The Mariners made another move on Tuesday to strengthen their depth and versatility by acquiring utility player Miles Mastrobuoni from the Cubs.
Mastrobuoni, 29, has spent the past three seasons as a part-time player in the Majors, including the last two with the Cubs. Over 272 plate appearances, his career slash line is .219/.279/.263 (.542 OPS), which includes one home run, eight doubles, and nine RBIs in 119 games, along with 55 strikeouts and 21 walks. He has also stolen 16 bases in 17 attempts.
However, his performance in the upper Minors has been much stronger and over a larger sample size. In 982 plate appearances at the Triple-A level from 2022 to 2024, Mastrobuoni posted a slash line of .278/.371/.434 (.805 OPS), with an 18.1% strikeout rate and a 12.8% walk rate, resulting in a 114 wRC+ (with 100 being league average).
The Mariners acquired Mastrobuoni for his defensive versatility, as he has experience playing third base, second base, shortstop, and the corner-outfield spots in the Majors. Additionally, he has one Minor League option remaining, which adds value to his roster flexibility.
Seattle has been actively searching for infielders this offseason and continues to look for a more impactful addition than Mastrobuoni. Their first major move was signing veteran infielder Donovan Solano to a one-year, $3.5 million contract on Monday, though it wasn’t considered a top-tier free-agent signing.
Mastrobuoni was designated for assignment by the Cubs last Thursday when they acquired former Mariners reliever Matt Festa from Texas.
The Mariners have added Mastrobuoni to the 40-man roster.
