Mariners right fielder Mitch Haniger agrees to 2022 contract terms, avoids arbitration
Four days before Seattle’s first regular season game, Mitch Haniger and the Mariners agreed to terms for the 2022 season and avoided an arbitration hearing in his final year of club control.
Seattle confirmed the news in a press release on Sunday morning, though a figure was left undisclosed. Jeff Passan of ESPN later reported that Haniger’s contract was for $7.75 million.
Of 39 players on Seattle’s 40-man roster, Haniger marks the 37th now under contract for the 2022 season. Only infielder Adam Frazier and outfielder Jesse Winker – both acquired by the Mariners this offseason – have yet to settle.
Per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, Haniger, 31, submitted an $8 million salary to the club after posting a career-high 39 home runs and 100 runs batted in. The team initially filed a $6.71 million salary. A career .263 hitter following his 2016 debut with the Diamondbacks, Seattle’s right fielder is set to hit free agency after the 2022 season.
In 2018, Haniger finished 11th in AL MVP voting and secured All-Star honors. In 2021, he was named American League Player of the Week for the first time in his career after reaching safely in 20 straight games from June 25 on. In Seattle’s first series after the 2021 All-Star Break, he posted a .455 average and hit two home runs at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.
“It was cool. I was happy,” Haniger told The News Tribune last July amid the hottest stretch of his 2021 season. “I felt good going into this series, and it’s always good getting recognized, especially with so many great players in this league.”
Haniger was acquired alongside infielder Jean Segura by Seattle in a Nov. 2016 trade that sent pitcher Taijuan Walker and infielder Ketel Marte to Arizona. In 507 career games — including 34 games with the Diamondbacks — Haniger owns 101 home runs, 101 doubles, and 289 RBI.
