Rob Refsnyder walked back into the Mariners’ lineup Tuesday and immediately gave Seattle something it has been chasing for weeks: real damage from the right side.
That was the backdrop to his return from the injured list, and it came with a little extra irony. Jerry Dipoto’s All-Star break comment about the Mariners not being able to find better players than the ones already in the organization had already started to age well. Then Refsnyder showed up at Dodger Stadium and made the point even louder in Seattle’s 7-6 win over the Dodgers.
The Mariners had been hunting for a right-handed bat ahead of the August 3 trade deadline, but the market has thinned fast. Injuries have knocked Matt Shaw, Spencer Steer and Casey Schmitt off the board in the last few days, leaving fewer obvious options for a club still looking to balance its lineup.
Refsnyder, activated Tuesday afternoon, hardly looked like the answer at first glance. He came in carrying the kind of profile that invites skepticism, especially after the stretch that landed him on the IL in June with pain in his right knee. Before that, he was hitting .133 with 32 strikeouts in 105 at-bats.
Then he turned the game.
Refsnyder launched a two-run homer off All-Star lefty Justin Wrobleski, one of the biggest swings in the Mariners’ win. Later, in the ninth, he ripped a double off Jack Dreyer that left the bat at 112.3 mph, his hardest hit of the season. He also struck out twice, a reminder that the rough edges are still there.
Even so, there were signs before the big night that he might be trending back in the right direction. In comments to the media, including Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, Refsnyder said the injections in his right knee have helped and hinted at adjustments to his stance to ease the pressure on the knee.
If that version of Refsnyder is back, Seattle has a real weapon again. The Mariners signed him for $6.25 million, and from 2022 through 2025 he posted a 155 wRC+ against lefties, a mark topped by only five hitters in that span.
He wasn’t the only Mariner who helped change the conversation against left-handed pitching Tuesday. Seattle’s slugging percentage against lefties jumped from .338 before the game, which ranked 30th in MLB, to .352 afterward, good for 28th.
Dominic Canzone kept making the case that he’s not just a platoon bat, homering twice left-on-left. Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh also went deep against lefties, with Raleigh’s homer carrying its own twist: he’s at a 48 wRC+ against lefties after posting a 186 wRC+ in his 60-homer season a year ago.
So does Seattle still need a right-handed hitter? On paper, yes.
But the list of available ones is shrinking, and the better answer may already be in the system. Michael Arroyo, whom Jude reported is being considered for a promotion, has a 149 wRC+ since June 1 and is batting .320 against lefties overall.
That leaves Dipoto in a spot that looks a little different now than it did a few days ago. The right-handed bat hunt may not be the move that matters most. The Mariners may be better off shifting their focus to the bullpen and trusting that some of the offense they’ve been waiting for is already here.
In Other News...
Mariners Missed A Third Base Fix Fans Knew They Needed
The Mariners had a chance to address one of their most persistent lineup headaches when they were reportedly in the mix for Kazuma Okamoto, a right-handed bat with power and enough defensive reliability to handle third base. Instead, the search for stability at the hot corner has kept dragging on, with Seattle cycling through options and never quite finding the kind of everyday answer that settles a lineup and lets everyone else slide into clearer roles.
Okamoto has already shown why he drew that kind of interest, giving Toronto a productive presence at third and steady middle-of-the-order thump in his first stretch there. For Seattle, the frustration is less about one missed name than the larger truth underneath it: this is still a team trying to patch together a position that should have been solved long before the season reached this point. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners May Finally Have A Real Fix For Their Biggest Hole
Seattles search for infield help could soon run through Miami, where the Marlins are reportedly open to hearing offers ahead of the August 3 trade deadline. For a club still looking to firm up one of its biggest roster questions, that makes the Marlins an intriguing place to shop, especially with several players on the table and the Mariners viewed as possible buyers if they decide to push for a fix.
Among the names drawing attention are Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards, two infield options who could fit Seattles needs in different ways. Lopez, in particular, looks like the cleaner match on paper because of his right-handed bat and defensive value, while Edwards brings a switch-hitting profile that could appeal in a different role. The Mariners do not have to act quickly, but the fact that Miami is even listening gives Seattle a real avenue to explore as the deadline approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners May Finally Face The Tradeoff Fans Knew Was Coming
The Mariners have spent much of the season with a starting staff that looks almost unfair on paper, a six-man group built around Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Luis Castillo, with Emerson Hancock rounding out the mix. It is the kind of rotation depth that gives Seattle a chance to survive almost any night, and it has only been reinforced by the fact that two more Mariners starters just landed inside the top 10 of a recent Just Baseball Top-100 Prospect Rankings update.
But the same pitching surplus that makes the staff so enviable also creates a familiar front-office dilemma, because the club still has obvious offensive needs to sort through. Hancocks name has already surfaced in trade chatter as the type of arm that could help Seattle address that imbalance, and with so many starters pushing for innings, the Mariners may soon have to decide whether to keep the rotation intact or use that depth to fill a different hole. [Read more 🡒]