Alberto

Rodriguez

Rodriguez, 25, was impressive enough in the low minors to get added to the Mariners’ 40-man four years ago, but he didn’t develop as hoped and ended up going to Mexico after becoming a minor league free agent last winter. He went on to hit .315/.397/.497 for Aguascalientes, and he’s currently 18-for-38 with three homers in the Dominican Winter League. He’ll likely open up as one of the Royals’ Triple-A outfielders.

The Mariners removed the promising 22-year-old outfielder from their 40-man roster last week in order to clear a spot for J.B. Bukauskas and it looks like they were fortunate that he was not claimed on waivers. Rodriguez hit .261/.336/.396 with 10 homers and six stolen bases in 119 games at High-A Everett in 2022.

It’s a bit surprising to see the Mariners jettison a legitimate prospect in Rodriguez from their 40-man roster to make room for newly-claimed right-hander J.B. Bukauskas. The 22-year-old outfielder hit .261/.336/.396 with 10 homers and six steals last year for High-A Everett. He should attract a ton of interest on waivers, especially for rebuilding teams looking to stockpile prospects.

The Mariners latest round of roster cuts include several big names with major-league experience including Paolo, Wojciechowski and Haggerty. All three will head to the minors, but will most likely get a chance in Seattle at some point relatively soon.

Rodriguez is now protected from selection in the Rule 5 Draft. The 21-year-old slashed .289/.379/.470 with 10 homers and 15 steals in 100 games played this past summer between Low-A and High-A ball.

Rodriguez is the player to be named later in the deal. The 19-year-old batted .301/.364/.422 with two homers and 13 steals over 47 games in rookie ball last year. He was a top-30 prospect for the Blue Jays, per Baseball America.