Let's give a warm welcome to the Mariners that have joined since Mid-December

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In a separate article, I provided some information about players who came to Seattle before mid-December 2023.

The Mariners subsequently signed free agent Mitch Garver from the Rangers after Christmas. Mitch Haniger and Anthony DeSclafani came on January 5th from the Giants. Luke Raley came from Tampa Bay. Most recently, the team acquired free agent, RHP Austin Voth.

RHB Mitch Garver, C and DH

Mitch Garver is a New Mexico native who was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 2013 from the University of New Mexico. He debuted in MLB on August 19, 2017. He spent 2017-2022 with the Twins. Minnesota traded Garver to the Texas Rangers in 2022. He was with Texas when they won the 2023 World Series.

Mitch contributed to a record for the Twins. The Twins broke the record for most home runs by a team in a single season with 268. Garver had 28 home runs for that season and a batting average of .273. (Unfortunately, the Twins only held this record for a short while.)

Although Mitch did not play in all of the postseason games this past year, he did make important contributions. He hit a grand slam in the second game against Baltimore. In game six of the ALCS series against Houston, he hit a home run. Then in game two of the World Series against Arizona, he hit a third home run. He had 14 RBIs in the post-season.

Mitch is very excited to play with the Mariners. His contract is for two years so we may have him that long.

RHB Mitch Haniger, OF

San Francisco Giants v Colorado Rockies / Dustin Bradford/GettyImages

Mitch is a returning player if you are new to the Mariners team. Many of us were saddened when he signed with an NL team as a free agent for the 2023 season.

He is a Bay Area native and spent the last year with the team he grew up with, the San Francisco Giants.

The Brewers drafted Mitch in the 2012 June Amateur Draft from Caltech. In 2014, the Brewers traded him to the Diamondbacks. In 2017, Arizona traded Mitch to the Mariners. He played for the Mariners for six years, ending in 2022, spent a year in San Francisco, and now has returned to Seattle. Woohoo!

Mitch was a second-team All-American in college and was named an All Star in 2018.

RHP Anthony DeSclafani

San Francisco Giants v New York Mets / Al Bello/GettyImages

DeSclafani is a 33-year-old Gator from New Jersey. Toronto drafted him in the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft from the University of Florida. While he was still playing in the minors, the Miami Marlins requested that he be part of a multi-player trade. In 2013, he played with the Jupiter Hammerheads and the Jacksonville Suns. He began 2014 with Jacksonville but when a pitcher in the Marlins' starting rotation needed Tommy John surgery, he debuted in MLB on May 14, 2014, in a game against the Dodgers.

DeSclafani (pronounced DEE-scla-fah nee), went to the Cincinnati Reds in a trade during the 2014 offseason and made the starting rotation for 2015. He played in the same rotation as Luis Castillo and spent six years with the Reds. Anthony had some injury issues. He played no games in 2022 and pitched only 19 innings in 2023.

Anthony signed with the San Francisco Giants for the 2021 season. In April of that year, he pitched the second shutout of his career against the Colorado Rockies. That year, Anthony led the National League in shutouts. He came to the Mariners this past offseason with Mitch Haniger for Robbie Ray.

OF and 1B Luke Raley

Tampa Bay Rays v Minnesota Twins / David Berding/GettyImages

Luke Raley is a 26-year-old native of Ohio. The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him in the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft from Lake Erie College. In the 2016 season, Raley played for the AZL Dodgers, the Ogden Raptors, and the Great Lakes Loons. He spent 2017 with one team, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

He started the 2018 season with the Tulsa Drillers. The Dodgers sent him to the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline. He had an injury that limited him to 33 games with the Twins AAA team, the Rochester Red Wings. The Dodgers reacquired him in February of 2020. He did not play that year as he was in the minor leagues.

Raley made his debut on April 9, 2021, in a game against the Nationals, and then appeared in 33 games. The Dodgers traded Luke to the Tampa Bay Rays on March 18, 2022. Luke played in the outfield and at first base in 2023. He was the first Ray to hit an inside-the-park home run at Oracle Park in San Francisco; although Raley was not known for his speed, he tapped all four bases and was safe at home. He played in 118 games, had a batting average of .249, and hit 19 home runs.

Tampa Bay traded Raley to the Mariners on January 5 in exchange for Jose Caballero. We know that Luke Raley is a newlywed since he found out about the trade while dominating pool volleyball on his honeymoon.

RHP Austin Voth

Kansas City Royals v Baltimore Orioles / Scott Taetsch/GettyImages

Austin Voth signed with Seattle as a free agent. He is a Redmond, WA native! We expect a lot of support from his friends and family!

Voth (sounds like "both," rather than "broth"), attended Kentwood HS and then the University of Washington. The Nationals drafted him from UW in the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft.

Austin spent a few years in the Nationals' minor leagues and made his debut on July 14, 2018, against the New York Mets. He stayed with the Nationals for four more years and then spent part of 2022 and 2023 up I-95 with the Baltimore Orioles. He has been a starting and relief pitcher.

While he did not have to drive far for a mid-year shift, he went the distance in pitching. In the beginning of 2022 with Washington, he had a 10.13 ERA over 18.2 innings as a relief pitcher. In the second half of that year, he had a 3.04 ERA over 83 innings. Pitcherlist put out an article called, "What's Going On with Austin Voth?" to describe the difference. One element was a shift in the types of pitches he chose to throw.

Voth spent time during the 2023 season on and off the injured list and on rehab assignments as he had pain in his elbow. He had a 5.19 ERA as a relief pitcher in the MLB games in which pitched.

I am looking forward to seeing these new players in Mariners' uniforms!

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