Mariners Moose Tracks, 12/3/24: Kyle Higashioka, Alex Ramirez, and Clay Holmes

Tuesday links!

In Mariners news...

• Lonely at the top.

• The Mariners have announced a number of promotions in their baseball operations department.
• Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic predicts that the team will not seek outside help at second base this season, and will instead focus on internal options.

Around the league...

• An offseason well spent for Eugenio Suarez as he won the star-studded Venezuelan Winter League Home Run Derby yesterday:

• Free agent catcher Kyle Higashioka has signed with the Texas Rangers on a two-year/$13.5 million deal that includes a mutual option for 2027.
• The Houston Astros have shown interest in former Mariners shortstop and current free agent Jorge Polanco as a fallback for their new vacancy at third base.
• The New York Mets have re-signed outfielder Alex Ramirez to a minor league contract
• Free agent reliever Clay Holmes is reportedly drawing interest as a starting pitcher, with multiple teams considering him as a candidate to move to a rotation.
• Commissioner Rob Manfred claims that there is talk among MLB owners surrounding the “Golden At-Bat” rule, which would allow a team to use its best hitter during a chosen at-bat in every game, regardless of where they are in the lineup. ($)
• Veteran catcher Martin Maldonado hopes to play in 2025 if he is signed by a team.