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Rangers' obsession with former Mariners veers toward parody with latest signing

They're now signing players who haven't been relevant since 2021.
Apr 25, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Marco Gonzales (7) throws a pitch during the third inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Apr 25, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Marco Gonzales (7) throws a pitch during the third inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

It would seem the Rangers have quite the fixation with former Mariners players. Maybe not quite to the same level of dangerous intensity as Single White Female, but it's pretty damn close! How else can you explain the decision to sign Marco Gonzales to a minor league deal, as reported by Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News.

To be clear, we fully appreciate that Gonzales was a steady staff ace for the Mariners during a challenging period in their history, when the franchise underwent an extensive rebuild. He was the M's Opening Day starter three times and had some fine seasons. The best of all came in 2020, when he produced career-lows of a 3.10 ERA, 3.32 FIP and 0.947 WHIP, while also leading the majors with a 9.14 SO/BB ratio.

However, the reality is that Gonzales hasn't pitched in the majors since 2024, when he made seven starts with the Pirates. His season was cut short due to flexor surgery, which also resulted in him missing the entire 2025 campaign, but he was pretty lackluster even when he did pitch in Pittsburgh. And in truth, he hasn't really been relevant since 2021.

Marco Gonzales has had a poor 2026 season so far in Triple-A

Certainly, the Rangers' decision to give the 34-year-old a shot is interesting, after he was released last week by the Padres. His performances this season in Triple-A El Paso were uninspiring at best, with a 7.99 ERA and 2.028 WHIP in 13 appearances (12 of which were starts).

Look, we genuinely wish Gonzales all the best, just because of everything he achieved in Seattle and how much of a leader he was for the Mariners. However, the early signs aren't promising with his new organization, after allowing six hits, a walk and three earned runs in 4.0 innings during his debut in Triple-A Round Rock.

Over the past year, the Rangers have repeatedly nabbed former Mariners, signing Sam Haggerty, Rowdy Tellez, Dylan Moore and Donovan Solano. Then there's the addition of Jarred Kelenic, which came at the start of this month. Interestingly, Gonzales was included as part of the shocking deal which shipped Kelenic out of Seattle in December of 2023, after the M's decided to finally move on from the polarizing young talent.

It really is strange to see the Rangers continually signing former Mariners players, when they haven't scored big with any of them. (Moore was decent enough, but they opted not to re-sign him following the 2025 season.) In fact this in stark contrast to years past, with Alex Rodriguez and Adrian Beltré as specific examples. Perhaps Gonzales will go against recent history in Texas, but we wouldn't bet on it.

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