Mariners non-tender INF Josh Rojas, RHPs Austin Voth and JT Chargois, UTIL Sam Haggerty

Seattle frees up both roster and payroll space

The deadline for MLB clubs to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players passed at 5:00pm today. Deadline day tends to be one of the busier days of the offseason, and the Mariners were no exception, announcing a quartet of non-tenders right under the deadline.

Out of the four, Josh Rojas is the most surprising. Coming over in 2023’s Paul Sewald trade, he rode a strong finish to earn the spot as Seattle’s primary third baseman. Despite a slighty subpar 91 wRC+ over 476 plate appearances - largely carried by a sparkling April - he put up just under two wins in 2024 thanks to strong defense at the hot corner. Rojas was projected by MLB Trade Rumors to earn $4.3M next year, and while a non-tender doesn’t inherently mean a parting of the ways, it’s unfortunately looking like we’ve seen the last of Josh Rojas in a Mariners uniform. Riders of Rojas, Rojomies, and any other name you’ve seen or used, rise up one last time.

Austin Voth was second on the team only to Trent Thornton in appearances with 68, and delivered 60.1 innings of 3.69/4.12 FIP. While the righty provided bulk and some fun moments - chief among them an absolute knee-buckling of poor Jorge Mateo for a called third strike - given the Mariners’ track record of developing relief arms, replacing his production should be no tall task. Voth was projected to earn $2.2M.

JT Chargois was designated for assignment on Tuesday when the club re-acquired infielder Austin Shenton from the Rays. In his second stint in Seattle, a shiny 2.75 ERA masked a FIP of 4.54, and I’ll be honest when I say I can’t recall a single outing of his, good or bad. Chargois was projected to earn $1.7M, and for more information about Shenton, check out John’s blurb from Tuesday night.

Sam Haggerty is by far the most expected non-tender of the four, as the switch-hitting cult hero made it into just eight games with Seattle before suffering a torn Achilles in Tacoma, ending his season. While his projected salary of $900K is barely over league minimum, he ran out of minor league options, and with the Mariners flush with utility types, the Swaggy Ham has become superfluous, especially if that torn Achilles saps his speed. It’s very possible he could return to the org on a minor league deal, but if not, thanks for all the memories, Sam.

The Mariners’ 40-man roster now sits at 37, and per Jude’s post above, frees up about $8 million for offseason moves. Concerningly, that amount seems to double the projected availability they have to work with this winter so far. While there are still some salary dump candidates on the roster, if a non-insignificant amount of that reported $16 million goes towards one of Carlos Santana and Justin Turner, the Mariners could find themselves in a tricky position to meaningfully add to their offense if they want to keep their starting rotation intact.