Mariners non-tender Domingo Santana, Tim Beckham
Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Domingo Santana and infielder Tim Beckham are now free agents.
The club announced Monday afternoon it had tendered contracts to 31 of its major-league players for the 2020 season, but non-tendered Santana, who was hampered by an elbow injury for much of 2019, and Beckham, who was suspended for 80 games in August after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.
Seattle’s 40-man roster is currently at 38 players, but is expected to reach 39 this week when the reported signing of reliever Carl Edwards Jr. is officially announced.
How Santana’s future with the Mariners would play out was one of the bigger questions surrounding the club’s roster entering the offseason.
With young outfield prospects like Kyle Lewis and Jake Fraley having already made their MLB debuts, Mitch Haniger returning from injury and Mallex Smith back, Santana didn’t seem to fit. Some suggested he and Daniel Vogelbach — who is left-handed, while Santana is right-handed — might share the designated hitter role, but it appears the club will move forward solely with Vogelbach.
Santana, who is 27 years old, was acquired from the Brewers in exchange for outfielder Ben Gamel and minor-league pitcher Noah Zavolas nearly a year ago to a one-year, $1.95 million contract.
He appeared primarily in left field for Seattle during the first half of the 2019 season, and often struggled defensively, before eventually moving to his more familiar position in right field after Haniger was lost for the season early in June. Santana committed 12 errors in 100 games played.
He was placed on the 10-day injured list with right elbow inflammation on Aug. 20, but said later the elbow had been bothering him since the All-Star break, and missed 24 games before he was reactivated midway through September.
Santana played exclusively as a designated hitter or pinch hitter from late July on, and did not appear in the outfield again after July 23.
He was one of Seattle’s more consistent hitters for a long stretch before his injury, and finished with a .253/.329/.441 slash line with 20 doubles, 21 homers and 69 RBI in 121 games. He hit just .128 in 94 at-bats after the All-Star break, and his 164 total strikeouts ranked fifth-most in the American League.
Beckham, 29, was placed on the league’s restricted list on Aug. 6 after testing positive for Stanozolol, and was not expected to return to Seattle in 2020. He will serve the 32 remaining games of his 80-game suspension next season.
He was signed to a one-year, $1.75 million deal by the Mariners in January, essentially to plug up a spot in the infield until shortstop J.P. Crawford was ready to take on an everyday role. Crawford was promoted the second week of May, and remained with the club the rest of the season, making it difficult for Beckham to find playing time.
Beckham slashed at 237/.293/.461 with 21 doubles, 15 homers and 47 RBIs in 88 games with the Mariners in 2019.
He is a former No. 1 overall pick by Tampa Bay and has played in parts of five major league seasons with the Rays, Baltimore and Seattle. He has a career slash line of .249/.302/.431 in 472 games.
This story was originally published December 2, 2019 at 4:37 PM.
