Seattle, WA
Seattle Mariners sign free agent OF/1B Rob Refsnyder
The Seattle Mariners have signed veteran Rob Refsnyder to add depth both in the outfield and at first base.
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The team announced a one-year contract with the free agent on Monday afternoon. The contract is worth $6.25 million with a potential extra $250,000 in incentives, according to Boston Red Sox reporter Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com.
Refsnyder, 34, played 70 games in 2025 for Boston, finishing with 1.2 fWAR. At the plate, he hit .269 with a strong .354 on-base percentage and .838 OPS. He had nine home runs, 12 doubles, 30 RBIs and three stolen bases.
“Rob has been one of the most productive hitters against left-handed pitching over the last four seasons and provides balance and impact offensively to our lineup,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said in a press release. “We are excited to welcome Rob and his family to the Mariners.”
Refsnyder hit .302 against lefties with a .399 on-base and .560 slugging last season. Seven of his nine homers and nine of his 12 doubles came against lefties, which he faced 138 times as opposed to 71 plate appearances against right-handed pitching.
Born in South Korea, Refsnyder attended Laguna Hills High School in California and played in college at Arizona. He was a fifth-round pick in the 2012 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees.
The 6-foot, 215-pound Refsnyder is a 10-year MLB veteran, having spent time with the Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Red Sox. He had been with the Red Sox for each of the past four seasons.
Refsnyder has never played more than 93 games in a single MLB season but has solid offensive numbers with a career .255/.343/.387 slash line for a .730 OPS.
While the Mariners listed Refsnyder as an outfielder/first baseman, he has just 29 career appearances at first, and he last played the position in an MLB game in 2020. Refsnyder has 356 career appearances in the outfield, as well as 43 career appearances at second base.
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Refsnyder, who hits right-handed, gives the Mariners a backup option behind one-time All-Star first baseman Josh Naylor, who Seattle re-signed to a five-year contract early this offseason.
The Mariners add Refsnyder to a list of additions in free agency that includes Naylor and backup catcher Andrew Knizner. Seattle also added left-handed reliever Jose Ferrer in a trade with the Washington Nationals.
Seattle Mariners offseason coverage
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• Two 2025 Mariners pitchers reportedly join new teams
• Jorge Polanco sends impassioned message to Mariners fans
• Seattle Mariners sign backup catcher to one-year deal
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Thanks to Carrie Brown for the westward view of our Saturday night sunset. The high today hit 68 at the airport – eight degrees above normal – but nowhere near the record for this date, which was 89 degrees back in 2016. The forecast suggests two more days of partly sunny, almost-70-degree weather, before the chance of rain returns.
CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling New York Mets placed former Seattle Mariners second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right wrist contusion.
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The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Polanco went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old Polanco is batting .179 (10 for 56) with a homer and two RBIs in his first season with New York, which has lost nine straight.
“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took that night. … He didn’t think much of it, but just got worse the following day.
“So you just got to let it calm down a little bit and then we’ll go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets in December, also has been dealing with an ankle issue.
“He was trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said of the ankle injury. “It’s definitely going to help, obviously now with him being shut down. But the biggest thing now is that we’ve got to take care of that wrist.”
Polanco spent the previous two seasons with the Mariners, who acquired him in a February 2024 trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.
But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back for a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.
Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.
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