Roster Moves: Mariners Cut Ties With Struggling Infielder, Three Others Via Non-Tender
The Mariners announced that they have non-tendered four players: infielder Josh Rojas, infielder/outfielder Sam Haggerty, as well as right-handers J.T. Chargois and Austin Voth. Haggerty’s non-tender was reported earlier by Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 (X link).
Rojas, 30, has had an up-and-down career thus far. With the Diamondbacks in 2021 and 2022, he slashed .266/.345/.401 for a wRC+ of 106, indicating he was 6% better than league average over that span. He also stole 32 bases while bouncing around to the three infield positions to the left of first base as well as the outfield corners.
But his performance dipped badly in 2023, as he slashed .228/.292/.296 in 59 games for the Snakes that year. The Mariners then tried to buy low on him, acquiring him as part of the July 2023 trade headlined by Paul Sewald.
Initially, it seemed like the buy-low move might have worked, as Rojas slashed .272/.321/.400 for a 105 wRC+ in 46 games after the trade. The M’s gave him a $3.1M salary for 2024 and hoped that he could keep it going, but this year’s line of .225/.304/.336 led to a wRC+ of just 91. He still stole 10 bases and bounced all over the diamond, but the club has decided to go in a different direction. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Rojas for a bump to $4.3M next year, though the M’s clearly weren’t willing to bring him back at that price point, sending him to free agency instead.
It’s been reported that the Mariners are looking to upgrade their infield and this further cements that desire. They had already declined a club option on Jorge Polanco and traded away Ty France. Deadline acquisition Justin Turner hit free agency. That means shortstop J.P. Crawford is the only stable portion of the club’s infield mix at present. Luke Raley could get lots of playing time at first base but could also be in the outfield. Players like Dylan Moore, Ryan Bliss, Austin Shenton, Leo Rivas, Samad Taylor or Tyler Locklear could be involved next year but the M’s will surely be looking for external additions in the coming months.
Turning to the others, Haggerty has been a useful part-time player for the Mariners in recent years, but he only played eight games in 2024 due to a torn Achilles. Voth and Chargois were each entering their final season of club control, so there was no long-term benefit to rostering them in 2025. Voth had a solid 3.69 earned run average this year but with a .236 batting average on balls in play. Chargois had a 2.23 ERA this year but is a journeyman who’s about to turn 34. Haggerty was projected for a salary of $900K, Voth $2.2M and Chargois $1.7M, but the M’s have balked at all of those prices and sent those players into free agency instead.
