming .201/.278/.286 slash line and each year has seen reduced appearances in the big league.

Omar Narváez could still offer something the the Mariners

Still, taking everything into account, we think the Mariners should give some consideration to bringing Narváez back to the organization. There really is no downside to signing him to a minor league deal and keeping him in reserve, with his leadership and experience two factors which could prove invaluable no matter what level he plays at.

For this season specifically, Narváez appeared in four games for the White Sox, notching three RBI and batting .286 in 10 plate appearances, resulting in a .686 OPS and 103+ OPS. He also played in 15 games in Triple-A Charlotte for the organization, producing two home runs, five RBI, a .218/.317/.345 slash line and .663 OPS.

The Venezuela native began his time in North America with the Tampa Bay Rays organization, but never saw any Major League action with them. For his time as a whole in the majors, at the time of writing he has appeared in 681 games over 10 years including two seasons with the New York Mets, and has a career .252/.335/.373 slash line and .708 OPS.

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