Why Donovan Solano could be the bargain of the Mariners' offseason

After months of waiting, the Seattle Mariners finally signed their first major-league free agent. No, it wasn't Alex Bregman or Pete Alonso, but they did bring some infield help aboard. They added former Padres slugger Donovan Solano this week.

On paper, this transaction is barely memorable, let alone impactful, but there could be more to him than meets the eye.

Solano has been in the big leagues since 2012 but has never been a mainstay starter. From 2016-2019, he spent all of his time in the minor leagues, and since debuting with the Marlins he has only put together 7.6 rWAR. His 97 career OPS+ and below-average defense paint him more as a bench player than a notable offseason acquisition, but the two halves of his career (before and after his long minor-league stretch) are quite different. Luckily for the Mariners, they're seemingly getting the new and improved version.

From 2012-2016, Solano slashed .257/.306/.331 over 1,168 plate appearances. He struggled to hit the ball with authority but was also unable to put up strong walk rates, making him an overall subpar bat. From 2019-2024, he has slashed .294/.353/.413 over 1.838 plate appearances, leaning into his bat-to-ball abilities and working around his lack of pop. For a 5-foot-8 second baseman, this is an understandable and potentially preferable approach, especially for Seattle, who struggled with hitting for average but not power in 2024. His walk rate over this span of 6.9% still leaves a little to be desired, but his ability to advance runners could be enough to make up for that hole in his game. Last year, Seattle's batting average with runners in scoring position was .238 (23rd in MLB).

Defensively, the team isn't getting much more than a body. He spent most of last year as a corner infielder for the Padres and was perfectly average, accumulating 0 Defensive Runs Saved. This is actually a good year by his standards, but limits his positional flexibility. For now, it's theorized he'll be used in a platoon role at first base to capitalize on his strong numbers against lefties. In a worst-case scenario, he can fill in the other infield vacancies if needed. This means the team is already aware of his fielding limitations and don't plan on burdening him with more premium defensive responsibilities.

Given the terms of his contract, it can't and shouldn't be the final move of the winter for the Mariners. In fact, they made another infielder acquisition shortly after the Solano signing, but the front office seems to be settling for depth over individual starter talent.

Nonetheless, Solano has some upside as a player that complements the squad's existing weaknesses, so don't write it off as a wasted move just yet.