Mariners lose 2 players to minor league free agency with MLB postseason underway

While six-year MLB free agents will have to wait until the conclusion of the World Series to officially hit the market, minor league free agents can elect free agency much sooner. Minor leaguers become free agents if they were outrighted off of a team's 40-man roster and have sufficient service time.

The first Seattle minor leaguer to elect free agency was first baseman Jason Vosler. He was called up towards the end of July to replace Ty France after he was placed on outright waivers and was disappointing offensively, posting a .519 OPS and 53 OPS+ over his 30 plate appearances. Despite a .944 OPS in Triple-A Tacoma in 2024, he was unable to carry over that success into the major leagues and was later replaced by Justin Turner at the trade deadline.

The second player to take this path was reliever Kirby Snead, the 1,000th player to suit up for the Mariners. He may have held a more long-term job in other organizations but with the sheer quality of the Mariners' bullpen, his 4.35 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, and 6.1 K/9 over 10.1 major-league innings simply wasn't enough for him to maintain a role. To make matters worse, his numbers with the Rainiers were concerning, to say the least, sitting at a 7.68 ERA over 36 1/3 innings.

Neither of these players have a huge impact on the present or future status of the big league club, but their departures could be a sign of what's to come. With other major league free agents likely to depart at the conclusion of the postseason, the front office will have to get busy plugging the gaps. The team is expected to increase their overall spending in 2025, perhaps motivated by two years of razor-thin playoff races. There's still quite a bit of time for things to become anywhere near concrete, but there are rumors they could be linked to a few big bats, especially at the first base position.

This year's crop of free agents is more pitcher-heavy with Juan Soto being one of the few big-name position players up for sale. Given their fiscal habits, Seattle probably isn't tossing their hat into that ring but other bats may be great value for less money. Josh Bell had a great run with the Diamondbacks after a paltry start to the year with the Marlins and teammate Christian Walker could be another affordable option to bring consistency to first base.

Upgrading the offense will be a clear priority heading into any free agency and, while last year's proposed upgrade in Mitch Garver didn't exactly pan out, the team will need to continue taking risks if they want to finally become perennial postseason contenders.