Jerry Dipoto’s decision to move on from Victor Robles was the easy one. The harder part was admitting the Mariners had already paid for believing in him too soon.
On Thursday, Seattle declined Robles’ $9 million option for 2027, ending his run with the club in the same quiet way it began. Robles arrived in 2024 as a discarded outfielder and leaves as one again, though this time the Mariners owe him a $500,000 buyout.
The move hardly came as a surprise. Robles appeared in only 97 games over the last two seasons, spending the other 227 on the shelf because of a string of serious injuries. When he was on the field, he was barely more than a replacement-level player.
That doesn’t mean he’s finished drawing interest. Robles is still only 29 until next May, and he’s already logged 704 games over 10 major league seasons.
The speed is still there. So is the arm.
And he can cover all three outfield spots. Even if the market is thin, there should be teams willing to take a shot, maybe on nothing more than a minor league deal.
For the Mariners, though, the real story is how quickly they bought into what Robles was giving them in the first place.
Seattle grabbed him in June 2024 right after Washington let him go, and it was exactly the kind of low-cost gamble teams make when they’re hunting for offense. Robles had never been known as a bat-first player in D.C., but he had once carried real prospect shine. MLB Pipeline even tagged him as a 60-grade hitter in 2019.
And for a while, it looked like Seattle had found something. Robles played 77 games for the Mariners down the stretch in 2024 and hit .328 with a 155 wRC+. By the time he was 42 games into that run, Seattle had already pushed in with a two-year, $9.75 million offer, a deal that even Robles found surprising.
That extension now looks like a classic case of a team chasing a hot streak. Robles was headed for free agency after the 2024 season, and the Mariners were trying to bottle lightning.
But the warning signs were right there, including a .328 batting average against a .268 xBA. The early surge had more vibes than proof.
In hindsight, the late-2024 burst looks exactly like the kind of outlier it was. Robles had one half-season where the bat played.
The other 90 percent of his career says something different: he’s been about 20 percent worse than the average MLB hitter. Seattle got fooled, plain and simple.
There was still one unforgettable moment, of course - that catch in Houston last September. But one highlight doesn’t change the bigger picture. The Mariners are now out a little under $10 million, and they need to find someone else for that bench role, ideally someone with more offense and just as much versatility.
The lesson for Dipoto is bigger than Robles. It’s about not falling too hard for the first impression.
That brings an obvious glance toward the Josh Naylor contract, too. After Naylor produced below replacement level this season, the Mariners could be staring at a mistake that ends up looking even worse if they can’t get out from under it.
For now, Robles gets a nod for what he gave them, even if it didn’t last. He was easy to root for in Seattle, and he likely will be wherever he lands next.
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Mariners Outfield Question Just Got More Complicated After Latest Claim
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McCrays track record, though, suggests a different kind of role than a direct path to regular playing time. He has spent most of his career in the minors and has not yet shown enough with the bat to force his way into an everyday job, which is why the Mariners seem more likely to treat him as depth than as a real Opening Day answer. Even so, his presence adds another layer to an outfield situation that already had enough moving parts. [Read more 🡒]