Three new Seattle Mariners to keep an eye on in Spring Training

New Mariner to watch #2 Outfielder Mitch Haniger

In a shocking move, the M's brought back a fan favorite in outfielder Mitch Haniger in a trade which sent starting pitcher Robbie Ray to San Francisco. His acquisition was important, as the Mariners' 2023 outfielder, Teoscar Hernandez, eventually signed with a new team (the LA Dodgers) in free agency. The Mariners needed to add a right handed hitting corner outfielder to replace Hernandez because their other options were mostly left handed hitters (with the exception of Jonatan Clase who has no major league at bats).

How much will Mitch Haniger play the outfield and which corner outfield spot will he occupy? Throughout his career in Seattle, Haniger mostly played right field, however, last year he started most of his games in left field for the Giants. The Mariners are also going to want to protect Mitch Haniger and keep him healthy by limiting the amount of games he plays in the outfield.

Mitch Garver was signed by the Mariners in free agency because the Mariners needed a DH at the time. Now that they also have Mitch Haniger, how will they divide the time each of them plays at DH? The Mariners are probably going to split the DH position between both Garver and Haniger, with Garver likely receiving the majority of the starts. Which means Haniger will often platoon with either Dominic Canzone or Luke Raley who are left handed corner outfielders.