The Mariners announced two roster moves on Sunday prior to their series finale against the A's. They recalled 1B/DH Dan Vogelbach and pitcher Chris Heston from Triple-A. Reliever Chase De Jong was sent to Triple-A and outfielder Leonys Martin was designated for assignment.
Let's dig in on the latter.
Martin, 29, is obviously no star, otherwise he wouldn't be in this position. Still, he's talented enough to be useful. He hit .247/.306/.378 (88 OPS+) with 15 homers and 24 steals last season. He can play decent defense in center and likely above-average on a corner, especially left.
Who might be interested in a player we just described? I see two glaring possibilities:
Detroit Tigers
With J.D. Martinez hurt, the Tigers (9-8 heading into Sunday) have been playing JaCoby Jones (.150/.244/.300) in center and Tyler Collins (.256/.273/.326) in right. That's some dreadful outfield production alongside the streaky Justin Upton. The Tigers rank 21st in outfield WAR despite Upton swinging a hot stick. Jones was placed on the disabled list on Saturday after taking a pitch to the face. As far as Martinez goes, even when he returns -- which will happen in early May, in all likelihood -- Martin seems like an upgrade in center. At the very least, he's worth a shot.
San Francisco Giants
After a 12-3 loss on Saturday, the Giants sit 6-12, good for the worst record in the NL. It's a group somewhat similar to the one that won the World Series in 2014 and went to the NLDS last season. They've just been a disaster so far both on and off the field, in the latter case notably thanks to the Madison Bumgarner dirt bike incident.
There's also a black hole in left field.
Heading into Sunday, Giants left fielders have hit .127/.200/.206. That's just abominable.
Making matters worse, Jarrett Parker has already been lost for months with a broken collarbone while Melvin Upton Jr. (who was in the minors) also suffered a serious injury. Denard Span -- the starting center fielder -- jammed his shoulder on Saturday night and is expected to miss some time. Right fielder Hunter Pence tweaked his knee recently as well.
Quite simply: The Giants outfield situation is even worse than the team's record.
Again, Leonys Martin is far from a star, but the Giants and Tigers could simply use a warm body in the outfield. He checks that box. Look for Martin to join one of these two teams here within the next few days.