Mariners Sign Stuart Fairchild To Minor League Deal

The Mariners added outfielder Stuart Fairchild on a minor league contract after he rejected an outright assignment with the Guardians earlier this week and instead opted for free agency. The Mariners didn’t formally announce the addition, but the CAA client made his organizational debut yesterday when he homered in a 1-for-3 showing with Seattle’s affiliate in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League. That’s surely just a brief stop for a tune-up; the veteran Fairchild figures to be with the Mariners’ Triple-A club in Tacoma sooner than later.

Fairchild had previously spent the entire season in the Guardians organization. He logged 14 big league games for Cleveland but only took 27 plate appearances due to his role as a late-game defensive replacement and/or pinch-runner. Fairchild managed only a 3-for-19 showing in that seldom-used role, though he also drew seven walks and swiped a pair of bags.

In parts of six major league seasons, the 30-year-old Fairchild is a .221/.309/.377 hitter. He’s a good runner who’s capable of playing all three outfield positions well. He lacks much in the way of offensive impact, but the right-handed-hitting Fairchild does at least have a solid .240/.347/.390 batting line in his career versus lefties. That’s about 5% better than average, by measure of wRC+. Between that and his speed/defense, he’s a viable bench outfielder who can draw occasional starts versus lefties.

The Mariners are currently without star center fielder Julio Rodríguez (concussion list) as well as reserve outfield options Rob Refsnyder (hamstring strain) and Will Wilson (broken thumb). Infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan has been out since mid-May due to a groin strain. The M’s currently have right-handed-hitting journeymen Weston Wilson and Buddy Kennedy on the big league bench while Randy Arozarena, Victor Robles, Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone handle the bulk of the outfield work.

Fairchild offers more of a traditional speed-and-defense option to back up that outfield quartet, should the Mariners want to make a change at some point. He could also be used in a platoon setup with Raley while the M’s wait on Rodriguez and others to mend.