The Mariners signed an outfielder Justin Upton to a one-year contract in the Major League. The club officially announced the move, and in a corresponding transaction designated righty Adrian Sampson for allocation to free space on the list. Upton will report to the Mariners’ extended spring training camp to prepare for his eventual debut with the team.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link) was the first to announce Upton’s signing and noted that Upton would earn approximately $550,000 on the deal, the pro-rated portion of MLB’s minimum wage. The M’s will cover the $550,000, while the Angels will still owe Upton the remainder of his original $28 million salary for the 2022 season.
The Angels released Upton just before the start of the season, ending the outfielder’s more than four-year run in Los Angeles. Originally acquired from the Tigers in August 2017, Upton was already under contract until the 2021 season but held an opt-out and agreed to waive that clause when the Halos added another year to his deal. The extension added $17.5 million in new money to Upton’s contract and was locked into the 2022 campaign.
Unfortunately, it was a deal the Angels came to regret, after Upton struggled during the 2019-21 seasons. Due to both injuries and a simple lack of production, Upton has hit .211/.299/.414 with 38 home runs in 784 plate appearances over the past three seasons. Between that lack of hitting and the drop in glove work in left field, Upton has been almost exactly a backup-level player, generating just 0.1 fWAR since the start of the 2019 season.
In his prime, of course, Upton was an outstanding player, with a resume that includes four All-Star appearances, 324 career home runs and a .262/.343/.471 slash line on 7,592 PA with five organizations. different. Selected by the Diamondbacks with the first overall pick in the 2005 draft, Upton is a very familiar face to Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto, who worked in the front office at Arizona during Upton’s time with the club.
For the minimal cost, there’s not much risk for Dipoto and the Mariners to see if Upton has anything left at 34. With Mitch Haniger on the injured list until around July, Jarred Kelenic downgraded to minors, and Kyle Lewis Still coming back from injury, the M’s need depth from the outside. jesse winker and rookie phenomenon Julio Rodriguez have two of the advertised places, with Adam Frazier, Dylan Mooreand Steven Souza Jr. all have recently seen grass starts since Haniger lost to IL.
Sampson was only claimed on waivers by the Cubs earlier this week, and could now leave Seattle without a single appearance in the minors or majors. The swingman’s 2022 resume so far consists of just one MLB inning with the Cubs and 19 2/3 innings with Triple-A Iowa. The Washington native broke into the majors with his home state Mariners in 2016, marking the first of Sampson’s five Major League seasons – the right-hander has a 5.13 ERA of 189 1/3 innings, with 125 1/3 of those frames with the Rangers in 2019.