Steven

Souza

Souza Jr. made the official announcement on his Twitter account. The 33-year-old veteran outfielder, who appeared in six games this season for Seattle, retires after logging eight years in the majors since 2014, including stops with the Nationals, Rays, Diamondbacks, Cubs, Dodgers and Mariners. He was drafted by Washington in the third round back in 2007. He finishes with a .229/.318/.411 triple-slash line with 72 homers and 42 stolen bases across 1,895 plate appearances in 505 games.

Souza was designated for assignment on Sunday and has now officially been cut loose. The veteran outfielder went just 3-for-19 (.158) with eight strikeouts during his short stay on Seattle’s active major league roster.

Souza Jr. was waived to make space on the Mariners’ 40-man roster for Taylor Trammell. The 33-year-old veteran outfielder was just 3-for-19 with eight strikeouts with the Mariners.

Souza Jr. gets the call back up the majors for the first time this season amidst the Mariners’ flurry of activity Friday afternoon. The 33-year-old veteran outfielder was hitting .267/.417/.533 with five homers and three steals in 96 plate appearances this season at Triple-A Tacoma.

The Mariners have just 32 players left in camp after this latest round of cuts. No real surprises here, but Hamilton appeared to be doing everything possible to try to win a spot on Seattle’s Opening Day roster as a reserve outfielder.

Souza uncoiled for a solo home run against Daniel Lynch with one out in the fourth inning. The tater was his second of the spring. Seattle inked the veteran outfielder to a minor league contract earlier in March. It has been multiple years since Souza was statistical relevant to any real degree. He slashed just .152/.222/.333 in 17 games with the Dodgers last season.

Souza’s slam gave the Mariners a 5-1 lead in the first inning; his first since signing a minor league deal a week ago. The outfielder is trying to win a spot on the bench with Seattle, and hitting grand slams isn’t likely to hurt.

The 32-year-old outfielder appeared in 17 games with the Dodgers during the 2021 season, slashing a woeful .152/.222/.333 with one homer, three RBI and a 14/2 K/BB ratio in 36 plate appearances. Souza hasn’t been a productive big league player since his monster season with the Rays in 2017. He’ll add depth at first base and in the outfield for the M’s.

Souza Jr. is officially back on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster and will join the team in Los Angeles for Wednesday’s NL Wild Card contest against the Cardinals. The 32-year-old veteran outfielder appeared in 17 games for the Dodgers during the regular season and will give them an experienced bat off the bench of the winner-take-all affair. Luke Raley and Zach McKinstry have also been recalled from the minors to give the Dodgers some additional position player depth.

The club needed to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Clayton Kershaw. Souza was designated for assignment by the Dodgers back in July before re-signing, so he could stick around.