Seattle Mariners sign former Minnesota Twins lefty masher Rob Refsnyder
The Seattle Mariners and veteran first baseman/outfielder Rob Refsnyder have agreed to a one-year, $6.25 million contract with $250,000 available in incentives, according to MassLive's Chris Cotillo.
Refsnyder, who will be 35 in March, appeared in 51 games with the Twins in 2021, posting -0.1 bWAR and a .245/.325/.338 (86 OPS+) slash line with two home runs, seven doubles and 12 RBI across 157 plate appearances.
Refsnyder, who played left and right field last year, is known as a lefty killer, as the right-handed hitter has hit .302/.396/.554 against lefties over the past two seasons. He isn't nearly as productive against righties, having slashed .250/.310/.387 against righties over the past two years. Overall, Refsnyder has posted a .278/.357/.476 slash line in 163 games from 2024-25.
The lefty masher began his MLB career in 2015 with the New York Yankees. He hit .302/.348/.512 (132 OPS+) with two homers in 16 games with New York in 2015. After posting -0.2 bWAR and a 73 OPS+ in 58 games in 2016, he had a lowly 10 OPS+ through 40 plate appearances with the Yankees in 2017, leading to him being designated for assignment and traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for first baseman Ryan McBroom.
Refsnyder struggled as a Blue Jay, as he hit .196/.281/.216 (36 OPS+) in 40 games with the team in 2017. The Cleveland Indians claimed him off waivers in the 2017-18 offseason before trading him to the Tampa Bay Rays on March 27, 2018. Refsnyder hit .167/.314/.274 (66 OPS+) in 40 games with the Rays in 2018.
Refsnyder spent the 2019 season in the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds minor league systems. He then had 34 plate appearances with the Texas Rangers in 2020 before signing with the Twins in the offseason.
After his year with the Twins, Refsnyder signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox. He ended up staying with the Red Sox through last season. With Boston, Refsnyder posted 3.6 bWAR with a .276/.364/.440 (123 OPS+) slash line in 936 plate appearances across 309 games. The Red Sox mainly used him against lefties, and the Mariners will likely do the same.
The Twins would've become a better team by signing Refsnyder this offseason, as they would've been able to count on him to produce against lefties. However, $6.25 million for a platoon player is a lot of money for a team operating on a limited budget. The Twins will likely best benefit by using the remainder of their limited budget to rebuild their bullpen.