Swaggerty having a great September is exactly what the Mariners needed from Sam Haggerty

The Mariners have seen a lot of up and down production from their Left Fielders... well, since the dawn of time it seems like. Every season, we think we have someone that can produce, and they either don't stick around long, get hurt, or just plain struggle. 2023 looked to be off on a much better foot with Jarred Kelenic dominating. He started to come back down to Earth, and then hit the injured list... well, techinically kicked it, but you know what I mean.

Mix in Cade Marlowe, Taylor Trammell, Dylan Moore, and AJ Pollock, and you had all the makings of another roller coaster season in left for the Mariners. Ups, downs, excitement, and head-shaking scenarios moving through on a rotating basis.

As we hit the mid-point of September and the end is in site, Kelenic is back with the team and playing well. Who can they pair with Kelenic though?

The answer to that, is Sam Haggerty

Mariners fans were riding high on Sam Haggerty as the end of 2022 approached. He was hitting .301 as the calendar turned to August, but struggled a bit in September, although he hit when it mattered and still walked a bunch.

Fast forward a year. Haggerty has struggled this season. He was even sent down for a while because he just wasn't performing enough. .190/.292/.238 won't cut it at any level, even with prime Billy Hamilton speed. Haggerty went down to Tacoma on June 5th and raked. 8 HR, 19 SB, 15 2B, 4 3B, and a slash of .324/.419/.578. It was enough to earn him a call back to the team in August. He looks like a different man since the callback.

August - .273/.385/.546 (8 games)
September - .308/.357/.346 (11 games)

I don't need the power from Swaggs. Yeah, it's nice, but we shouldn't expect that. However, if we can get something along the lines of .270/.350/.350 the rest of the way, that is plenty good for someone with speed and versatility on defense. He's 28-31 on the bases, so he's a efficient threat whenever he leads off first. Throw those stats in as your backup outfielder/pinch runner guy? Yeah, that's a great fit, especially if the other pinch hitters can produce.

Spell Teo/Canzone/Kelenic in the outfield, and produce like that, and I think that the Mariners are going to be in a really good spot. Now, let's just see if Haggerty can keep it up throughout the last two weeks of the season.