Mariners sign infielder Tommy La Stella to one year deal
Mariners sign infielder Tommy La Stella to one year deal
Jerry Dipoto continued his quest to add more depth to the big league roster by signing utility infielder Tommy La Stella to a one year major league deal. Let's look at what he brings to Seattle.
In an offseason where Seattle has added many interesting depth pieces, they added another on Thursday afternoon. The Mariners pulled the trigger on a one-year guaranteed MLB contract with utility infielder Tommy La Stella. In the corresponding move, Seattle designated Justus Sheffield for assignment, the player acquired in return for highly coveted pitcher James Paxton.
First reported by Ryan Divish, La Stella comes to Seattle on a one-year minimum deal for $720,000.
While the Sheffield move stings as an overall failure, La Stella is certainly an interesting addition. The 33-year-old will turn 34 before Opening Day and will be entering his 10th MLB season.
After having a very productive few seasons between 2016-2020, La Stella saw just 73 games in 2021 and struggled with injuries. Following that season he underwent surgery on both Achilles, leading to a very rough year once again in 2022.
In 2022 he played just 60 games for the Giants, slashing .239/.282/.350 with just a 78 WRC+. He is still owed 11.5 million dollars from San Francisco, meaning Seattle will only pay the prorated league minimum in 2023.
On the surface, this deal seems redundant to some of the other players on Seattle’s roster, such as Dylan Moore, Sam Haggerty, and Kolten Wong. When we look deeper this deal offers zero risk for the Mariners. He can easily be designated for assignment at any point if he simply doesn’t have the skills to help the team anymore.
La Stella has played all over the diamond, mostly at second and third base over the course of his career. Last year he even played a few games at first base, which could be a huge reason for Seattle coveting his services.
Signing La Stella allows the Mariners to keep Dylan Moore in a platoon role at second base while providing a capable backup to Eugenio Suárez and Ty France. I would expect him to be more of a corner infielder for Seattle, providing a strong defensive backup with MLB experience.
The New Jersey native is a left-handed bat, which was much needed in this right-handed heavy lineup. La Stella put up a .282/.358/.435 from 2016-2020 while posting a minuscule strikeout rate. He also walked at a 9.6 percent clip during that period of time, an above-average rate.
He owns a 105 WRC+ against right-handed pitching and has rarely seen lefties over the last few seasons. If he can get back to being healthy again I think La Stella could produce at a league-average level, but probably won’t be anywhere near his career high 126 WRC+.
He has never played anywhere close to a full season in the MLB, struggling with injuries throughout his entire career. The Mariners will ask him to play a bench role, which could help him produce and stay healthy.
This signing is a little confusing at first as a major league deal because it seems like La Stella would have been a prime Non-Roster Invitee candidate. This deal is essentially a glorified NRI, and Seattle will have the freedom to move on from him whenever they want.
He is a proven, contact-oriented, left-handed bat that Jerry Dipoto has coveted in the past. I have long said that Dipoto and this regime have neglected MLB-ready depth, and this offseason they have accomplished that.
Taking some dart throws like Colin Moran and Tommy La Stella is an awesome choice, and I believe one or both of these has the potential to be valuable for the Mariners.
This move doesn’t change anything in terms of this roster needing help, this team still needs a bat. If they choose to view La Stella as this bat and neglect to add anything for the remainder of the offseason, this is a very poor choice.
Overall I am leaning towards liking this deal for Seattle. They still need to add a bat, preferably an outfielder in the coming weeks. I expect the Mariners to look towards the trade market to acquire another bat that truly lengthens this lineup.