Mariners recall INF Sam Haggerty, option OF Jonatan Clase to Triple-A Tacoma

The Swaggy Ham returns to Seattle

Last week the Mariners activated utilityman Sam Haggerty off the IL, where he’d been since Spring Training with an undisclosed, non-baseball injury labeled simply as “medical procedure.” After a week’s worth of games rehabbing in Tacoma, the Mariners have recalled Haggerty to Seattle, where the INF/OF will be able to fill in both left field for the injured Dominic Canzone, and at short for J.P. Crawford, whose latest medical update seems to indicate a stay of at least a couple weeks on the IL with a strained oblique.

After coming off the IL on April 17, Haggerty looked like he hadn’t missed a beat, going 22-for-64 (.344 BA) in 17 games for Tacoma, including two doubles and seven stolen bases in eight attempts. For a team that’s been striking out a lot and struggling to get on base, Haggerty will hopefully help lengthen the lineup when he’s in it. His defensive versatility is also useful as the Mariners have suffered early-season injuries in both the infield and outfield, and his speed is a bonus for a team that ranks 24th in average sprint speed.

In order to make space for Haggerty, the Mariners optioned 21-year-old OF Jonatan Clase back to Tacoma. After making a memorable debut on Jackie Robinson Day (April 15), Clase appeared in nine big-league games with Seattle, going 6-for-27 including a double, three RBI, and two stolen bases in two attempts. With some big-league experience under his belt, Clase will return to Tacoma to continue focusing on the things the Mariners want him to work on: becoming comfortable with playing all over the outfield, especially on balls hit over his head, and keeping his strikeouts down and getting on base so his speed can impact the game there. In 12 games at Tacoma, Clase was striking out 22.6% of the time, his lowest mark since his debut season in the DSL in 2019.