Mariners sign Brian Anderson, Trevor Kelley to minor league deals

The Mariners have infielder/outfielder Brian Anderson and right-hander Trevor Kelley in camp and are signing them to minor league deals, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Anderson is repped by CAA Sports and Kelley by C.L. Rocks Corporation.

Anderson, 31 in May, was once a solid regular in the big leagues but is coming off three straight frustrating seasons, with injuries playing a role. He signed with the Brewers last year after being non-tendered by the Marlins. He got into 96 games for Milwaukee but hit just .226/.310/.368 for a wRC+ of 85. He also spent a few weeks on the injured list due to a lower back strain. The Brewers released him in October.

It was a fairly similar story when Anderson was with the Marlins in 2021 and 2022. He went on the IL due to oblique, shoulder and back issues and hit .233/.321/.359 for a 90 wRC+ over those two years, leading the Fish to cut him loose.

But he had a good three-year run prior to that. He got into 341 games for the Marlins over those three campaigns, one of which was shortened by the pandemic. He hit .266/.350/.436 in that time, drawing walks at a 9% clip while striking out at a reasonable rate of 21.8%. That production translated to a 115 wRC+, indicating he was 15% better than league average in that time. He also spent significant time at both third base and right field, in addition to brief looks at first and second base.

His defense has generally been graded well, as his work at the hot corner has produced two Defensive Runs Saved and three Outs Above Average. His right field work is more split as DRS has him at +8 and OAA at -10, but his arm strength is considered elite, with Statcast having him in the 98th percentile of qualified players last year.

The M’s currently have some uncertainty at both third and the outfield corners. At the hot corner, they are set to have a platoon of Luis Urías and Josh Rojas, both of whom are coming off down years. In the outfield, they are set to have Julio Rodríguez and Mitch Haniger in two spots, with Luke Raley, Taylor Trammell, Cade Marlowe and Dominic Canzone in the mix for playing time as well.

Anderson will give them depth at both spots and perhaps a platoon role would be possible at first glance, though maybe not so much after digging deeper. He hits from the right side while each of Rojas, Raley, Trammell, Marlowe and Canzone are lefties. However, Anderson has reverse splits for his career, having hit .258/.344/.413 against righties for a 108 wRC+ but .231/.312/.375 against southpaws for a wRC+ of 89. Regardless of the eventual playing time fit, he bolsters the depth chart at two positions where Seattle has questions.

Kelley, 31, spent last year with the Rays but didn’t have much success. He posted a 5.87 earned run average in 15 1/3 innings at the big league level and an ERA of 5.23 in Triple-A. He was outrighted off the roster in September. He’s now thrown 50 2/3 innings in the majors overall, also spending time with the Red Sox, Phillies and Brewers, but with a career ERA of 6.75.

Though he struggled in the minors last year, he has impressed on the farm before. Even with last year’s poor results, his Triple-A is 2.38 in 197 innings spanning five different seasons. He has struck out 24.4% of batters faced at that level while walking only 8.5%.

The Mariners have a pretty strong bullpen at the moment but injuries are inevitable in a long season. Kelley will be jockeying for a role alongside other experienced NRIs like Heath Hembree, Ty Buttrey, Kirby Snead and others. If he’s added to the roster at any point, he’s out of options.